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I Am A Boston Photographer Who Took Beautiful Portraits In Some Unlikely Places
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I Am A Boston Photographer Who Took Beautiful Portraits In Some Unlikely Places

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Have you been looking for that perfect location to take your client’s breath away? How many of you do one (or more) of these:

1. Endlessly drive around looking for the perfect location

2. Use the same location over and over and feel like you are running out of creativity

3. Don’t think you have “the perfect location” near you

4. Look at a location and say, “I can’t produce a beautiful image I/my clients will love here!”

Here is what I have to say about that – STOP MAKING EXCUSES!

Would your clients think you were crazy if you said, “I would love to shoot your portraits, meet me at the office park, old parking lot, or strip mall and we will create beautiful images to decorate your home!”

PROVE THEM WRONG!

My daughter and I set out one night to find the most unsuspecting places to create just that. We stayed within a mile of our home, stopped at random places, jumped out of the car, posed, shot, took a cell phone picture of the location, jumped back in the car and did it again. We stopped at 9 places in one hour.

First Location

Result

Second Location

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Result

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Third Location

Result

Forth Location

Result

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Fifth Location

Result

Sixth Location

Result

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Seventh Location

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Result

Eight Location

Result

Ninth Location

Result

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theryanmiller81 avatar
Bear Trapp
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the point of the story is shoot close, and use good editing software.

katherinelworley avatar
Katherine Worley
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are not ugly locations, some of the flowers, fences, stone walls and greenery are absolutely beautiful! I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which is the point the artist is trying to make here. Nice photos!

kristelbijnen avatar
Kristel
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly! Beauty is everywhere! You just have to be able to see / discover it! It is literally EVERYWHERE!

Load More Replies...
arkadybrown avatar
Arkady
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It may not be about skill, but for this, it’s definitely about having a lens that compresses the background to be blurry and “pretty” and well...editing software.

franciscomontoya avatar
Francisco Montoya
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was thinking "Helps to have a nice lens to blur out what you don't want in the background." But still I get the initial point, you can still take a great photo in unlikely places.

Load More Replies...
rafaellabueno avatar
Rafaella Bueno
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The title was a bit misleading, I thought this was gonna be about how any place can look good if you take a photo well, but it ended up being about how the location doesn't really matter as much as people make it out to when the focus of the photo is not the location (but a person, an animal, maybe an object). I personally think in these photos the background indeed doesn't matter at all, since they're closes and the rest is blurred. But maybe show more examples with more people, and more open shots? To show the point better. Just a thought.

nadineducca avatar
Nadine Ducca
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree with you. In these photos, I felt that the "ugly" backgrounds didn't matter at all because they had simply been blurred (some beyond recognition) to focus solely on the model. If you do that, then it doesn't matter so much where you shoot. To really get the point across, I think the photographer should make the locations more prominent.

Load More Replies...
reallifesimply avatar
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting...I didn't realize Bored Panda changes the title of your posts. The original title is Boston Photographer makes beautiful portraits in the most unlikely places. Check it out here: http://www.reallifesimply.com/2017/07/create-beautiful-portraits-in-any-location/

nickknight avatar
Nick Knight
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The title of this should have been "How to photograph my daughter" because without her it is just colors and blurry trees/plants. Btw the author says "My daughter and I set out one night to find the most unsuspecting places..." So really, your daughter just happens to have her hair done: washed and styled/combed, her clothes picked out and pretty, with her second outfit: the white shirt ironed and matching her white shoes. This all seems extremely staged which is fine but don't lie and say that you set out to find a place one night, dude you planned all of this ahead of time(with a second change of clothes) and you blurred out the background, anybody can do that with a computer. Also, this is another slight irritation I had: dude please don't post photos of your child in shorts, your photos are a bit creepy, especially on the 8th location. I know a lot of people might think it's okay she's just a kid, but I don't. This isn't your personal facebook, this is the Internet ...

mona-konietzny avatar
7j6eqi
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you. I don't understand how some people just don't see these things... My old boss once wanted to put up naked pictures of his six year old daughter on his firm website, that he took because she was swimming with the new pool furniture we designed. We then had to team up to talk him out of it...

Load More Replies...
lyone_fein avatar
Lyone Fein
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just a note to the other commenters: it's not about editing software. It's about framing your subject, and understanding focus.

surya_amriza avatar
Surya Amriza
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agree with the author. We should stop making excuses. Good photos are mostly coming from a skilled (by talent or by learned) photographer and photo editor.

mark_89 avatar
Mark Williamson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think that the point of the story is wrong. Rather than using poor locations to make great photos these pics are all examples of selecting a small part of the location that is good and using that. So in fact they are all great locations, in a small sense. Its one technique but it is hardly that interesting. ie Exclude what you don't want to see, use a long lens and a small f-stop.

scott_white60 avatar
Scott White
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yep , seems legit. go to a location and make sure you can't see it at all.

kimberlyrobinson avatar
Kimberly Robinson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, you can find beauty in almost every location. Really great photos.

morganjeffries avatar
morgan jeffries
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't like the final result of any of these. They look staged and making the kid into a glamorous model. I prefer photos of kids being kids.

lensontravel avatar
Michalina Okreglicka
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

a lot of photoshop and you have a good picture in crappy places :) good!

wes_1 avatar
Mont
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should show the good photo first and then where it was shot. Ruins the surprise otherwise.

josuequero avatar
Josué Quero
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amaizing! I just have to ask, did you only use a Camera or did you have a speedlight too? I can't pinpoint it, but I think you're using artifical lighting in some of the pictures, right? Beautiful model too!

mita23789 avatar
Trang Tran
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

everyone can take the same photos with your gear and even better with photoshop

lanza130 avatar
Melody Lanzatella
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How many times are you going to do this "exercise" to prove your point?? You HAVE proved your point!

mrslindsayloo avatar
lindsayaotter
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It isn't skill. Well not really, skill alone. It is creatively and being able to see the beautiful in the ordinary.

antonicabre avatar
TC
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

#2 gave me the impression she had two right arms. A bit confusing at first.

elise_7 avatar
Elise Martin
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thats so true! I have seen this so often with my own photos! Great Work!

diresilverwolf avatar
BREAK YOUr perceptions
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if you have ever seen russian photoshoots (by who i assume are amateurs) it becomes quite clear that skill is everything, just not the only thing.

theryanmiller81 avatar
Bear Trapp
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the point of the story is shoot close, and use good editing software.

katherinelworley avatar
Katherine Worley
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are not ugly locations, some of the flowers, fences, stone walls and greenery are absolutely beautiful! I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which is the point the artist is trying to make here. Nice photos!

kristelbijnen avatar
Kristel
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly! Beauty is everywhere! You just have to be able to see / discover it! It is literally EVERYWHERE!

Load More Replies...
arkadybrown avatar
Arkady
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It may not be about skill, but for this, it’s definitely about having a lens that compresses the background to be blurry and “pretty” and well...editing software.

franciscomontoya avatar
Francisco Montoya
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was thinking "Helps to have a nice lens to blur out what you don't want in the background." But still I get the initial point, you can still take a great photo in unlikely places.

Load More Replies...
rafaellabueno avatar
Rafaella Bueno
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The title was a bit misleading, I thought this was gonna be about how any place can look good if you take a photo well, but it ended up being about how the location doesn't really matter as much as people make it out to when the focus of the photo is not the location (but a person, an animal, maybe an object). I personally think in these photos the background indeed doesn't matter at all, since they're closes and the rest is blurred. But maybe show more examples with more people, and more open shots? To show the point better. Just a thought.

nadineducca avatar
Nadine Ducca
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree with you. In these photos, I felt that the "ugly" backgrounds didn't matter at all because they had simply been blurred (some beyond recognition) to focus solely on the model. If you do that, then it doesn't matter so much where you shoot. To really get the point across, I think the photographer should make the locations more prominent.

Load More Replies...
reallifesimply avatar
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting...I didn't realize Bored Panda changes the title of your posts. The original title is Boston Photographer makes beautiful portraits in the most unlikely places. Check it out here: http://www.reallifesimply.com/2017/07/create-beautiful-portraits-in-any-location/

nickknight avatar
Nick Knight
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The title of this should have been "How to photograph my daughter" because without her it is just colors and blurry trees/plants. Btw the author says "My daughter and I set out one night to find the most unsuspecting places..." So really, your daughter just happens to have her hair done: washed and styled/combed, her clothes picked out and pretty, with her second outfit: the white shirt ironed and matching her white shoes. This all seems extremely staged which is fine but don't lie and say that you set out to find a place one night, dude you planned all of this ahead of time(with a second change of clothes) and you blurred out the background, anybody can do that with a computer. Also, this is another slight irritation I had: dude please don't post photos of your child in shorts, your photos are a bit creepy, especially on the 8th location. I know a lot of people might think it's okay she's just a kid, but I don't. This isn't your personal facebook, this is the Internet ...

mona-konietzny avatar
7j6eqi
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you. I don't understand how some people just don't see these things... My old boss once wanted to put up naked pictures of his six year old daughter on his firm website, that he took because she was swimming with the new pool furniture we designed. We then had to team up to talk him out of it...

Load More Replies...
lyone_fein avatar
Lyone Fein
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just a note to the other commenters: it's not about editing software. It's about framing your subject, and understanding focus.

surya_amriza avatar
Surya Amriza
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agree with the author. We should stop making excuses. Good photos are mostly coming from a skilled (by talent or by learned) photographer and photo editor.

mark_89 avatar
Mark Williamson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think that the point of the story is wrong. Rather than using poor locations to make great photos these pics are all examples of selecting a small part of the location that is good and using that. So in fact they are all great locations, in a small sense. Its one technique but it is hardly that interesting. ie Exclude what you don't want to see, use a long lens and a small f-stop.

scott_white60 avatar
Scott White
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yep , seems legit. go to a location and make sure you can't see it at all.

kimberlyrobinson avatar
Kimberly Robinson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, you can find beauty in almost every location. Really great photos.

morganjeffries avatar
morgan jeffries
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't like the final result of any of these. They look staged and making the kid into a glamorous model. I prefer photos of kids being kids.

lensontravel avatar
Michalina Okreglicka
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

a lot of photoshop and you have a good picture in crappy places :) good!

wes_1 avatar
Mont
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should show the good photo first and then where it was shot. Ruins the surprise otherwise.

josuequero avatar
Josué Quero
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amaizing! I just have to ask, did you only use a Camera or did you have a speedlight too? I can't pinpoint it, but I think you're using artifical lighting in some of the pictures, right? Beautiful model too!

mita23789 avatar
Trang Tran
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

everyone can take the same photos with your gear and even better with photoshop

lanza130 avatar
Melody Lanzatella
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How many times are you going to do this "exercise" to prove your point?? You HAVE proved your point!

mrslindsayloo avatar
lindsayaotter
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It isn't skill. Well not really, skill alone. It is creatively and being able to see the beautiful in the ordinary.

antonicabre avatar
TC
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

#2 gave me the impression she had two right arms. A bit confusing at first.

elise_7 avatar
Elise Martin
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thats so true! I have seen this so often with my own photos! Great Work!

diresilverwolf avatar
BREAK YOUr perceptions
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if you have ever seen russian photoshoots (by who i assume are amateurs) it becomes quite clear that skill is everything, just not the only thing.

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