If you’ve been shooting for a while, sometimes it’s easy to get a little bit bored with your local surroundings, especially if you’re stuck in an urban area. You’ve shot in the big park countless times, you’ve used the fountains in the square, the old railway station…yep, you’re out of new ideas, and worse, your images are all beginning to look the same.
But don’t worry. In a bustling city, there are countless locations that can serve as great backdrops for portraits. In this video, Justin Laurens gives you a few ideas that perhaps you haven’t already thought of.
First up is, well, parks and botanical gardens. That doesn’t take a big leap of the imagination. However, Justin does have some decent tips for using different lighting and incorporating the dappled shade to create some nice effects. He also mentions revisiting the same places at different times of the year. Autumn will always look radically different from spring, for example.
The next type of location is creating edgy backdrops to your images with urban gritty locations. Tunnels, underpasses, bridges…these can all add an interesting mood to your photographs.
If you’re lucky enough to be in Europe, then simply heading to the old historical districts will land you with narrow cobbled streets to shoot in. You really can’t possibly go wrong!
Other ideas include museums and landmarks, rooftops and elevated views, and tourist sights. Really, there are lots of options. It’s well worth watching the video to get more ideas if you’re feeling uninspired.
What are your favorite locations for shooting urban portraits?
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