The original photoshoot may not have gone as planned, but this photographer managed to get a pretty good shoot in another location.
At some point in every portrait photographer’s career (or hobby), there will come a time when things just don’t go as planned, even when you think you got everything sorted out. When a shoot doesn’t go according to plan, you either have to be resourceful and improvise, or make the most out of what’s available to you. Recently, this was the lesson learned by Melbourne-based wedding and event photographer Ben Samuel. If it has yet to happen to you, his video below should give you an idea on what to do so the day won’t go to waste.
When his original plans to shoot at a Winter Wonderland themed location didn’t push through due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, Samuel decided to go for the next best thing instead: the car park nearby. Since it was already dark, the car park was a solid, well lit alternate location for them to make the most out of the situation. So, one lesson we can all learn from this is to scout for alternate spots around the area of the original location, just in case things go “catastrophically wrong” as he described.
Based on the photos he ended up with, we can all agree that he made the right decision. Parking lots and buildings like this make great locations for some “urban” themed portraits, but we have to keep in mind the challenges that come with it. Some spots, as he mentioned in the video, tend to have inadequate or complicated lighting. They also all tend to look the same and offer limited options with poses or angles. The lesson: make the most of what you have and you might just get some decent to great shots.
“It really just shows me that even if you are doing a photoshoot and it all goes catastrophically wrong, it’s still definitely worth putting in the time and trying to make the best of any situation. Because who knows what the photos are going to look like if you just do your best and see what happens,” he says on this alternate photoshoot experience.
Check out Ben Samuel’s website and follow him on Instagram to see his projects and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more of his photography videos.
Screenshot image from the video by Ben Samuel
