Date Night with Dominos
This photo shoot was inspired by the good ol’ days. The high school ones. You know, the ones without cell phones or social media. The ones where we had to make up our own entertainment. If you’re anything like me, you ended up in some parking lot having the best time doing absolutely nothing. Then that would inevitably lead to food, which probably meant cheap take-out or wandering the closest store for snacks. There’s just something to that simplicity of shared boredom and food and friendship. And that’s what I was going for in this workshop photoshoot. What better combination than Dominos and a grocery store parking lot.
My number one tip for photographers and in my workshops is:
Don’t just take photos. Work towards a story. A memory. A feeling.
This one… nostalgia.
It can be difficult to conjure up feelings in others. It takes a lot of planning and imagination. This session, in particular, had some challenges because I knew what I wanted, but didn’t know where that would be. Finding public locations can be tough, this took A LOT of scouting grocery stores and asking friends in town (since I didn’t live there). When I found this grocery store on a scouting trip to Oklahoma, I spoke with the store manager to get permission. Dealing with photographing in a public space can come with a host challenges of its own; finding the location is half the battle.
Here are my top 3 tips for photoshoots in public spaces:
- Choose a weekday evening. This is such an underrated tip. It makes SO much sense, but is so easy to forget.
- Ask for permission if space is going to be taken from their customers. This was a workshop shoot so the group was 10 people. You’ve got to be aware of how your session can impact those around you!
- Try to pick places that are not too highly trafficked and overall match the era you are looking to capture. Check out this post where I did a branding session for a realtor and we were in A LOT of public spaces!
This sleepy little supermarket in OKC fit the vibe right down to the orange-ish colored checkerboard tiles. It’s always such a rush to see your vision come to life like this one – see more of the gallery on instagram. 
Looking for more tips or to dive deeper? I offer mentoring and workshops where we do more fun, unique sessions like this one.
