Friday, July 8, 2011

Location Shoots - The Fear of Asking Permission

Have you ever seen a really cool location for a shoot, but were too afraid to ask for permission to shoot there?  Try to get over it and just ask.  You never know.. they might say, yes.

Finding great locations for photo shoots can be a real challenge, especially here in Seattle.  The weather forecast changes constantly making it nearly impossible to plan an outdoor location shoot in advance.  This means when I’m booking a team for a shoot, I plan for indoor locations first (Plan A) with the possibility of extending the shoot outside (Plan B).

I know of an ultra contemporary beach-front house that’s currently for sale and the homeowner is a neighbor of my mother.  I absolutely love the architecture of the home and have always thought how cool it would be to shoot inside, but I was uncomfortable asking.

A few weeks ago I finally mentioned the idea to my mother, so she put in a call to the homeowner and "broke the ice" for me.  We had a brief conversation on the phone and the homeowner enthusiastically agreed to allow the photo shoot.  She didn’t even ask a whole lot of questions other than just wanting to know when the shoot would take place and when I could come pick up the key.  Fantastic! 

Now, here’s the catch, you have to be insured.  If you don’t have insurance, don’t even attempt this.  The last thing you want is a huge bill to replace the drywall in a million-dollar house because your light stand fell over. 

I let her know that I was fully insured and was even prepared to pay a rental fee, but she didn’t want any type of payment.  She was just happy to help.

The shoot went well and it all came together because I asked.   
What’s the worst that could happen?  
They say, no? 
What if they say, yes?

Models: Lanna Barrones & Anastasiya Hrabar Ambrosiya
Hair & Makeup: Julie Stevens
Wardrobe Design and Styling: Kim McCormick
Assistant: Elise Liptack



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