You are planning  to have some professional portraits taken. These may be for acting/business headshots, a family photo, an engagement or graduation portrait. You know you want portraits. Now, you need to set out what kind of portraits. Knowing this in advance will make your conversations with prospective  Glendale photographers a lot more fruitful. The more you can tell them about what you are looking for, the more accurate their estimate will be. This post will focus on studio locations. Part 2 will focus on locations

Studio portraits each offer some advantages. Let’s list some:

• Total world domination in terms of lighting
• Lighting is the name of the game in photography. It is what can make you look younger, older, thinner, heavier, more serious and more approachable. It creates a candid or dramatic mood. While light can be modified on location, it is not as controllable as in the studio. If lighting is the most critical thing for you to get a theatrical or artistic look, then studio may be where you want to start.
• Can take place day or night, rain or shine
• Here in southern california, we don’t have to worry about the  weather too much. But if you need an acting headshot, or modeling digitals ASAP and it happens to be pouring outside, the photo studio is your best buddy for sure. Also, time of day does not matter. So if you don’t get off work untill 8 pm, you could have a session at 10 pm no problem.  Of course, you can be outside for night photography too. That is always an option.
• Usually allows you to see images as they are taken
• In studio, most photographers shoot what we call “tethered” in the industry. This means you can see the image just taken at full size and with proper color 2 or 3 seconds after the shot. This allows clients to look and see exactly how they are doing and to make adjustments; a change in expression, fix a tie etc. This way, there is no surprise at the end of the session. “OMG my hair was like that the WHOLE time?” What looks fine to your photographer, may not be OK with you. Tethering solves that problem.
• Of course, on location, clients can look at the back of the camera’s LCD display after a shot. But you cannot see all of the images in an array, or in a way that is easy to compare quickly.  Some photographers DO have a way to tether on location, so you should definitely ask that during your discovery call.
• Easier wardrobe changes
• You may not believe this, but some locations out there do NOT allow wardrobe changes. This is probably so that photographers get in and out quickly without a lot of to-do or getting in the way of the general public. It can be hard to enforce though, so even if “technically” there are no wardrobe changes, it may be possible to sneak one in,  especially if you are OK quickly changing while another person holds up a towel.  You can invest in a portable changing tent, but they are cumbersome, conspicuous and not that easy to drag around in certain private locations.
• Studio sessions, however, are a breeze for private wardrobe changes that are not rushed.
• No permit fees
• Here in Los Angeles and Glendale, there are not too many options for large gorgeous open spaces for portraits  that are free. As in real estate, they key to location photography is, wait for it….Location Location Location.  Los Angeles beaches do NOT require a permit, but such photo sessions may not be the look you want, and for many people, it is at least an hour away with traffic to get there. Then, once settled, you have a brief 30 minutes or so to get that lovely sunset. That may be worth it to you. And if it is, tell your photographer right away.
• If you are looking for greenery and flowers as your location, you will most likely have to pay anywhere from $100 to $1100  for a 2 hour  photography permit. Probably the most popular such location is the LA Arboretum

There are many things to consider when planning your egagement, family or graduation photos. To start planning your session,  contact me, Katie Katsenis, certified portrait photographer. Let’s talk and see if I am a good fit for your project.