Taking portraits outdoors always results in a beautiful end product, but can also come with its own challenges. Now throw in some Washington D.C. tourism at its finest, like say during the Cherry Blossom Festival, and the word challenge takes on a who new meaning. When I planned the date for portraits with this young lady I thought I had all my ducks in a row, but I didn’t even realize until the night before the shoot that it was same day as the Cherry Blossom Parade, and coincidentally, the day after the blossoms had peaked. What could be better for pictures than the peak of these gorgeous flowering trees, right?
Well shortly after arriving at the tidal basin at “o’dark thirty”, as one friend put it, I realized there is no getting away from the crowds if you want to photograph these beauties. There is still an o’dark thirty crowd – a sea of photographers and tripods waiting for the sun to rise to nab those beautiful scenic shots. It was actually pretty surreal to walk up on. Next there are the ever so passionate tourists who come from all over and will be damned if they miss the morning sunrise as well. And of course the families and friends with blankets, morning picnics, and I even spotted a group of what appeared to be long time friends who apparently have a ritual breakfast out on the west bank probably every year. Then there’s the ever so zealous portrait photographer with her ‘up for anything’ client trotting along the west bank trying not to get knocked into the basin. I still think getting there early is key but as my client succinctly put it – “I guess we are not as original as we thought.” It would appear that other people think early is best as well.
“I guess we’re not as original as we thought.”
So, apparently if there are blossoms on the trees and the sun is coming up, the crowds will be there. Working around them is key and when you can’t avoid them getting in the picture, just use a little Photoshop wizardry to make them disappear.
