6 Ways to Make the most of your wildflower field locationSenior Shoot Location: Flower Field

Even if you are limited to one shoot location, there is still a variety of shots you can get. Here are some tips to make the most of a beautiful field of wild flowers. 

1. Pick the right time.

This field is pretty for about one week every fall. The flowers don’t last long, so I jump on it when it starts to bloom. And I go about 1-2 hours before sunrise because the sun sets right behind those trees. The morning would not work as well, but you could do it. 

2. Make sure to vary your depth of field.

Use a shallow depth of field (get that blurry background) by keeping your subject close to the camera and the flowers further away. Set your aperture between 1.4-2.0 to get some dreamy bokeh in the background. Then have your subject move closer to the flowers to get a wider shot with more in focus. 

3. Play with the sunlight.

Keep your subject facing away from the sun and allow that sunlight to light the back of her hair to create a rim light. Or have her face the Sun to get super vibrant colors and a blue sky.

4. Use any shade you can get.

If you’ve got a wall with open shade (nothing above your subject) or a couple trees, you have basically struck location lighting gold. Have your subject stand mostly in the shade but just a tad in the sun or have her face the sun to create some dramatic shadows. And if you don’t have shade, make some. Use a sheet, changing tent, person, reflector… be inventive. 

5. Change up the poses.

When there isn’t something to lean on or against, standing poses can get kinda redundant. So before heading to an open field, make sure your subject is comfortable lying down or sitting in the grass or on a blanket (a blanket helps with tip 6). This also gives a different perspective and angle to the flowers and sky. 

6.Watch out for color-casting.

Y’all grass is not your friend when it comes to skin tone. Do what you can to keep the green reflection off your subject. Even with custom white balance in camera, the green sneaks its way into shots. Sometimes I cover the grass in a large black or white shade or even a white sheet if I’m traveling light. You will thank yourself later when you get your images into LR.

Last but most important in NC…

Check for snakes and fire ants before heading into tall grass and then check for ticks afterwards… I’m not even joking. And I always tell my clients to check for ticks if they venture into y’all grass during our shoots. 

Thank you so much for reading through these tips! I hope they help you when you find that perfect field of flowers for your senior shoots!

Cheers!