It’s mid morning. The air is crisp in the deep cool shade of the forest. I have no camera. But I am taking pictures.
My photographer’s eye is exploring. I notice a small pool of teal, soft light in a tiny clearing of pine trees. A dash of crimson streaks across the edge of my glaze. It’s field of forest ferns in a startling shade of red. And there, by the river, I find a low canopy of slender poplar trees resting in shadows - just out of reach of the sun. But I start to wonder: If I had been here a little earlier? Where would the light have been? In my mind’s eye I rewind time and there before me is a beautiful scene of the rising sun sending streaks of apricot-colored rays. I know I’ve found something special in the place I now stand.
I’m scouting. Taking pictures in my mind of places that will make portraits that will be works of art. There’s so much more to being a photographer than clicking a button. Being a professional means putting in the time to find places where great photos can be captured. Seeing what mood and tone a place conveys. I’m always scouting. I’m always collecting places in my mind, so when a client comes to our studio I already have a menu of ideas that will match their personality.
I don’t know it yet, but the place I’m standing in the woods will be the spot I take a senior portrait of a young woman who is full of good humor and loves nature. “She’s kinda a hippie” her parents will tease at her consultation in our studio. But that joke will lead to discussing her love of natural settings and this spot in the woods. And eventually an early morning shoot in these woods.
As I stand here scouting in the forest I can see it. A portrait in this very spot. A portrait that will eventually hang on our studio wall and greet those that come to visit our studio.
This is what we do. We find a library of rare and beautiful places. So we’re ready to capture the beauty of your family.
Picture above is the portrait I later shot in that location :)