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Hello! I'm Lacy Palmer and welcome to the LP Photography blog. I'm a family and senior portrait photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah and I can't wait to share all about my business with you. While you are here, go ahead and pull up a chair, grab your favorite snack and enjoy viewing some of my latest work along while getting to know me a little more and maybe learn a few tips along the way!

5 Photo Location Ideas | Utah Photography Locations

Client Education, Photography Education

May 18, 2020

I know what it’s like to be a new photographer and feeling so overwhelmed with so much to know and so much information out there! Heck sometimes I still feel that way and I have been doing this for a long time! Locations can be a really sore spot for photographers, once you find a really good place, it can be hard to share it because you don’t want it to get overwhelmed with so many other photographers, especially in Utah where photographers are literally on every corner! I have a big list of locations that I like to use when deciding where to go and I will be honest, I probably haven’t even been to half of them but I do have my handful of locations that are my tried and true that I thought I would share with you!

1. The Great Saltair in Magna. Fair warning the location can be a bit dumpy and look a little sketchy when you get there but once you get out on those salt flats, you will be convinced you picked the right place. I love how open it feels out there and the light is so glowy and lasts a little longer than some places because you don’t have a big mountain range close by blocking the sunset. If you go early in the year, you can walk out to the water (can be a 10/20 minute walk) which makes for some gorgeous reflections and a fun element to play with. Just be sure to bring your bug spray with you, the gnats and mosquitoes can be totally brutal!

2. Tibble Fork Reservoir in American Fork Canyon. This place is a favorite for not only photographers but for outdoor enthusiasts. During the winter you can walk right out onto the frozen water with all the beautiful fresh snow and in the summer you have gorgeous green pine trees and grass and so many places to explore up there. Do make sure to check on lighting if you plan on a session there, you are right up against the mountain range and the sun dips behind them quite early in the evening.

3. Yellow Fork/Rose Canyon in Herriman. This is a location that is a great option if you are on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley and want a canyon look but don’t want to have to drive to the east side. Just be prepared you will get more sagebrush and tall weeds than pine trees as you would in other canyons but it is still really pretty! And it is a popular horse riding trail so you might get an up close view of some horses. When I go there I usually stick to the path on the right side because there is more light and more room to move around.

4. Temple Grounds. If you are or have a kid getting baptized, a missionary leaving or anything related to that, I really love going to temple grounds to take photos for the first half of the session and then if they want to find a secondary location close by. There’s just something so special about having those big white buildings in the background to really give meaning to those special times.

5. In clients home! If you’re a client I know what you’re thinking, “my home is not photo worthy”. Trust me, every home is worthy of you doing your session in. Newborn sessions, family sessions or just an intimate couples session are honestly so fun to do in your own space that you feel totally comfortable in. It is such a great way to document life right at that moment so definitely keep that in mind. There’s always way to find the right place with the right light in a home to really make the session shine!

Hopefully this was helpful to someone and I encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to locations. Rule of thumb for me is I ALWAYS look at where the light is best BEFORE the background. Lighting is the most important so when you are on location focus on where the light is really good and then you can make minor adjustments as to what looks good in the background! Also, just go explore. There are so many places with lots of potential if you look at it with the right frame of mind!

Lastly, the most important piece of information I can pass on is no matter where you are to ALWAYS be respectful of the location you are shooting in! Photographers are getting a bad rap because of the lack of consideration and locations are limiting or forbidding photographers from being there because of disrespect. Let’s leave the place better than we found it, clean up our garbage, don’t step on flowers and foliage, don’t wander on private property, follow the rules and always keep your clients safety in mind. If a shot is going to compromise any of those points, it’s not worth it!