Location, location, location… One of the things I stress as a photographer is location. It is actually one of the first things I discus with my clients and we revisit this throughout the weeks or months leading up to their session. I don’t stress this because I want to have the most amazing location in the world. While this would always be ideal I am a firm believer that even the most beautiful, ideal location is all wrong if it does not reflect the clients I am working with that day. If the “why” you chose a location isn’t true to your personality, your style there chances of you being disappointed with your final images is going to be so high for the simple reason that they do not feel like you. For instance, my husband is a small- town, Montana cowboy. If I tried to put him in the middle of NYC for a photo shoot he would panic on the inside. He would smile and deal with it because, well, that’s just what he has done for me at different times but there is almost always a difference in how our images come out because of one truth: smiling on the outside looks VERY different when you are also smiling on the INSIDE. Image putting someone who has grown up in NYC their whole life, does not enjoy the country and they chose a field with cows for their engagement session. This is not going to be a pleasant experience because it doesn’t emulate them at all and cows mooing in the back ground is very different than the buzz of a city.

When it comes to location, chose something that reflects you. There are so many options: country, parks, downtown, the capitol, a museum, the zoo, a rooftop, a greenhouse or garden. Really, the options are so open!! If you don’t know where to shoot but have a preference in style, reach out to your photographer! Chances are they have somewhere they have been dreaming of shooting or somewhere they shoot regularly and love that would be perfect for what you are envisioning!

This senior session was all about the location. Maddy and I talked for weeks before scheduling about a few different places and eventually settled on one of my favorite places to shoot. She wanted country or open spaces but was unsure of somewhere that was pretty here in Oklahoma before color was back in full force. Sutton Wilderness Park is hands down on of my favorite “field” locations here in the Oklahoma City area. Sutton is so simple but there are so many different areas to chose from. If you are looking for a field with dreamy light, this is the place!