Finding the Perfect Outdoor Locations for Amazing Portraits

There's something special about capturing portraits in the great outdoors. Sure, we have to deal with ever-changing light and the unpredictable British weather, but the rewards are well worth it. When it comes to choosing the best outdoor locations for your photoshoots, there are a few key factors to consider.

The Style of Your Shoot

First and foremost, the style or theme you have in mind for your shoot will greatly influence the type of location you should be looking for. Whether you're going for a beachy vibe or a serene forest atmosphere, it's important to choose a location that complements and enhances your desired aesthetic. Remember, the location should seamlessly blend with the overall theme of your shoot to create a cohesive and captivating visual story.

Busy vs. Quiet Locations

Personally, I'm not a big fan of shooting in busy parks. They tend to be bustling with activity, and finding a clear background without any distractions can be quite a challenge. Additionally, if your subject is a bit camera-shy, the presence of curious onlookers can add unnecessary pressure. That's why I prefer to seek out quieter spots, hidden gems off the beaten path. Exploring lesser-known areas and venturing to the edges of a location often leads to discovering the most picturesque backdrops.

Avoiding Clutter

When selecting a location, keep an eye out for cluttered surroundings. I personally gravitate towards places where the scenery rises up around you, creating a natural barrier that screens off any unsightly elements. For example, in a garden setting, tall plants can act as a shield, blocking out unwanted objects like telephone poles or other distractions. This way, you can focus on capturing the essence of your subject without worrying about visual distractions.

Lighting Considerations

If you're opting for an outdoor location, it's likely because you want to harness the beauty of natural light. But here's the thing – you need to understand how light interacts with your chosen location. For instance, if you're aiming for that sun-drenched, high-contrast look, but a cluster of trees casts shade between 10 am and 3 pm, a midday shoot might leave you disappointed. It's crucial to spend time at your location throughout the day to observe how the light changes and affects the scene. Personally, I like to revisit my spots multiple times before a shoot to get a sense of the lighting conditions. Being specific about the type of light you desire will help you choose the best time of day and angle for your portraits. For example, if you're aiming for backlit portraits, make sure the location allows you to position your subject with the sun behind them, while still providing a stunning backdrop.

Additionally, certain types of lighting can influence the type of location you choose. The golden hour, for instance, casts a warm, soft glow that works beautifully on a beach, giving your photos a dreamy and uplifting feel.

Seasonal Considerations

When choosing an outdoor location for your portrait session, it's essential to consider the impact of the current season on the look and feel of your photos. Each season offers its own unique beauty and characteristics that can enhance your portraits. For spring portrait locations, think of blooming gardens, cherry blossom trees, and vibrant floral displays. Summer portrait locations can include sunny beaches, lush green meadows, and vibrant urban backdrops. Autumn portrait locations showcase the stunning colours of changing leaves, rustic parks, and cosy outdoor settings. Winter portrait locations can feature snowy landscapes, frost-covered trees, and urban scenes adorned with holiday lights. By aligning your location with the season, you can create a harmonious connection between your subject and the environment, resulting in captivating and visually cohesive portraits.

Colours and Textures

The colours and textures of your outdoor location play a vital role in shaping the final look of your portraits. Opting for colourful outdoor locations can add a dynamic and vibrant touch to your photos. Look for places with blooming flowers, graffiti-filled urban streets, or picturesque murals that can inject a burst of colour into your compositions. On the other hand, textured outdoor locations can bring depth and visual interest to your portraits. Consider spots with weathered brick walls, rustic wooden structures, or natural elements like rocky cliffs or sandy dunes. These textures can add a sense of character and uniqueness to your images, providing a visually captivating backdrop that enhances the overall mood and style of your portraits. Don't be afraid to explore different outdoor locations that offer intriguing colours and textures to elevate your photography.

Accessibility and Safety

When selecting an outdoor location for your photoshoot, it's crucial to prioritise accessibility and safety for everyone involved. Ensure that the location is easily accessible, with convenient parking options or nearby public transportation for your subject. Consider the physical terrain of the location, particularly if you have individuals with mobility challenges. Look for locations with smooth pathways, wheelchair ramps, or easy access points. Additionally, pay attention to potential safety hazards such as unstable structures, slippery surfaces, or busy roads. Prioritise the well-being of your subjects and team by choosing safe outdoor portrait locations that minimise risks and provide a comfortable environment for everyone involved. By selecting accessible and safe locations, you can ensure a smooth and enjoyable photoshoot experience for all.

Personal Style

Choosing an outdoor location that reflects the personal style and interests of your subject can greatly enhance the authenticity and impact of your portraits. Consider their hobbies, passions, or favourite places to create a connection between the subject and the location. If your subject loves art, consider an outdoor location with vibrant street art or art installations as a backdrop. For nature enthusiasts, opt for scenic landscapes, national parks, or hidden natural gems that resonate with their love for the outdoors. Think about unique outdoor portrait locations that align with their personality, allowing them to feel comfortable and confident in their element. By selecting a location that reflects their personal style and interests, you'll create portraits that are not only visually striking but also meaningful and memorable.

By considering these factors – the style of your shoot, the crowd factor, avoiding clutter, and lighting conditions – you'll be well-equipped to find the perfect outdoor location for your next portrait session. Remember, it's all about creating a captivating backdrop that complements your subject and brings your artistic vision to life.

If you want to make the most of the great outdoors, book a portrait session with me.

Darn Good Studio - Exeter | Photos with Molly Rooke

Objects that tell a story are so beautiful. My cameras have dents and scratches where I or a previous owner were maybe a bit careless with them, or patina where hands have gripped them through shot after shot. As we become more accustomed to choosing clothes that last, it only seems right that they get to tell a story too.

Molly Rooke of Darn Good Studio not only mends well-loved clothes, but uses visible mending to highlight and make beautiful where damage has occurred.

During lockdown in 2020, when many of us were baking banana bread or prodding at lacklustre sourdough starters, Molly was teaching herself to mend. Now, her work employs techniques like sashiko and swiss darning to add to the story and character of a piece of clothing and brings loved pieces back to life. It actually makes me look forward to some of my favourite items wearing out so they can have more life and story woven into them, but it also makes me choose new items with care. Thinking, ‘will these trousers hold up to patching in the future?’ for example.

At a time when a t-shirt can spend longer on a shop rack than on a person, before heading to landfill, it’s refreshing to see clothes gain a new chapter instead.

Darn Good Studio is located just off Fore St in Exeter, but Molly also holds mending workshops around Exeter and Totnes for anyone looking to mend and embellish their clothes themselves. Her work is a beautiful testament to well-made and well-loved clothes.

The Granite Way - On Film

While I might idly dream of heading out on to Dartmoor with the dog and a camera, just to wander a bit, I know how much of a bad idea that is. Too many people get in trouble due to bad footwear alone.

So, I decided to pick a tried and tested route, with enough people passing through to make it safe for me and my pooch. A little birthday trip with my best bud.

The Granite Way was my route of choice. Suitable for cycles and walkers and with the lovely village of Lydford at the end to rest feet and paws for a few days after. As I was going to be carrying any luggage I’d need, my cameras of choice needed to be light and compact, so the Hasselblad 500cm was immediately out. Instead I went with my trusty pocket point-and-shoot LCA and, as I couldn’t go without a medium format option, I packed my nan’s Kodak 66 Model III. A beautiful concertina-lens camera that folds down neatly and can even slide into my raincoat pocket. As I can’t resist colour film, the Kodak was loaded with Portra 400, while the LCA used Ilford black and white film.

I love gloomy weather. Always looking for subtle colour and tone shifts in my images, it’s perfect for my shooting style, and we set out in weather that didn’t disappoint.

I can’t remember how many hours it took us to walk, but as we trundled along the landscape very slowly shifted and changed. From wide expanses of fields and big metal bridges, to paths where ridges of dirt, trees and ferns rose up around us. The journey was slow and mostly quiet.

The Kodak 66 Model iii was given to me over a decade ago by my nan when I had just started shooting film on cheap, plastic cameras. The lens might be nothing special, but it was a big step up from the fuzzy photos I had been taking. I like cameras that are tactile to use, with metal dials that click into place and levers that need to be set. The Kodak 66 Model iii even has a concertina lens and it’s a real pleasure to use. It came to me in a plastic bag, alongside a flash, spare bulbs and a leather case with my nan’s address clearly written inside in biro. I’ve never tried the flash, but I used the leather case until the strap broke a few years ago.

The LCA was a bargain. I’d heard about a guy that was an expert at fixing these cameras so decided to take a shot on a broken, original one on Ebay for £25. I sent it off with a cheque, also for £25, and a few weeks later received it back in perfect working order with a handwritten list of all the repairs that had been made. It’s small, so perfect for grabbing when I’m not sure if I need a camera.

We arrived in Lyford with blisters and achy feet, but happy. The village itself is small and beautiful and I had to grab a picture of the yellow poppies that seemed to spring up everywhere. The focusing on the Kodak 66 Model iii relies a lot on guesswork, but it also makes for some nice surprises.

Trip to Elberry Cove - Devon

Elberry Cove is a beautiful little swimming spot situated along the South West Coastal Path, between Brixham and Broadsands beach. The waters along this patch of the English Riviera are stunningly blue, complemented by the deep greens of the lush surrounding greenery. I’ve been trying to take in some sea swimming on a regular basis and this seemed like a great spot for a splash, as well as plenty of photo opportunities.

This pebble beach requires a little trekking but it does mean it’s a quieter spot for beachgoers. We took a boat from Torquay to Brixham and followed the coastal path through the welcome shade of woodland and over the hilly landscape. The walk from Broadsands is much shorter and flatter, but it lacks the fun of a boat trip.

In one corner of the beach lies the ruins of Lord Churston’s bathhouse. While it may look crumbling and peppered with plants growing through the walls, it isn’t cordoned off and there were a handful of explorers clambering over and through it when we visited.

What I love about this beach is the way forest and beach abruptly butt up against each other. There’s no gradual emergence of stone and sea as you descend from the forest. Instead, it’s as if these two terrains have clearly marked out their territories and avoid encroaching on each other.

From the water, the forest seems to rise up around the beach and on a warm day it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine yourself to be many miles away from the British coast. But its this particular spot that was such a favourite of Agatha Christie's that it became a location in her novel, The ABC Murders.

Elberry Cove is dog friendly too, so we were able to bring along the pooch to get his thumbs up too. This secluded spot certainly isn’t the quietest spot i’ve explored but it’s definitely worth a visit, I recommend packing swim gear, a bbq and maybe a murder mystery novel.

The Roots Foundation - Exeter | Capturing local businesses during Covid

A few months ago I popped along to The Roots Foundation for the next in my local businesses series. Barbering and hairdressing must be one of the strangest industries to be in at the moment, one that requires close contact and has been subject to so many changes over the past few months.

This lovely bunch has been so kind as to put together a blog post on what this year has been like for them, all words below are their own.

Please note: these photos were taken before the Covid19 Government Safety Guidelines for Barbers and Hairdressers were changed. The Roots Foundation strictly follow government safety guidelines and staff wear both masks and visors together, as required.

The week leading up to lockdown was bizarre. It felt like a low budget disaster movie, but in place of The Hero, we only had the haunting vision of a bumbling Boris at the helm. The lack of information left us feeling, like many, completely lost. With no government guidance about close-contact services like ours, we decided to take safety procedures into our own hands. We introduced additional sanitising and cleaning routines, cancelled all beard services, stopped serving drinks and asked our customers to be vigilant with their own health. Our primary concern was our vulnerable clients, but even with our procedures, the uncertainty around Covid-19 made those pre-lockdown days pretty fraught. We wanted to provide a sense of normalcy for as long as possible, but halfway through the day on Saturday 21st March, things just didn’t feel right. We decided to close up with absolutely no idea when we would reopen. Needless to say, we all went a bit pale that day.

At that time, we naively thought: “Let’s give it two weeks and we’ll see what happens.” Hah, fools. Of course, we had no idea the official lockdown was coming just two days later and would last much longer than any of us anticipated.

We are lucky that our diary tends to book up in advance, but with that, we had a lot of people to contact. We personally called our clients for the next two weeks to apologise and to let everyone know about the closure. The shop was like a hectic call centre as we worked through our contact lists, each of us talking over one another. As always, our clients were very understanding. Their kindness and encouragement helped us enormously.

When lockdown came, we were relieved that we’d made the right decision to close. After an initial adjustment period of failed Joe Wicks workouts, supermarket avoidance, and for PJ, an inexplicable increase in quinoa-based meals, it wasn’t long before we started to work towards the future. As we rode the emotional rollercoaster of it all, we actually managed to tick off various projects that had been waiting in the wings: shop renovations, building new furniture, painting, setting up an online booking system, as well as a mountain of riveting (!) admin work. But with every day that passed, there was always a niggling feeling in our stomachs. We had so many questions: what will the future of barbering look like? Will we ever get back to “normal”? Will anyone want to come back to have their hair cut? Will we ever be a social space again? What will our new running costs be?

Of course, in the middle of all this came the surge in the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a pivotal time for reflection and learning. Some of our team were lucky enough to attend the gatherings and protests in Exeter, all of which were extremely moving and insightful. We were grateful to be able to hear people’s stories, to take stock and to plan the actions we would take as a team, then, now, and for the future. 

The government announced that our industry could reopen on 4th July, with safety measures in place. However, once again we were at the mercy of Boris and his piss poor communication. We waited for what seemed like an eternity for official guidelines to be released and even when they appeared, we found them confusing. We’re a sensitive bunch, each sitting somewhere slightly different on the Worry Spectrum! But that’s what makes us work well together and helped us to get our reopening action plan sorted: PPE, staggered appointments to reduce the number of people in the shop, longer time slots to allow for strict cleaning regimes, Roots-specific staff and client guidelines, and a new staff rota which reduced our team to only two barbers working at a time.  

As lockdown has eased, the safety rules for our industry have actually become tighter. And although we’ve been operating at a reduced capacity, we would rather proceed carefully and with thought for those at risk. Like many businesses in the Covid era, things haven’t been easy. Our days are much more tiring as we need more time and energy for each appointment. Communicating while decked out in PPE is tricky, and don’t underestimate the horrors of smelling your own breath under your mask and visor all day. But we’re thankful for it all. We’re getting used to our new rhythm and being able to connect with our clients again has meant so much. We’re even about to welcome a new member to the team – the awesome, Liv Plum! This is huge news for us and has really helped with our sense of progress after such a pause in momentum. 

We are so grateful that we’re still here. We still have our shop, our jobs, and a way of working in this new world. We appreciate that many others aren’t so lucky and our hearts go out to them. Huge thanks to our customers, friends and our local independent business community for all their support this year. We wouldn’t be here without them. 

Take care and keep pushing forwards x

Crankhouse 130b - Exeter | Capturing local businesses during Covid

All the businesses I’ve photographed so far had to shift from the way they operated pre-Covid, to finding ways to operate under new guidelines and safety restrictions. But for businesses that were getting ready to open their doors for the first time, their first day of businesses was suddenly going to look very different.

At the beginning of this year, I had been watching as Crankhouse 130b was renovated into a coffee shop I was looking forward to setting up in with a coffee and my laptop. I haven’t been able to do that, but I have grabbed plenty of coffees to go after the pandemic caused their first few months to look a little different to what they expected. In the wide-open cafe-space, Tony and Rosie take care of cake and coffee, while Dave is next door, looking after the coffee beans.

“Initially, because we're a brand new business, it wasn't a case of us reopening. It really was like opening for the first time. So we were quite nervous. But actually, once we had that first day out of the way, it was great, because everyone was just really happy to come out and get a coffee, speak to someone and just have a chat with someone. I think a lot of people have been isolated over this period. So I think the novelty of being able to just order a coffee and have a normal chat, was something that some people really appreciate” says Tony.

“And honestly, yeah, a lot of positives like people are a lot more patient. Having one in one out has given us a chance to have more time with the customers and get to know people and chat to people more. It’s actually this sort of in-between time is a little bit trickier.”

“On the street, it's like a real community, everyone seems to support each other. Like the amount of people from other businesses that come in and people that have come in said they've been sent by other businesses. And so yeah, it feels like we've been welcomed by the street.”

The Flat - Exeter | Capturing local businesses during lockdown

Routine has offered a vital bit of stability to a lot of people during lockdown and one of the first routines we started in my flat was Friday night pizza, beginning as soon as The Flat opened back up for takeaway. We haven’t missed a single Friday since.

The Flat is an indie staple in Exeter, serving up the best veggie and vegan pizzas I’ve ever had (the truffle and the fresh are my staples) and always with a smile. They’re a tight-knit team and Fore St just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Lockdown saw them venture into delivery services, trialling Deliveroo and JustEat, while their small space was closed to diners. We quickly discovered you had to get your order in quick before they sold out.

The Flat is run by some of the loveliest human beings and the fact that they make damn good pizza is the icing on the cake.

“COVID-19 has been such a challenge on so many levels, for all of us and every day we feel very grateful to still be trading in some capacity,” says Chloe.

“It has given us a lot of hope we can survive COVID having the support of our wonderful customers ordering pizza through these uncertain times. Their love of pizza has literally been keeping us going.”

No Guts No Glory - Exeter | Capturing local businesses during lockdown

One of the first things I noticed about the independent businesses in Exeter was how well they adapted. New ways of selling online were quickly created, delivery networks evolved and they leaned on each other for support.

“At the very beginning there was a kind of a meeting, before social distancing, where we were like, right, what are we going to do to pull through this?” says Hayley, one of the owners of No Guts No Glory at the time I took these images.

“And it wasn’t even like it was a crisis, it was more of a fun challenge. And I feel like as an indie, indie business owners and self-employed people, part of the reason for doing it is to be able to be creative and adaptable, right? So you think, oh what am I going to do? How am I going to adapt my business to this? How am I going to work still with the community? How am I going to use this as an opportunity for something great, and I feel like we had great support.”

By teaming up with other local businesses, No Guts No Glory was able to bring plants to a much wider delivery area. Teaming up with Exeter Tea Merchants meant they could combine deliveries, while Hardy’s Cycles lent them a hand.

“That was amazing as it meant that we could borrow his electric bike, which meant that we could do deliveries by bicycle around Exeter, which Nathan really loved. He’d literally just be cycling around with a whole cart full of huge plants in the front basket, which I think is something that would cheer anybody up”.

“And then we also had help from the House of Hope and Mercy in the Jungle, the Exeter Tea Merchants who just were incredible. They were doing deliveries anyway so they were like, if occasionally you take some of ours, we’ll take some of your plants. It was a huge, huge help to us because it meant that we could reach people a little bit further away, as well. And it also kind of took away that challenge quite instantly. It's like, quite often I think when you do have those challenges, sometimes the answers you really need a right in front of your eyes, and they have just presented themselves to you. If you talk to enough people, especially in a small community, everyone genuinely wants to help each other and to get through hard times together. And so yeah, I feel like in that way, it really kind of got us a little bit closer to a lot of the people that we see every day on the street because we had this kind of handover of goods and we wouldn't see them very often. But it's like that kind of face to face connection where you're like, here are the plants and they’re like, ‘oh yeah’, and then give us feedback on like, how their day was or what they've what people have said when delivered them. And I know that Sancho’s was also involved in that Fore Street love that goes on. So it was just a really great way to keep the business going.”

I photographed Hayley during one of her Indie Market Instagram events, shortly before the shop was handed over to a new owner, Alex, while she and Nathan focused on their vegan cafe, Sacred Grounds. These weekly events enabled No Guts No Glory to highlight their jungle of plants for sale and bring some greenery and life to people’s homes at a time when it was particularly appreciated.

While a change of ownership during lockdown has its own challenges, there were also benefits.

“I feel like it kind of was a really great opportunity because I feel like throughout COVID we worked really, really hard to keep the business going and thriving and it worked really brilliantly. And it kind of raised the profile of the business online as well. And then it meant that we also have the time for Alex to come in when the shop wasn't open to the public. Obviously, with social distancing, we did a lot of things on video chat. But it meant that we could use that time to get him a really good footing so that when he opens tomorrow, it's gonna be a good moment for him because he's had that time. When they first had like the inquiry, they couldn't actually see the space physically. So we did a lot of me doing shop tours, which is kind of like Instagram life anyway. So we just did a lot of that with him and his family as well. And it actually meant I feel like it meant that our relationship with them was maybe even stronger because we couldn't meet them. So we had a lot of like phone chats and video calls. And then when, when Alex could finally come up, and he was able to travel it meant that it was really even more exciting, I think.”

No Guts No Glory reopens tomorrow, so best of luck to Alex!

Red Panda - Exeter | Capturing local businesses during lockdown

I moved to Exeter three years ago and one of the first things I noticed about the area was the range of independent businesses and the strong community they fostered. When lockdown started, I found myself leaning on them more and more. Local food prepared with love became a highlight and an event for me, and I could see on social media that the local community valued the joy of great food or an unusual houseplant more than ever.

I’ve watched as these businesses developed online ordering platforms, collaborated on delivery systems and tested out ways to keep their businesses afloat while putting safety as a priority. The speed at which they have adjusted and adapted is fascinating and I wanted to capture it. This is the first in an ongoing series, documenting how local businesses are operating under new restrictions.

Red Panda’s food is stunningly delicious. And I’m not the only one who thinks so, judging by how quickly their new food collection time-slots disappear!

During lockdown, they’ve operated on a mostly pre-order basis and the entryway to their small Exeter eatery is blocked by a table, where they serve your food in recyclable brown bags.

Things have moved on a bit since I photographed Red Panda about a month ago. Back then, the usually bustling Gandy St was strangely quiet. The odd person or two would step out from a side street, while the colour of this small slice of Exeter seemed at odds with the lack of life passing through. I asked Red Panda’s owner, James, what it was like for them.

“It was scary. It still is scary you know, but a different scary. It’s just like, you were the only one on the whole street and it was quite hard. I have had more negative interactions with people during that period than I ever had in the shop. People shouting at me and banging on the window and stuff like that. You know, with the street sleepers I’ve never had a problem with, ever, and during that very first bit there was no money, there was nothing going on for them and they were obviously feeling very vulnerable. So anywhere that had any sort of life…they were just looking for someone to shout at, who might shout back at them, you know, just a reaction.”

At the beginning of lockdown Red Panda closed while they reorganised for safe operation under new restrictions before reopening in mid-May.

“I was happy in that I could start talking to people and do business and seeing cash stop going out and start coming in, which was obviously a big thing from a business point of view. Happy obviously making people happy, and then you get through to now, which is still scary. It’s still like, am I going to survive this? Is the business going to survive? It’s looking forward. It’s a very strange experience.”

“So much of this brand is that strangers meet in the shop when you eat in and just get to talking to people in the line and things like that. And, you know, we'd have our like Tuesday people and our Thursday people and things like that. We had our own names for them it's like ‘oh yeah she's our Tuesday girl’, and stuff like this because they've always come to us. And so seeing those people back in is lovely. Seeing that people are safe and happy and, you know, working our way through it and being able to bring a smile to their face when they get the food, they just missed your food, that's a really big take. I miss the buzz of the shop, a lot, I really do. I really miss that. That's something sad, that it may have gone for a long time. I always think it was quite a special little shop. You know, it's like, I always used to call it a village shop in the city.”

Find them online: Red Panda on Instagram or order for collection at either their Exeter or Lyme Regis restaurants via their website.

Finding home through photography

If I’m feeling overwhelmed or disconnected I take a walk with a camera.

For me, it’s better than just walking. It makes me see the world around me instead of getting caught up in thoughts. By looking for the unusual in the often mundane, I find I become connected to the world again and it grounds me.

I take pictures of fields, little odd buildings that unwittingly catch my eye and anything with a colour that grabs me. Often, I’ll use a film camera, which can seem like a silly behaviour when I’m really taking photos of nothing and film and processing is expensive, but the expensiveness slows down the process too. It’s more thoughtful, more considered.

Since moving to Devon, I’ve done these walks more and more. Especially in places somewhat familiar to me. The area around my allotment, the city centre, my local park, but through photographing them I discover the details that make a place home.

When a place is home, you know it intimately. The cracks in the walls, the way the light changes throughout the day; it’s all familiar, but a visitor might never see those things. Walking with my camera, these details are revealed to me and with each new discovery I capture, this place becomes home.

Pink Moon, Exeter - Lifestyle Photography

When a pink and teal painted restaurant full of trailing plants opened up in Exeter, I was pretty excited. Add in tacos and cocktails and I’m sold.

Pink Moon is located on Queen St and is an absolute feast for the eyes. Having already visited for brunch (the best meal of the day) and grabbed coffee to go on a couple of occasions, I was looking forward to heading back with my camera.

Anywhere that does good veggie tacos grabs my attention.

I’m definitely going to need to pay another visit to try out some cocktails.