My Favorite Tips for Shooting Sessions in Crowded Places
Let’s discuss my favorite tips for shooting sessions in crowded places! I’ve lived in the Chattanooga area all of my life, and our city has only grown in size and popularity over the last 30 years. If you don’t believe me, try to drive through our crazy traffic and take a walk downtown at sunset in the summer and you’ll see what I’m talking about. A lot of us truly think that we’re becoming more like Atlanta and Nashville every day. In turn, it has become more of a challenge to shoot sessions in crowded places.
Even though our city is a great place to live with good schools and plenty of outdoor activities, the most popular photography spots are only getting busier with more sessions and photographers. However, this doesn’t mean that the one spot you have your heart set on for photos is going to be out of reach. I don’t want to deny my clients photos at a location just because it’s overflowing with people. As a photographer, you learn how to be strategic when it comes to shooting senior or family sessions at parks and fields around the city.
This was the case with my friends Amy and Clay for their family photo session in November in downtown Chattanooga. I’ve known Amy since elementary school and she had just moved back home from California with her husband and two daughters. They wanted some iconic Chattanooga landmarks in the background of the photos, such as the Walnut Street Bridge and the Tennessee Aquarium. I knew that I could definitely make this happen for them because of what I’ve learned from being a family photographer for ten years. Here are my favorite tips for shooting sessions in crowded places!
1. Prep Your Clients Before the Session
If your clients choose a location for their session that you know is going to be busy, let them know that it’s absolutely doable, but with guidelines. There are many places around Chattanooga that locals and tourists visit often at all times of the year, no matter the season. Explain to your clients that their session is taking place in a popular area of town. There may be times where you need to wait for someone to move so your client will have to be patient if they are dead set on taking a picture in a particular spot. If there is another area you can shoot at right then with no people, then go there and circle back around to the first spot.
2. Shoot Close-up When There’s a Lot of People
More than likely, there are going to be a lot of people around while you’re shooting in a particular area that’s popular. Shooting close-up will help you get some great portraits of your clients without wasting any important shooting time while waiting for the crowds to disperse. This also will give you more variety of images in your clients’ gallery. Shooting tight on your client will help keep the flow of the sessions going when there are still a lot of people around. You can also focus on expressions and emotions when you shoot close-up.
3. Learn to Crop in Camera
After practicing and shooting many sessions, I have learned how to crop in camera. Basically what this means is to pay attention to the edges of the photo you’re about to take. If there is someone in the photo with your client, then either zoom in if you’re using a zoom lens, move closer to your subject, or move the camera so you’re cropping out that person. This doesn’t just apply to people! You can use this skill when you don’t want certain objects in the way such as tables, chairs, stairs, anything that could be distraction in the image.
If you notice in the photo below, there’s an empty hole of grass just to the right of Amy and her family. There were also some poles sticking out of the ground, which distract from my clients. Just by turning my camera to the left a little, I was able to crop some of that out. This in turn made the portrait more interesting, there’s better focus on my clients, and I included the iconic bridge again in the background.
4. Create Images with a Wider Depth of Field
Another clever way to shoot sessions in crowded places is to shoot with a wider depth of field. Sometimes you may be in the middle of a session, and you can’t wait for a crowd to move. This is when you can use a prime lens like a 50mm or 85mm with a lower aperture such as 2.0 or 2.5. Your clients will be the only ones in focus and the background will be blurry. However, after you shoot a few images like this with some people in the background and they move away, take a few more in the same exact spot so you have two different versions of the same photo.
5. Remind Your Clients Why It’s Worth It
I know it can frustrating for your clients to wait a long time in these types of situations, especially when it’s really hot or cold outside. As photographers, we want to show our clients how important their session is, to capture those perfect memories at their favorite location and remember these special kind of moments. We have the skills to look through our camera and see a beautiful background and know that this is going to be the best location for a portrait session. As you’re waiting for an area to clear, take the time to show your client the back of your camera. Not only does this reassure your client’s confidence in you as a photographer, but they will be able to see your vision. This will also remind your clients that waiting just a little bit longer will pay off in the end.
Knowing how to shoot sessions in crowded places is something that I have learned how to do since I’ve been in business. It takes practice and patience, not just for me but for my clients. They trust me as their photographer to capture the best images for them, A lot of client sessions, especially those for families, often take place in locations that are very popular, so you have to know to shoot in these types of situations. With my favorite tips on how to shoot in crowded places, every portrait session you shoot will be well worth it for your clients. The Campbell family loved their photos and ordered extra prints to frame around the house and give as gifts to family members!
If you’re ready to book your family or senior session with me this year, please fill out my contact form so we can schedule a time and date that works for you!
