Considerations in Efficient Location Scouting
1 Ride as a passenger
When possible, I try to scout locations as a passenger. Having someone else drive lets you focus on potential locations without worrying about driving safely.
Use opportunities when you're out driving—even if it's just heading to a friend's place—to scout for new spots. What I do is take a different route even though it may take a few more minutes. It gives me a new look at something I may not have seen otherwise.
Riding as a passenger and location scouting is so much easier and safer for sure.
2 Capture both Photo and video
I always regret not having a video because photos often don’t capture all the angles. Especially with frequently shooting athletes and movement who cover a lot of ground during a shoot, with video, I can rewind to find parts I need another view of.
Photos can go into mood boards, while videos give you a more dynamic overview.
If you're unsure about a location, just take the picture. You can always check back later. Don't rely on memory—chances are, you won't remember to return. Having a picture gives you the geolocation allowing you to revisit it later more easily.
Organize the pictures soon after into specific albums so you can reference them later. I wrote about this in my blog post here, but I keep albums such as “PL - Kansas City Spring” so I can reference it later when I’m working on a similar project.
3 Leverage online tools
Google Earth is amazing for finding unique locations, like rooftops with cool colors or interesting landscapes.
Google Maps & Street View: See dated screenshots of locations from street level. Flip through past images to see how a location looks across seasons. This is helpful if you’re aiming for a specific time of year like summer or fall.
Local Government Websites: Check for information for all sorts of projects. In Kansas City we have a Public Works site that shows recent repaving and planned repaving. This was super helpful for scouting a clean road concept I was working on. We have a pickleball locations website that provides information on playing kickball locally. I had a specific pickleball concept and this saved me a ton of time! Don't overlook local resources—they can provide unexpected gems for your shoots.
Other websites: AllTrails! I love AllTrails when I am scouting trail locations. Users input their own images and they are dated so you can see what things look like in various seasons. You can see how long it will take you to get to set from parking lot and things like that. All important when you are taking teams out to work on location.
I scouted this pickleball location online and found it was about 40 minutes north. I gambled and didn't visit in person but just using resources online, I was able to tell colors, and approximate location of the courts we had reserved.
I found this clean road concept using a local public works website.
4 Be aware of private property
• I am constantly surprised by areas that are private property. I am inconveniently drawn to them. Railroad companies own a lot of the industrial areas/properties. Downtown alleys, parking lots, driveways, etc. For areas you’re not sure about, I think it’s helpful to know you may be asked to leave. Use your time efficiently, plan to move quickly, keep equipment to a minimum, and have a backup location at the ready.
This location was between a private parking lot and a busy city street. I thought for sure it would not be a problem shooting here but alas we were asked to exit. I was able to negotiate 15 more minutes to snag a few remaining shots before we moved to location #2.
5 Don’t forget to think about time of day and time of week
• If you’re scouting a location, keep in mind that the current traffic or vibe might change. For example, what looks like a quiet street might be packed during rush hour.
We got pushed into 5'oclock traffic on this shoot and it made shooting very difficult towards the end. Traffic was constant even though it was an open road pretty far outside the city.