Great Portrait Locations that can be Found in Any Neighborhood

Great Portrait Locations that can be Found in Any Neighborhood

It is a common question asked by photography clients; Where is the best place to get pictures taken? Should I choose an indoor studio location, an industrial park, or maybe a place full of trees? What are the most popular spots your clients choose to take photos? Where can we find a great location that isn’t too far from my home?  

The wonderful part about it is, you can find some great backdrops for portraits just about anywhere, even in the ugliest of neighborhoods. Here are four portrait backdrop ideas that you can find in almost any neighborhood.  

  • Solid Color Walls 

If you are a Disney World fan chances are you know about the infamous purple wall. Its located in the Magic Kingdom park in Tomorrowland at Space Mountain. This wall was made insanely popular by countless Instagramers snapping portraits. It is so famous that Disney decided to capitalize on it and add its own line of purple wall merch and place one of their professional photographers there to offer photos to park guests.  

The great thing is these photo-worthy solid color walls can be found pretty much anywhere and they serve as a great simple backdrop to highlight the subject in the photo. Look down alleys, at the sides of stores, a painted fence, even a pretty garage door will work. Look for colors that may complement what you are wearing, or something with awesome texture or pattern.  

  • Foliage 

You can’t go wrong with a backdrop full of greenery. Most skin tones have an orange base color which plays nicely with greens. It is easy to look great with a lush background of greenery. There is a reason it seems that most outdoor pictures are taken with a background full of foliage.  Fall also seems the best time to take outdoor photos in front of foliage. Surprisingly, a cloudy day is better than sunny. Sunny days cast shadows where you don't want them and are harder to work around. So if your day is not as bright as you'd like, it's perfectly okay. 

  • Different Heights 

Finding different angles is a great way to get an unobstructed background that won’t take focus away from the main subject in the portrait. Try standing on the top of a play structure in a neighborhood park while the photo is shot from a lower point to capture only the sky in the background, for example.  

Read More: What to Wear for a Family Photo Shoot

  • A Corner 

This one may seem a bit odd, but the lines of a corner will draw the eye to focus on the subject where the two points meet. Find a place where walls meet like the corner of a building or even just some connecting lines on the ground. Fences are great places to find corners as well.  You might be surprised at how that back alley looks or a fire escape. Different colored bricks can lend themselves to the perfect backdrop for an industrial feel. 

Just about any neighborhood works too whether it's in a residential neighborhood or in the middle of a busy city. If you are stressed about finding the perfect portrait location for your next session with a photographer, don’t worry too much. There are many great places to take photos. Most great photographers also have their own little secret spots perfect for shots. By using a local artist you can bet they know where some of the best places are for some unique photos.  Unless you are looking for a panoramic shot, the smallest and most humble of locations can turn out some of your favorite photos.  

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