Hey Reader,
There's a moment every photographer knows.
You arrive somewhere new: a city you've never shot, a landscape you've only seen on someone else's feed and suddenly your mind goes blank.
Where do you start? Which angle? Which light? Which shot?
Here's what I want you to do first: drop all of that.
If you're travelling this year and you're already mentally scrolling through a list of "must-get" shots before you've even landed, let that mentality go.
Take the pressure off.
Let yourself be in the location.
When you stop chasing viral locations, the right compositions have a way of simply finding you.
That said, if you want a bit of structure to fall back on when you’re a few Spritzes in, here's the routine I use every time I step into somewhere new.
Let's dive in.
Start with Light - Everything Else Comes After
Light isn't just one of the things to think about.
It's the foundation everything else is built on.
And I'm not going to give you the usual "shoot in golden hour" line, because as a Captured reader, you probably already know that.
What matters more is understanding three things: direction, intensity and how much light you have left.
In a location you know well, this often comes so naturally.
You know roughly where the sun will sit at 7 am, you know which street turns golden at sunset and you know where to position yourself.
But in a new place? You're starting from scratch.
This is where weather apps earn their place in your kit. Before you even arrive, you can understand where the sun will rise and set, how it'll track across the scene and when the light will be at its best for the specific spot you're heading to.
And even without digital help, once you've arrived at a new location, look to lock in those three variables: direction, intensity and time remaining.
Once you’ve got them, work with them and embrace them.
Because you can’t out-edit a poorly lit shot.
Lighting will make or break your photos, so I find it best to start here.
Routine 1: Framing
When I arrive somewhere new, framing is one of the first compositional tools I reach for.
Framing is the process of looking for natural frames within the scene.
Doorways. Archways. A gap between buildings. Trees that form a natural layer. Foreground elements that invite your viewers to look through. Anything that creates layers and depth is what I look for.
Here's why it matters in a new location specifically: it's easy to take the "classic" shot.
Every tourist does.
You've seen the same angle of the same landmark ten thousand times on Instagram and if you replicate it, you'll get exactly that… a copy.
Framing, on the other hand, forces you to slow down, move around, and look for the version of a scene that most people walk straight past.
It won't always be there.
But when you’re looking for it, you’ll find it…you'll likely leave that location with something different.
In other words… an original.
Routine 2: Details
This one gets skipped more than any other, and I get why (because I often forget too). You arrive somewhere beautiful and your brain wants the hero shot. The wide, classic, stock-standard shot that says "I was here."
But if you're building a carousel, a collection, or a set of images that tells a complete story of a place, you're going to need more than heroes (Batman shots). You need details (Robin shots).
Think of it in three layers:
Wide: the establishing shots that show the ‘location’ in general.
Mid: where framing, leading lines and other compositional techniques belong.
Details: the zoomed-in frames. Things like textures, signs and unique light hitting a surface.
At the time, detail shots can feel like throwaways when you're out in the field.
You might feel silly photographing a market sign while everyone else is shooting the sunset.
But when you're back home in Lightroom pulling a full set together, the detail shots are what elevate everything around them.
They add context.
And they make it feel like a complete story rather than a collection of nice photos.
Don't skip them. Batman needs Robin at times.
Routine 3: Story
This is probably the trickiest part of shooting a new location, but it's always in the back of my mind.
I’ve spoken about it many times before, but stories need characters.
And the best way I’ve found to add ‘story’ to my shots is by capturing characters performing actions.
It doesn’t have to be the main focus, but a human element adds story to your shots - it could be a server working at a cafe (above) or someone hiking in the distance…one shows the energy of a location and the other may show the scale of a location.
Whatever their action is, these characters are providing an element of 'story'.
Now I understand you won't always have this luxury.
Sometimes the timing isn't right, the location is empty, or you just don't have the access.
That's fine (and honestly more often the case).
But keeping 'story' in your routine means you're looking for it, and looking is half the battle.
Bringing it Together
So next time you step off a plane or arrive at a new location with your camera, here's the simple framework to fall back on:
Light first. Understand your parameters before you shoot a single frame.
Then frame. Look for a version of your scene that most people won't find.
Shoot details. They may seem small, but now you know they’re not.
Look for Story. Add the human layer wherever you can (tastefully, of course).
And beneath all of this structure, let yourself relax into it. The best shots from a new location usually come when you stop trying to recreate something you've already seen and start paying attention to what's actually in front of you.
That's when things get interesting.
Catch you next week,
Matty 📷 🚀
