While many of my pictures look idyllic, I don't actually live in a magical wonderland of brilliant backdrops! I mean, I do live in a pretty magical place, but sometimes we're taking pictures next to parking lots or choosing an angle that hides the hideous office building I'm posing next too. The trick isn't always having a beautiful location, but rather having a creative approach to that location and seeing the diamond in the rough. There is no more apt example of this than these pictures I took while visiting my family in the States and attending a lavender festival with them. When they invited me to the festival I pictured rows upon rows of lush lavender stretching on to the horizon (basically I had visions of Provence) and thought if we got there early enough it would also be quiet enough to snap a few pictures without a crowd. Well, we got there just after it opened to find a few rows of lavender (some obviously struggling to survive the rather mixed weather of this season), lined with gravel, manned by several volunteers in bright orange tee shirts, and an already sizable crowd. Still, I hunted around and set up a shot and with my mother's help got to shooting. At a certain angle the lavender looked like what I had envisioned and with enough patience we got a few pictures without people walking through the background or foreground of the shots. While it took patience and was a tricky shoot, I was also fighting back laughter the whole time! In addition to people walking in front of the camera, there was also some running commentary on my posing from some nearby strangers, "oh now she's twirling! Wait look, now she's kneeling--maybe we should try that." Sometimes those diamond in the rough locations are a challenge, but that doesn't mean it's not a fun experience or even just a hilarious one! I've included some of the more "real" shots from this day to further illustrate how it went. Even my outfit suiting the location was a bit of a fluke since I hadn't packed with the thought of this (or any other shoots in mind) and just grabbed a lightweight dress for the hot weather and my favorite straw tote. I hope if you're struggling to find that dream location this post will be an encouragement to you; while some locations are dreamy, sometimes it's about working with what you have and getting creative. Oh, and while the lavender lemonade got a mixed review from my family, we all loved the lavender ice cream!
Getting Your Best Photos In Difficult Settings:
1. Choose your angle. Many beautiful spots can be directly beside eyesores, so it's about choosing your angle carefully. Think about shooting through something in the foreground or even just cropping out an eyesore.
2. Be patient. Something might not work right away for a number of reasons (people in the background or poor light), so be patient and wait for the picture to happen. If you have time, leave it and come back when you think it might be quieter or the light would be better, or just hold your pose and take the shot as soon as you get a chance!
3. Look for diamonds in the rough. Difficult locations are a pain--I mean who doesn't want to twirl around an empty castle for pictures?! But almost everywhere you shoot is going to have drawbacks, so don't obsess about finding the perfect location and instead try to find beauty in unexpected places.
4. Get in tighter. A lot of shots that won't work in these locations are wider shots that show the whole scene, so instead focus on closer shots--portraits or even details. Stopping to take details also add depth to a shoot overall and set the mood, so definitely get in there and chase that bee!
5. Keep your sense of humor. This won't necessarily equate to better pictures, but life is so much better when you can respond to it with a laugh!   

I couldn't resist titling this blog post after a line from Zoolander since I often cry "I'm not a model!" when posting pictures and yet today I'm going to share some tips for posing in pictures.

Bright midday light: This happens to be my least favorite type of light to shoot in, but it's sometimes what you are stuck with. It's not the exact middle of the day (when the sun is directly above) but either late morning or early afternoon when it is very bright and the sun is high in the sky. These pictures were taken around 2PM, facing the sun (left) and the sun at my back (right).
Pros: Backlit pictures (right pic) put the subject in focus and further wash out the background. The light is dynamic and interesting.
Cons: If you are facing the sun it creates harsh shadows on the face and makes the subject squint. If you choose backlit pictures you have less control of your angles; in the pictures above I like the row of houses behind me in the left picture but I can't get backlit from that angle because the position of the sun. Backlit self-portraits are really difficult to get the settings right with.
*Other options on bright days--seek out shaded areas like the woods or the shadows between buildings to shoot in.

The Golden Hour: This is a little before or a little after sunset/sunrise; it is most people's favorite time to take pictures (of course you have to have a flexible schedule to choose to work at this time). These pictures were taken a few minutes after the sun set behind the buildings in my area (technically the sun was still above the horizon line); in the picture on the left I faced the set sun and on the right the sun was behind my back.
Pros: The light is soft and colors are rich. The subject can look directly towards the source of the light without squinting and there are less shadows in pictures.
Cons: You have a narrow window of time and will have to adjust your settings as the light fades. If the sun is setting it will eventually get too dark for pictures and if the sun is rising you'll go from soft light to bright light. Once again you have to pay attention to the direction of the light (in this case you typically want the subject to face the sun rather than have it at their back, although backlit at sunset can work sometimes).

Cloudy Days: My favorite type of light for pictures is actually a cloudy day.
Pros: No harsh shadows on the face and the light is consistent, you don't have to adjust your settings often. Subject can face any direction more easily and you can maintain more colors in the background than on a bright day. No time constraints--as long as the sky is cloudy you can continue working. Also, less people outside!
Cons: Less dramatic images because the light isn't spectacular and the light can be flat and unflattering.
Other things to note: All of today's pictures are completely unedited to illustrate the differences in light, there is obviously editing work you can do after you take pictures to help alleviate the cons. When you're working with different sorts of light you once again have to adjust your settings. On very bright days even with a low ISO and shutter speed, you will also have to adjust your f-stop to a higher aperture meaning your background can't be as blurred. When you shoot in softer light (sunset or a cloudy day) you can typically keep your f-stop lower and maintain a more blurred background. If you're confused by what I mean by f-stops and so on, I explain them more thoroughly in previous photo tip posts.
**I'm wearing: Bonlook glasses, Pepa Loves dress, thrifted belt, and Seychelles flats.**

As I stated before my photo tip series is a focus on taking pictures yourself. While I like nature and appreciate an empty landscape for my locations, these spots are chosen from necessity as much as preference. As in: I live downtown right now, but I don't feel comfortable setting my tripod up and trotting back and forth for pictures on sidewalks while neighbors watch me from their windows and random passerby end up in the backs of my shots. So, when I shoot in more secluded spots this is because I'm less likely have someone watching me or end up in my photographs. Still, my locations aren't quite as empty as you might think.

Try Public Parks: Most of my photographs are shot in the public parks around my area--which provide green spaces without even needing to leave the city and it means I'm not trespassing on private property. You can spot a lot of interesting locations going about your typical day, but the Internet is another good resource for scouting locations and finding local parks in your region. Also, it's all in the name--public parks are there to serve the public--they're a perfect spot to enjoy nice weather and snap a few pictures. Usually the only thing I have to worry about is curious joggers or hikers who occasionally stop to ask me what I'm photographing.

Choose Your Angles: A good location doesn't have to be in the middle of nowhere and you can make things look rather empty just by the angle you choose. A pretty river beside a busy road is still a great place for pictures. Instead of trying to find truly secluded spots far outside of your normal paths, think about what angles you can shoot from. My car is almost always within eyesight of where I'm shooting, which means there's usually a parking lot or another road nearby too. Other days I'm directly by a busy road with only a tree or two between, but as you can see from my pictures I always choose my angle carefully to exclude those details. So, pay attention to interesting spots even if they aren't completely secluded--a beautiful shot could be beside an eyesore or hiding right behind your house.

Don't Forget to Work Your Settings: As I mentioned in last week's photo tip, a low f-stop will make your background more blurred, so even if you're shooting with something you don't like in the background you can limit the attention it receives by having it blurred out.

Think Creatively: Sometimes it isn't about the location being spectacular but seeing something special in the mundane. The above picture was taken in a parking lot with cars just a few feet from me, but I found the shadows and scattered leaves really pretty. You don't need the most beautiful path by the river or fascinating abandoned train, you just need a little imagination to appreciate your surroundings. Notice the light and shadows--don't be confined by a specific idea of where you want to shoot but be open-minded to different places you might find.
Also, remember if you are focusing on self-portraits or outfit pictures, then you don't need a spectacular backdrop. More than anything you need a non-distracting backdrop that won't take attention from the subject, so don't focus on finding the most stunning location.

A Couple of Indoor Ideas: I don't often work indoors so I'm very limited on suggestions for shooting indoors (both in terms of locations and what settings to use), but two places I like to try on bitterly cold days: libraries and arcades. Try visiting your library during non-peak hours to avoid other people and take a friend to the arcade to play a bit between shots. A more serious photographer can scout locations and contact buildings to get permission to shoot, but for the type of photos I focus on public spaces work best.
Summary: you don't need wide open spaces but rather to be strategic about angles and public parks are your friend. You can find past photo tips here.

Using Foreground Creatively: Although it isn't always a first thought for fashion bloggers, there are really interesting ways to use foreground to create more dynamic images. In spring and summer I love to shoot through flowers while keeping the subject (me), now in the middleground, in focus. The blur from the plants creates more depth and makes for really striking images. You can also shoot through books at a library, autumn leaves, or whatever happens to be handy. Another benefit of this technique is that it doesn't require a fancy camera or lens--the first picture from this set is taken with my original basic digital camera--the flowers are more in focus because my f-stop isn't that low and it's still one of my favorite images.

Backgrounds: When thinking about your background you should remember to stand a good distance from whatever you want in the background. Blurred or not you capture more of a tree when you're standing 10 feet from it than when you're up against it. For example the images above, both are taken at a castle while I was in Northern Ireland last fall--you can see the size and shape of the castle when I'm far away from it in the field, as soon as I got up close to the castle all I could capture were bits of the walls. This same practice applies when you're shooting an interesting shaped tree, random sculpture, lake, or what-have-you. Having objects in the distance also creates a sense of depth for your images. Another way to lead the eye is by standing on a path that trails off in the distance or (my favorite) train tracks with bold lines that again, show depth. The train tracks serve as very literal perspective lines that lead the eye to the horizon:
Summary: Separate your subject from the background by using a low f stop, use foreground creatively by shooting through plants/books/something, and stand a good distance in front of whatever you want to feature in the background.
Previous photo tip posts here. I will be covering other subjects in other weeks and trying to keep each post as practical as possible. 

You can find my previous photo tips (on going manual and adjusting your settings when you're shooting yourself) here.