late autumn/winter engagement shoots?

divamum

I may be doing another "gift" engagement session for some friends. We're just about at the very tail end of the leaves here and, if they don't decide to do this very soon, we may well be past any colour and into yukky weather.

Where do those of you in seasonal climates use in the not-pretty seasons for outdoor shoots? Look for more urban environments? Just take it indoors? Architectural locations and cut out as much vegetation as possible?

Just looking for some ideas in case they follow through with this; my experience with this friend is that once she makes a decision to do something she REALLY decides to do it and things move fast, so I figure I'd better get some ideas in my head before I find myself swept along in a whirlwind!

Moogle Pepper

You are in Maryland right? If you really want to do the foliage ones, definitely do it by the weekend. The leaves are falling, and in a couple weeks they will all be on the ground. So. Check out any nice arboretum's around you or parks.

Engagement sessions don't have to be limited to outdoor romping and stomping. Get totally creative. You can do wineries (wine tasting for the win!) Things that they generally like, some people like antique shopping - find a farmer's market and go PJing on them.

divamum

We'll see. If I know her, she won't respond to this for a couple of weeks and then it will suddenly be "Ok, I want Day x or y at time a or b and we need to do this NOW!" at which point it will be carved in stone. She's like that ... :giggle Hence why I'm thinking of backup plans NOW in case the weather totally plotzes by the time she figures out if she wants to do this! It's been nice for the last few days but then it's gone from bright autumn sun to MONSOON in 24hrs, with not much in between................

Farmer's market might be fun, or maybe down by the water (no trees - woohoo!). Tx Ted!

Heather, I want your mountains. Pretty in summer, pretty with snow. Tada. All seasons catered for one way or another

Moogle Pepper

divamum wrote: »

We'll see. If I know her, she won't respond to this for a couple of weeks and then it will suddenly be "Ok, I want Day x or y at time a or b and we need to do this NOW!" at which point it will be carved in stone. She's like that ... :giggle Hence why I'm thinking of backup plans NOW in case the weather totally plotzes by the time she figures out if she wants to do this! It's been nice for the last few days but then it's gone from bright autumn sun to MONSOON in 24hrs, with not much in between................

Farmer's market might be fun, or maybe down by the water (no trees - woohoo!). Tx Ted!

Heather, I want your mountains. Pretty in summer, pretty with snow. Tada. All seasons catered for one way or another

You better move to Alaska then! HAHA! Or to Yosemite!

divamum

Well duh - of course! Either that, or back to one of the European capitals with doesn't-matter-what-the-weather-is iconic landmarks to make things look great at all times. Eiffel tower? Done. Colisseum? Perfect. Brandenburg Gate? Tada.

:lol

/silliness

Ok, anybody else? Ideas for off-season shoots?

Moogle Pepper

divamum wrote: »

Well duh - of course! Either that, or back to one of the European capitals with doesn't-matter-what-the-weather-is iconic landmarks to make things look great at all times. Eiffel tower? Done. Colisseum? Perfect. Brandenburg Gate? Tada.

:lol

/silliness

Ok, anybody else? Ideas for off-season shoots?

I so would want to do one in the Colosseum! :cry Need to move to Italy!

jttphoto

If you're in Maryland there's always Sandy Point State Park with the beach, jetties, and Bay Bridge. Or Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Oriole Park at Camden Yards with the B&O Railroad building. It's not quite Colisseum, but it's a few decades old at least.

BuddyLee

Maryland is a big state. I'm in NoVa... but some of the western state parks offer very nice lakes, rock formations, streams, waterfalls. There's always D.C. But get away from the monuments. Use old bridges, roads, buildings to your advantage.

Llywellyn

I'll echo the D.C. suggestion. Also, the National Arboretum has that awesome set of columns, plus a cute bonsai garden. Downtown D.C. also has the Japanese Gardens. No fall foliage, but since many of the little trees are evergreens (I think?), at least it's something!

What about the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore?

...where's Blurmore when you need him?

mmmatt

Baren trees can look great with a little bokeh! I stick to urban, parks, and beaches, and they all look good in fall. Just shot at a pumpkin patch/apple orchard last night and then a lakeside park here in Wisco. Use the foliage more as texture and maintain the focus on the couple until there is something nce to put in the background. Shoot a lot of flair, and reflection shots and sunset shots, sun puring through trees... short of what they are wearing people should not really be focused on the season except hwere you want them to be.

Matt

bmoreshooter

Take em to the beach in OC. You won't need any trees. If you feel like a little travel time Western Md. is perfect. Muddy Creek Falls, Fort Fredrick, The antique row in Fredrick. If you dont feel like travelling so far try the covered bridge in Kingsville, Patapsco State Park, Gunpowder river,(at rt 40 or the entrance at Harford rd). You might want to take a ride through Ellicot city.

divamum

Thanks for the great suggestions, all! I'm still not even sure this if this will be happening, but I feel armed and ready to tackle it if she decides she wants to do it. I'd thought of quite a few of these places already, but you've added somse great ideas

mmmatt wrote: »

Baren trees can look great with a little bokeh! I stick to urban, parks, and beaches, and they all look good in fall. Just shot at a pumpkin patch/apple orchard last night and then a lakeside park here in Wisco. Use the foliage more as texture and maintain the focus on the couple until there is something nce to put in the background. Shoot a lot of flair, and reflection shots and sunset shots, sun puring through trees... short of what they are wearing people should not really be focused on the season except hwere you want them to be.

Matt

This is EXACTLY the kind of technical info I needed - thanks Matt!! It's easy enough to avoid trees if we're in a more urban setting, but if, for some reason, that isn't what happens, I wanted to be armed with approaches to make it work anyway. One of my :bash about last week's Strobist shoot is that didn't have time in the previous week to really immerse myself in landscape techniques, so it was only when I got home (and saw some of the shots the others had taken) that I realised I'd missed a couple of AWESOME vistas eg, a couple of awesome bridges where if I'd got down low and shot along the groundline aiming up with a 17mm lens it would have been expansive and gorgeous instead of a bit banal. DUH. ~kicks self for ignorance and lack of experience with landscape shooting~. That's what "experience" is for, of course, but since this week I do have the time to obsess a little and get some "homework" done, I'd prefer not to make the same kind of dumb*** mistakes again

divamum

Well, this is definitely happening in a couple of weeks, so I guess I'll be stalking and lurking around here even more than usual. Now just have to remember how to get a slightly reluctant and non-demonstrative male of the species to let his inner romantic out to play in public for an afternoon....

Jeremy Winterberg

at the beginning of 2010 I shot an engagement session and there was snow on the ground, and it was near 0 degrees... I had them play in the snow and have a snowball fight, then we went and had hot soup at a restaurant for lunch. Of course, continued taking some pictures in there as well. (Wisconsin winters really suck sometimes)

Definitely agree with matt. If you get a problem background, get rid of it with your 135L wide open! I've taken senior pictures and had a power plant place in the background - with enough bokeh anything can be removed and look oh-so-creamy.

heatherfeather

divamum wrote: »

Heather, I want your mountains. Pretty in summer, pretty with snow. Tada. All seasons catered for one way or another

Haha, yeah. I do love my mountains. And if packing and moving sounds like too much work, just come and visit! I'd love to set ya up with a background. (Though it was 6 degrees this morning. brrrr. I have goosebumps.)

I suggest that you find yourself some rustic building love... And feel free to have them actually do something fun together and not just pose... maybe bowling... get coffee in a cute coffee house... Ride bikes... Rollerskate... Row a boat...It always helps with your more reluctant guys if they are active and naturally having fun rather than feeling as though they are posers and cheesers.

Do share what you come up with. (Though, now that I think on it, that was a needless statement. You are such a good sharer, haha. I guess you would do well in kindergarten.)