Have you ever come across a place that you know would make a great shot, but the conditions at that just aren’t right, maybe it’s too bright, too dark, the sun is in a bad position, it would be better as a night shot, it would be better with no one in it, or maybe you don’t have your model with you. I know I do all the time. For a while I dreamed of having a good app that would let me record these positions down with a note of when I thought would be the best time until I realised I actually had that tool on my phone already. Evernote.
How to Use Evernote to Remember a Photo Location
In case you don’t know Evernote is a cloud notebook (meaning it syncs between all your devices and keeps your data online). It has a variety of data that you can put in including text, photos, audio and you can add the location of your note.
This is really useful because you can create a note, take a picture of where you want to shoot, write when would be best to take the photo and have the location saved in one seemless step. Then, you can review this information on your computer and do some research as to when the lighting will be right. You can also save a set of your favourite locations and then browse them via a map.
How I organise my Evernote photo locations
My best tip is to create two notebooks (or tags if you prefer). Call one location ideas and another top/favourite/best locations. If an idea is good enough, you can move it into the second location ideas, if not then just archive it. You can also add a host of tags or descriptive words to help you find the right place for the right time. These tags could be landscape features like a bridge or river, the main colours in the location or any other data you want. You can also add sample photos from other shoots you do there so that you can quickly glance through these ideas later and remember what they look like.
You can even share these notes to other people so you can collaborate in choosing a location. Imagine you are working on a fashion shoot, you show the designer the locations you have in mind and they can say what they think will compliment their clothing. Or you could use it for a practical family matter like finding a great location for your family christmas card photo.
I use Evernote for so many different things in both photography and general living, I’ve only recently started using this idea but its nice to get these ideas “out of my head” so I can not think about them again. Most of these places I’ve never been back to again, but a few I have and that makes it worth doing.
Do you use Evernote in your photography?