HOW TO CHOOSE BACKGROUNDS FOR OUTFIT POST PHOTOSHOOTS

I have been writing my blog posts almost everyday now since 2012. And my husband and I, we have been taking photos for our blog posts almost everyday, too. My husband used to worked as a professional photographer years before we met, so he has some basic photography skill, and I am mostly self-taught — the “practice makes better,” says it all for me. And I choose my own outfits, styling them myself for every one of my blog posts. Once I have my outfits ready, we go out to do some work, run some errands, and keep our eyes open for good places to take pictures. Of course, we have some old “tried and true” favorite spots, but we always look for nice, new places. So, yes, most of my photoshoots are not meticulously planned, and all the backgrounds I choose are a little random — if I happen to see a place I like, with good light and safe access, it might become a background.

So, I would like to talk about how to choose a background for a candid or “street style” photoshoot. It is not entirely random — there are a few factors that make a place suitable as a background, and I do have some tips to share:

1. Know your city, and don’t waste time trying to find some “unrealistic” location. In the beginning of my blogging life, I thought the “urban feel” was so cool that I saw in many European cities, and let’s face it, besides downtown L.A., it is almost impossible to find some really big, stunning buildings in most of the L.A. area, and if there are some, you might spot “homeless camps,” as well. Anyway, you cannot really fit in big buildings or other landmarks too easily when the purpose is to feature an outfit the size of a woman.

2. Think how much time and effort you want to put in to get to a nice place. For example, driving a long distance to the beach or a mountain, yes, all the pictures will come out very nice, but with all the extra fuel, time, and effort spent, how often do you think you can do it for about 20 outfits a month? Some people (myself, too) would bring a couple outfits with me for a long distance location photoshoots, but the changing is a challenge, too. I mostly will change clothes inside our truck/car, and we will have to avoid all the passing people or “Ring” and “Blink” security cameras everywhere. lol. On top of that, you will get your hair and make-up messy changing in a vehicle, and you won’t find out until you see the pictures! We still do it, sometimes, when there is “big” project or during a road-trip where we see interesting backgrounds that we may not pass by again — but, in general, we try to work smarter, not sweatier, and take it a little easy. Remember, the outfit is the “star,” and the background is just a setting.

3. Know your style and find your match. For example, I consider my personal style is colorful and vibrant, so when we drive somewhere, I always keep my eyes open — colored walls, fences, doors, and gates, together with beautiful floral bushes, always catch my eyes, and I write the place down and mark it for possible future use. I see some minimalist style bloggers in L.A. who mostly just pose in front of a blank wall, and for those settings, it is a bonus if you have some interesting tree shadow on the wall, or something abstract like that. And, hey! Don’t forget you can change the wall colors if you want! (See how to change the wall color in the blog post here)