1. Pick a Nice Background 🌳
How do you do that? What makes a nice background?
Look for:
- Darker Backgroundsare preferred
- Woods 🌲
- Gardens 🌺
- Trees and shaded areas
- Simple building facade, like brick
- Depth in the scene
- Foreground
- Middle ground
- Background
Depth pulls the eye right to your subject and makes photos look more pleasing instantly!
A Quick Word About Ocean Photos 🌊
As pretty as the ocean is, it often is not the best choice for prom photos for two reasons:
1. Bright water = dark faces
The ocean is usually much brighter than your subjects, which can result in underexposed faces so unless you’re a wizard with your camera 📷 I would not put the ocean behind your beautiful prom kids!
2. WIND 😳
Wind can be very unkind to hair, especially when blowing directly onto people.
Now, with that said, of course you can have fabulous oceanfront prom pictures! I’ve done many myself. Just be mindful of what you’re doing.
And speaking of wind, be mindful of it ANYWHERE you shoot!
Dress Tip 👗
If you cannot avoid wind:
- Have those wearing dresses bring their knees together
- Turn one hip toward the wind
Nothing worse than the wind turning a beautiful dress into a pantsuit. 😂
Gazebos... We Need to Talk 😅
I know gazebos were grand in the 19th century, and somehow our fascination with them still exists, BUT...
I do not recommend a giant white angular distraction behind your beautiful prom subjects.
No. No. No. 🙈
And if they are standing inside the gazebo? Even worse.
Faces inside a gazebo can be:
- 2 to 5 stops darker
- Shadowy
- Difficult to expose properly
If it’s raining and that’s your only option, then yes, use it.
But PLEASE:
📸 Put the flash on!
Watch Out for Parked Cars 🚗
Unless you intentionally want to feature:
- The rented car
- The limo
- Dad’s beloved “kid with wheels”
...AVOID parked cars in the background whenever possible.
Remember:
✨ Clean backgrounds + good lighting on faces = beautiful prom photos
Your junior or senior is the important part of the image. Help them shine!