So I love going to the park and taking photos by the famous Bean (aka Cloud Gate). It is extremely difficult to do so without tons of people by it but since I live here (in Chicago) I have tips to do so. And how to take “blogger like” photos by it.
Moto Jacket (similar style steal)
1) Timing is key. Some bloggers I know choose to wake up at 6am to come here and yes you’ll have no one around you but who wants to wake up that early?! I hate the mornings. If possible, I find Tuesday or Wednesday after 9:30am but before lunch a great time where it isn’t too busy. Yes I have some people milling around in the photos but I’m ok with that.
2) Ok so one of my not so secret secret is the fact that I use a iPhone for all my pictures. Yes lighting around this time (10:00am) is super sunny and bright but let’s be real, waiting for the right light, weather and only a few people milling around is nearly impossible and I have way too much to do to wait around for that :). I find the iPhone helpful as you can crop, easily shoot a ton of photos (photo burst) and editing is simple with a couple apps. The person taking it can easily take photos as well without being a professional.
3) Angles are everything. It is hard to be smack dab in the middle of the bean perfectly with no one in it unless you are there at 6am. So if you want the whole bean, stand a bit in front and take a long angle. The bean will look great, you’ll be closer to the camera so you are the center of the photo and the people behind you will be more of a backdrop. The other thing, have the sky in it – this brightens it up. My favorite angle though is the corner of the bean (as seen in my photos). Easier to get half a bean, me, the buildings, and little to no people in my photo. Take a bunch in different angles. Full bodies one are easier to crop. And take half the bean to corner of the bean with you in it to see what you like.
4) Two biggest tips overall in taking photos. Take a ton – for every photo I instagram or post here I have at least 10 similar shots – overall per post I have 50 shots or more to choose from. The wind, angles, face, body etc there has to be at least a few you love. The second tip – crop, edit (I use Afterlight) before you post. I like bright and colorful photos so I tend to go bluer in color.
I hope this was helpful! And this outfit in this post is my favorite type of casual outfit. Easy denim with pops of color.