A photographer’s favorite locations to shoot can be highly regarded secrets. Ask where a particular image was shot at and they clam up, maybe give a vague reference to some point or another. Well I’m going to share with you my favorite locations to shoot which happen to be free and open to the public. 

I live in Seattle and most of my shoot spots are within the city. I am primarily a natural light shooter and I prefer an outdoor location to a studio any day so shooting in my city’s public parks is a perfect fit for me. 

What I look for in a good shooting location are of course that it meets my needs for the appropriate background to the image I’m trying to create but also practical things like having available parking and bathrooms. I also want it to be an easily accessible area because I don’t want to drive for 3 hours to there. I also always check out the web site of every park I’d like to shoot in to see if they allow photography. Some don’t and you really don’t want to have a whole crew of peeps arrive and be told you have to leave. 

The parks I always return to are Magnuson, Discovery, & Olympic Sculpture Park. I find so many areas that are just wonderful to shoot in, either tucked into a small valley or on top of a hill. I can return again and again to some spots and create something diverse every time as they are constantly different throughout every season and changing light pattern. I love that I can leave my home to shoot a self portrait at 8 in the morning and be home again enjoying tea by 9. I love my job! :D