Take Great Portraits Outdoors in Boston

If you’re looking for the best places for professional portraits outdoors, many places in Boston provide great backdrops. Boston has many great places for outdoor portraits to choose from parks to botanical gardens with colorful backgrounds to monuments and sculptures. Here are six places to visit for your next professional outdoor portrait.

Arnold Arboretum

This 265-acre arboretum has no shortages of backdrops for portrait photography, filled with beautiful trees and landscapes. The green space featues many different scenic views, including ponds, rivers, woods, rose gardens, vines, and even bonsai. Peter’s Hill, located in the Arboretum, overlooks the city skyline, which offers a great backdrop. The Leventritt Vine and Shrub Garden is another point of interest that offers great portrait opportunities, with several species of trees and flowers. Explore the paths in the arboretum, and you will find a wonderful backdrop.

Mount Auburn Cemetery

A historic cemetery located in Cambridge, Mount Auburn Cemetery is a beautiful place, and hidden gem that not everyone knows about. The Cemetery offers beautiful scenery year-round and sits on nearly 175 acres. There are fabulous views of the city skyline and many sculptures, gardens, and ponds - all of which offer gorgeous portrait backdrops.

Boston Public Garden

Boston Public Garden is perhaps one of the most popular green spaces in the city and a great place to visit for portraits. The scenery at the Public Garden provides a terrific backdrop for outdoor portraits. Consider a backdrop of the lagoon and swan boats, the plants and gardens, one of the Public Garden’s hisstoic statues or monuments, the city skyline including Back Bay and Beacon Hill. There are endless options at this historic park.

Charles River Esplanade

The Charles River Esplanade offers beautiful waterfront views and views of both Cambridge and Boston skylines. The Esplanade is a large, linear park that runs along the Charles River, totaling 3 miles and stretching from the Boston Univeristy campus to the Museum of Science. There are plenty of waterfront views places and scenic areas for a photoshoot and iconic shots of sailboats, docks, and cityscapes in the background.

Fan Pier Park

Fan Pier Park is located in the Seaport District of is Boston, a newer neighborhood that offers a more trendy vibe. Fan Pier Park is located right along the water, and offers one of the most iconic views of the city skyline in downtown Boston, as well as Boston Harbor. It’s an excellent place place for portrait photography - it’s undeniably one of the best places for a photoshoot despite the time of day.

Piers Park

Located in East Boston, Piers Park looks across the Boston Harbor from a distance, which creates a stunning background. The distant city skyline creates a desirable backdrop for a portrait. Head out to the pier to see the magnificent views of Boston and get a truly great backdrop for a portrait.

Find The Best Outdoor Portraits Spot For You

These are the top choices for an outdoor portrait; however, several other parks and green spaces work well. If you’re looking for more places to go, you find more options for Boston outdoor photography spots, including places in nearby Brookline and Cambridge.

Tips for taking outdoor portraits

Here’s some things to keep in mind when shooting portraits outdoors:

·         Stay out of the sun, or have the sun at the SUBJECT’s back – having the sun shining directly on the face of your subject and/or overhead causes the person to squint or get racoon eyes. Find a shady spot and shoot there. Best times to shoot (sunwise) is before 10am and after 3pm.

·         Watch the background – be careful about the placement of the subject relative to the background – you don’t want trees, branches, or other objects that appear to be growing out of their head

·         Don’t shoot at the subject’s eye level – best to crouch down a bit having the camera level with the chest or torso

·         Unless you’re shooting a candid shot, insure the subject is looking into the lens of the camera (yes, even when it’s lower)

·         To catch a more natural looking expression, engage in a discussion with your subject on something other than the fact you’re taking their picture – say something funny, complement them, etc. and be ready to capture that great expression

·         Overshoot, but make sure you’re capturing something different each time – if your subject is simply standing there, taking 10 shots of the same expression and pose isn’t doing you any good. Having banter, alternating between larger and smaller smiles, looks, etc. gives you a variety of shots.

·         Don’t look at every shot you take as you’re shooting – it breaks up the rhythm – shoot a bunch, take a break, show them to the person so you can see what’s working/not, go back and shoot more.

·         Make sure you have your camera set up and ready to go before you really start – nothing breaks the rhythm and mood more than a photographer who is constantly fiddling with the dials.

·         Be prepared to throw away a lot of shots – you’re just looking for a few that are keepers. When I shoot hundreds of images, I’m looking for 10% or less that make the cut.

So get out, shoot, and enjoy the summer!