Let me teach you a little photography parlance.  A studio shoot occurs, well, in a studio.  That studio could be my studio space or I have even brought the studio to a client’s home or office.

“On location” usually means an outdoor session but always is when we are using the location – whether it is the Great Smoky Mountain National Park or Knoxville’s Bleak House – as the setting for your session.

So let’s talk about the pros and cons of both.

 Pro: Studio Sessions Offer Comfort and Flexibility

The biggest advantage of studio sessions is comfort.  There is HVAC with heat and cooling.  There is a restroom.  There is space to set up, if needed, a spot for refreshments.  I also operate Smoky Mountain Marriage Proposals and I have captured that magic moment in freezing cold and sultry heat.  Plus, you know what else the great outdoors has?  Bugs.  I once sent in an image to be printed by a lab I use in Ireland and I got an email back, with the lovely Niamh telling me there were wee spots on my phots, likely sensor dust in my camera.  No, Niamh – those are midges that can bedevil you up at Max Patch.

In a studio session, I control the light, completely. The timing of your studio session can accommodate your schedule. Rainy day? No problem! Want to do it at 10pm? I’ll put on coffee. Want to do it at 5am? What are you, nuts . . . I’ll put on coffee. Absent extenuating circumstances, there is rarely a need to reschedule or set a rain date because we are working in a neat, self-contained world.

Then there is privacy. You may not want an audience because you may be nervous stepping in front of a camera. Maybe your session would have you wearing something you would not wear in public (I no longer do traditional boudoir but pinup and fine art nudes are options for adults). Your session may involve a small child or pet, and you want to make sure they are secure and cannot wander off or be distracted by other people and animals nearby. In any event, there is just us.

Con: Studio Sessions Don’t Offer As Much Quick Variation

In a studio session, absent you renting Neyland Stadium for me to work in, we have the confines of the studio. Without movie set building, we are working with a flat scene or maybe one with a corner. That’s not bad but as you can imagine, if the goal is to capture, say, movement, we haven’t as much room as may be needed.

Maybe. I qualified “variation” with “quick” because that does not mean there is no variation - indeed, a backdrop can be changed or in the case of composite work when I am photographing someone in front of a green screen, only imagination limits what the final image will look like. When working on location, you can more easily move from one location to another - okay, maybe not in Cades Cove when the bears cause traffic jams but different settings are often a few steps away.

The images for this blog post were done in studio and are included not simply because I love studio portaiture, but because most people see plenty of pictures made outdoors and usually only using the “natural” or “ambient” light. Open the photos app on your phone and I bet you have lots of examples like that, includign a lot taken indoors in low light with grainy quality.

Pro: On Location Means More Variation for a Setting

Let’s keep on that topic. If I am working at a place like Bleak House (and it is really a beautiful spot for, say, a senior session or an engagement session), I have within the venue a number of rooms in its antebellum mansion, a conservatory with lovely natural light, porches and verandas, and its manicured grounds with walls and steps for posing. And all of that can be used by simply walking around and me using different angles. The same holds for, say, the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. A little more walking is needed (bring comfortable shoes!) but using a different setting is just a matter of picking up equipment and heading over there.

One other advanatge that cannot be overlooked is the meaning of the location to the client. Your session may take place on your grandparents’ farm and you want it to not simply because of how pretty the setting but because the location has a history unique to you. As with graduation pictures: if I am photographing someone who has completed a degree from the University of Tennessee there are spots that reflect the university itself - the bridge across from Neyland, Ayres Hall, the torch bearer’s statue - but there are also spots that have meaning for the client, such as the bench where they had their first kiss from a college sweetheart, now fiance, or the building that house the classes for their specific degree, or the steps where they sit after their last class and watch the sun set over the Tennessee River.

Con: Circumstances Beyond Our Control

As you can imagine, the biggest is weather. If it rains, it rains. If there is an ice storm and everyone is stuck inside, can’t help that. I can use lights to sort of “fake” a sunset but nothing beats the real thing - and even then, a cloudless sky makes for a boring sunset. As anyone who lives in East Tennessee knows, our weather is most reliably forecast the day before, and even then . . .

If you really want to go to the Smokies and Rod Run is happening, or you want to have a session in Worlds Fair Park and Mardi Growl is going on . . . oh well. If people are around and about in a public area, we will have to work around them and let’s hope they are friendly.

Sometimes that also means parking is at a premium so be ready to walk (as I pull gear in my little wagon).

Do we have permission to be there? Venues may require the purchase of permits or charge a rental fee.

Bugs. Oh, and I always walk into high grass before I let my clients do because on more than one occasion, I’ve chased out a big. ol’ rat snake (they are harmless but that doesn;t mean my client will like them).

Confession: at the end of a session on location in the outdoors, if I am dirty, grungy, usually wet, and have twigs and whatnot in my hair . . . I feel the satisfaction of a job well done. I’m a masochist that way.

The French Have a Saying . . .

If faut suffrir pour etre belle. “It is necessary to suffer to be beautiful.” That does not mean your will have an unplesant experience with your portrait session - it only means that depending on your expectations, some compromises may need to be made while you enjoy the benefits. In any event, my job is to make sure your experience is one to remember and to work hard to exceed your expectations. This is why it is critical that before I pick up a camera, we will sit down to plan your portrait session and discuss the “what ifs.”

And whatever we decide - let’s have some fun!