Watch This Photographer Turn an Ugly Location Into a Great Photoshoot

If you have a big budget for an editorial shoot or you're lucky enough to live near some beautiful scenery, then finding an ideal location for a portrait or fashion shoot won't be an issue. However, the vast majority of photographers have to work with less than that, so here are some great tips to get creative in ugly environments.

In this video from Adorama TV, portrait photographer and educator, Pye Jirsa of SLR Lounge, uses a bleak-looking multi-story parking lot as a location for an environmental portrait shoot. There's nothing at all fancy about the space and Jirsa is working with bare-bones gear of just a camera and a single strobe with a stand.

The point being, that no matter what location you're in, the ability to understand lighting and creative compositions will enable you to use any kind of location to your advantage. Here, Jirsa uses the strong architectural lines of the parking lot to bring attention to, and frame, his subject — fitness model, Kiara Zayas

Shooting in such sparse urban environments might be bog-standard advice to more seasoned portrait shooters, but there are some great tips here for those who want to try out or transition to a new genre of photography. 

Have you shot in a similar environment and achieved good results? Let us know in the comments below.

Mike O'Leary's picture

Mike is a landscape and commercial photographer from, Co. Kerry, Ireland. In his photographic work, Mike tries to avoid conveying his sense of existential dread, while at the same time writing about his sense of existential dread. The last time he was in New York he was mugged, and he insists on telling that to every person he meets.

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2 Comments

Wow! The only way I could turn the ugly location into something great is the Photoworks background replacement lol. Very interesting result indeed.

That's hardly an "ugly location".. it's a mostly empty garage full of clean white walls, symmetry, and great light