Location scouting timeline

Correctly structure your location scouting strategy to be best prepared for on-shoot conditions.

PERFORM INITIAL RESEARCH.

If you plan to be travelling through an area, look online for potential places to make images, or research how other photographers have approached target locations you plan to visit. Find out details regarding access and the best times of day or year to conduct photoshoots.

CHOOSE WHEN TO VISIT.

Before making a scouting expedition, pick a time that will provide the most informative experience. Ensure that weather or tides will allow you to make composition tests, as finding most of the site obscured will not enable optimal information gathering.

MAKE FIRST SITE VISIT.

Go to your location in person if this is possible to see how to make planned compositions a reality and to explore the surrounding environment. Ideally make this visit within a week of your main shoot or make detailed notes of potentially changeable elements if you can’t.

IDENTIFY CHANGEABLE CONDITIONS.

A few days before your shoot check weather forecasts and tide times. Remember to account for seasonal differences and the likelihood of shifts during your shoot. Be certain that ideal tides coincide with your preferred lighting.

ATTEMPT YOUR SHOOT.

Attend your location at the ideal time of day for the images you have in mind and attempt to capture final, portfolio-worthy shots. It is always good practice to capture more images than you need, as frames either side of a ‘keeper’ are good references for future shoots.