Tips for Taking Photos Outdoors in Tampa Bay

Warm weather, white sand beaches, bustling city centers – Florida’s Nature Coast is filled with picturesque locations for professional, family and couples portraits. With great beauty comes quite a few challenges for outside portraits in Tampa Bay and the surrounding areas. Here are a few tips for taking photos outdoors and we can have the best outside portrait session:

1) Consider the time of day
The time of day is a huge consideration for outside portraits. Depending on the season, sunrise and sunset times can change greatly. A little extra planning can go a long way in making sure you get the perfect background for your photos. Consider not shooting in the middle of the day. Florida is as beautiful as it is warm – we don’t want you squinting or sweating or being uncomfortable at all during your session.

2) Consider your clothing
Clothing is a huge factor in portraits, keeping it simple, comfortable, and breathable is important. See above about us wanting to make sure you’re comfortable. Men, consider cotton or dry fit clothing, women consider a summer dress or lighter fabrics. At our complimentary in-home style and concept consultation we can help pick out the right outfits to keep you looking and feeling your best.

3) Day of the Week
Most people think – I’m free on Saturday, let’s do that! And though it can work, I don’t recommend it. The weekends draw in people from all over, not just locals, to enjoy the city life and beaches. This can cause a lot of ‘avoiding’ people in the backgrounds. I recommend we photograph on an ‘off’ day – like a Tuesday or Wednesday to avoid the crowds and distractions. I want to make sure there are no people in the background of your photos – no one wants the focus taken off of you. Also, in busier environments people tend to become more self-conscious and reserved and we don’t want that. We want you looking and feeling your best, and not afraid to strut your stuff for that perfect shot.

4) Shade
Photographing people in the shade is my favorite. It does a number of things such as soften harsh shadows on faces, is less reflective in the eyes (if you’re prone to squinting outside) and can help separate you from the background. Let’s make sure we have a location that has some shade around. It doesn’t need to be our intention but it can be a nice reprieve from Florida’s harsh sun.

5) Weather
The weather can have a significant factor on the success of our shoot. I personally enjoy scattered clouds. It provides some shade from the sun and gives the sunset something to bounce light off of (and make for dreamy richly colored skies). Don’t be discouraged by a few clouds, but we also want to make sure that we don’t end up in a downpour. Careful planning and monitoring the weather goes a long way in making the sure there are no surprises. Keep in mind that we often get afternoon showers during the warm months, so consider a morning shoot.

I hope this helps and if you would like to chat about your upcoming shoot, contact me here.