There’s a never ending list of places and spaces to photograph at. In past posts, I’ve talked about outdoor and studio type options (check those out here)– and there are so many more that you can tap into.

PEERSPACE
Unique venues for events, meetings, photo & film shoots – self described. 

You begin your search by city and activity or use. These are great options because a lot of businesses or local-to-you humans will rent out their own spaces of any kind – giving a ton of variety and options. For example, your client wants an office look for their images, but work from (a non-aesthetic)/not photographable home. You can find an office space to rent that you can customize to your client, or use as is. Because a lot of these are real, usable spaces (not just studio type or used only for content purposes), they are more realistic and require less work to make look real or different compared to a known studio spot. 

Think of this as like an air bnb content space, only not limited to homes. 

AIR BNB’S
Ok, ok,listen – use at your discretion. Some locations specify this is 100% not allowed. Ask permission, don’t get in trouble and not allowed to book for your future vacations.

However, a lot of air bnb’s are quite literally designed to be photographed, shared, and instagrammable (a verb). It’s a curated, ready to go, shoot space – plus, you can stay the night and make a staycation out of it. Use it for a staycation, retreat, time to work outside of your norm, etc… 

VENUES
A lot of venue spaces will have hourly rental rates outside of their busy days (usually thurs-sun).  Worth a look into if you have large groups, a styled shoot, etc..

MUSEUMS 
Again, ask permission or look up their photo policy to avoid a) being kicked out b) becoming part of the problem that makes a space create or enforce a photo policy. At least here in STL, a lot of our museums are free and open to photograph in, as long as you’re not interrupting others’ experience or obviously, doing anything that would potentially harm the art. 

COFFEE SHOPS
Need I say more? These are like photography 101; usually with big windows, cool vibes, and places to sit, big plus of giving you something to do with your hands. I’d recommend going on a slow day or right when they open or close to closing for less people, more spaces to use, and you’ll be less disruptive. 

Pros: every city has a million options – lots of different styles and if one doesn’t work, it’s an easy change in the moment 

Cons: people might be watching you & probably gotta buy something 

SOCIAL MEDIAS 
Use it for what’s it’s made for. Search hashtags or keywords— every city will have general local faves pages, influencers, or literal tagged places if you simply put the city in your search bar. Check out photographers there of any kind to see if you can easily identify a location that they shot at, google image reverse. Disclaimer: use caution with the DM’s asking directly where a spot is – some photographers are chill to share openly, others keep their locations under lock and key. Most photographers who post a variety of spots work hard to location scout and this is part of their value for clients to book them. 

GOOGLE
It’s pretty easy these day to use the ole google machine. I can almost promise you if you google ‘Instagramable spots in the city you’re in’ you’ll get a hit instantly. 

In a world where a lot of Pinterest boards and social medias are starting to look the same and blend together, I encourage you to get out in your city, travel if able, and explore places and spaces that make you stand out.