Finding the right location can completely transform a photo shoot.
A beautiful field at sunset. An old barn with weathered wood. Rows of trees in an orchard. An industrial warehouse with interesting textures. A beautifully landscaped backyard. A classic automobile inside a working garage. A stylish restaurant before it opens for the evening.
Sometimes the perfect photography location isn’t a public park or traditional photography studio. It may be a place someone drives past every day without ever imagining it as the backdrop for a portrait.
PhotoArtGraphy is currently looking to build relationships with local property owners, families, businesses, farms and organizations who have interesting or photogenic locations that might be suitable for occasional photography or videography sessions.
If you own or manage a property in New Freedom, Shrewsbury, Stewartstown, Glen Rock, Railroad, Maryland Line or elsewhere in Southern York County or nearby northern Maryland, I’d love to hear from you.
The Challenge of Finding Great Photo Shoot Locations
One of the questions I frequently receive when planning a photography session is: “Where should we do the pictures?”
There are plenty of beautiful public locations in our area, and I enjoy using them. But sometimes a photo shoot calls for something different.
A senior may want portraits that don’t look like everyone else’s senior pictures. A dancer might benefit from an industrial setting. A family may envision a rustic farm atmosphere. A modeling session might work beautifully inside a warehouse or automotive garage. A child’s portrait session could be amazing among rows of apple trees or flowers.
The challenge isn’t always finding a place that looks great.
It’s finding a great place where we actually have permission to photograph.
That’s why I’d like to connect with more property owners throughout our local area.
What Kinds of Properties Am I Looking For?
I’m intentionally keeping this broad because some of the best photography locations may be places I haven’t even thought of yet.
Some possibilities include:
- Farms and agricultural properties
- Barns, stables and horse properties
- Orchards, vineyards and tree farms
- Open fields and meadows
- Flower gardens and beautifully landscaped properties
- Large or architecturally interesting homes
- Historic homes and buildings
- Wooded private properties, streams and ponds
- Warehouses and industrial buildings
- Automotive garages and workshops
- Properties with classic cars, trucks, tractors or interesting equipment
- Restaurants, cafés and unique commercial interiors
- Retail stores and boutiques with distinctive décor
- Greenhouses and garden centers
- Workshops, studios and artisan spaces
- Old buildings, stone walls, brick structures and weathered architecture
- Interesting staircases, hallways, lofts and large windows
- Private pools and attractive outdoor entertaining areas
- Porches, patios, gazebos and pergolas
- Unusual, quirky or visually distinctive properties that don’t fit neatly into any category
A property doesn’t need to be enormous, luxurious or professionally landscaped.
Sometimes one great barn wall, one row of trees, one interesting room, one beautiful porch or one unusual piece of architecture is enough to make a location valuable photographically.
What Could the Property Owner Receive in Return?
I’m not simply asking local property owners to give PhotoArtGraphy something for nothing.
I’d like to explore arrangements that provide value to both sides.
Exactly what that looks like would depend upon the property, the owner and how PhotoArtGraphy might use the location.
For a local business, I might be able to provide a complimentary photography session producing professional images of the business, property, employees, products or services. Those photographs could potentially be used on the company’s website, social media or other marketing materials.
For an individual or family, perhaps the arrangement involves a complimentary portrait session for a child, senior, couple or family.
For a farm, orchard, restaurant or other business, there may also be opportunities for PhotoArtGraphy to feature or credit the location when appropriate, introducing more local people to the business.
Or perhaps there’s another arrangement that makes sense for both of us. I’m open to ideas.
The goal isn’t to establish one rigid trade that applies to every location. It’s to find mutually beneficial relationships with local property owners who appreciate photography and are comfortable occasionally allowing their property to become part of it.
What Would Giving PhotoArtGraphy Permission Mean?
This doesn’t necessarily mean opening your property to the general public. It doesn’t mean strangers would simply begin arriving at your property.
And it certainly doesn’t mean PhotoArtGraphy would show up without permission.
Any arrangement would be discussed in advance. Depending upon what we agree upon, photography sessions could be scheduled with the property owner ahead of time and limited to particular areas, dates, times, types of sessions or frequency of use.
If there are areas that are private, unsafe or simply off-limits, those restrictions can be established.
The goal is to develop a small network of interesting locations where I know photography may be possible with appropriate advance permission.
Businesses May Find This Especially Valuable
For the right local business, there could be an additional benefit.
Imagine that you operate an orchard, farm, restaurant, garden center, automotive shop or other visually interesting business.
Allowing an occasional PhotoArtGraphy session at your property could introduce people to a place they otherwise might never have discovered.
A senior portrait client might visit your farm for the first time. Parents might discover your orchard. Someone viewing a modeling session could notice your restaurant. Photographs shared online may expose your location to additional people in the surrounding community.
When appropriate and agreed upon, PhotoArtGraphy may be able to identify or credit participating businesses in blog articles or social media posts associated with photography created there.
This isn’t intended as guaranteed advertising or a promise of any particular amount of exposure. It’s simply another way a photography-location partnership might create value for a participating business.
What Makes a Great Photography Location?
You don’t need to decide whether your property is “good enough.” That’s my job. Photographers tend to notice possibilities differently.
An owner might look at an old warehouse wall and see peeling paint. I may see texture, character and an incredible background for a senior portrait.
You may see the barn you’ve walked past every morning for 20 years. I may immediately picture a family session there during golden hour.
An automotive shop may seem like an ordinary workplace until we place someone beside a classic car and use the garage lighting and tools to create an environmental portrait.
Even the direction of the sunlight, surrounding trees, architecture, colors and available backgrounds can turn an otherwise ordinary location into something special.
So if you’re uncertain, send it anyway. I’d much rather take a look and decide whether there might be possibilities.
Especially Interested in Locations Around Southern York County
Because PhotoArtGraphy is based in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, I’m particularly interested in developing photography-location relationships close to home.
That includes properties in and around:
New Freedom, Shrewsbury, Stewartstown, Railroad, Glen Rock and other areas of Southern York County, Pennsylvania, as well as Maryland Line and nearby communities in northern Maryland.
I’m also open to locations farther away when a property offers something particularly distinctive.
Having several different types of locations available throughout the area would allow me to recommend settings based on the person being photographed rather than continually sending clients to the same handful of public locations.
Have Something Unusual? Definitely Contact Me.
Some of the locations I’d most like to discover are probably ones I don’t know to ask for.
Maybe you have an old airplane hangar. A beautiful private library. A retro diner.
A working machine shop. A greenhouse filled with plants. A horse stable.
An old stone building. A restored historic property. A collection of antique automobiles.
A dramatic staircase. A rooftop with an interesting view. A woodworking shop filled with character.
Or something completely different.
If you’ve ever looked around your property and thought, “Someone could take some really interesting pictures here,” there’s a good chance I’d like to see it.
Let’s See If We Can Help Each Other
PhotoArtGraphy has plenty of people interested in being photographed. What I’m continually looking for are more distinctive places where those photographs can be created.
If you own or manage an interesting property and would be open to discussing occasional photography or videography there, I’d love to hear from you.
Send me some information about the property, where it’s located and, if possible, a few casual cell phone pictures. They don’t need to be professional photographs – I just need enough to get a sense of the space and its possibilities.
From there, we can talk about whether the property might be a good fit and what PhotoArtGraphy could provide in return for permission to use it.
There is no obligation simply for reaching out, and every potential arrangement can be considered individually.
Your barn, field, garage, restaurant, backyard or other property might just become the setting for someone’s favorite photograph.
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