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Good places to shoot in LA
I'm travelling to LA to set up some shoots. What are some of your favorite locations? thanks! John Apr 02 08 02:52 am Link Lots...  General Tips * Check permit requirements; some locations are very strict, while others won’t care. * Check usage requirements: some locations don’t permit tripods, for example. * Check current conditions. Overall weather conditions can make sites unusable. Some are only open certain hours, or permit photography only during certain days/hours. General Locations Getty Villa (Tricky…) Santa Monica Pier and surrounding beach Little Tokyo Chinatown Rodeo Drive Sunset Blvd (at night) Flower Market in downtown LA (get there EARLY) Art District in downtown LA (2nd and Santa Fe) Brand Park in Glendale Rose Bowl in Pasadena Alleys and brick courtyards in Old Town Pasadena (See thread) Good Rooftops in LA thread on MM GREAT LOCATIONS (SoCal) Great Locations in LA thread on MM Need help finding quality LA shoot locations (primarily homes with nice interior and exterior areas) Locations in Fullerton, Ca? Pin Up locations in So Cal Old Town Pasadena Mountains to shoot in Los Angeles? Sunset Location in LA (Other than beaches) Outdoor Nudes (…near Riverside or LA) Pasadena Photoshoot locations thread on MM What places have you been shooting at in the OC? thread on MM looking for tunnels in los angeles? thread on MM Locations in Los Angeles (Hollywood) (Beaches, old building, woods) Los Angeles Location (Parking structures) Searching for a field w/ tall grass in Los Angeles The Mountain Mermaid  Magic Castle Redondo Beach Castle Wooded Areas Descanso Gardens in La Cañada – lots of blooming trees Griffith Park Huntington Library in San Marino (May need a permit) LA Arboretum in Arcadia (Need permit) Los Angeles Crest National Forest Millard Canyon (Waterfall, too.) O’Melveny Park in Granada Hills Runyon Canyon Sturtevant Falls in Santa Anita Canyon Southern California Waterfalls thread on MM Waterfalls in Southern California? thread Deserts and Rocks Arroyo Seco (Pasadena, near JPL) Backbone Trail near Malibu. Nice rock formations Bronson Caves/Bronson Canyon near Griffith Park (“The Batcave”) Corriganville Park in Simi Valley Death Valley Devil’s Punchbowl, near Palmdale/Pearblossom. Eaton Canyon El Matador Beach Mormon Rocks Sturtevant Falls in Santa Anita Canyon (Rocks, no desert) Vasquez Rocks -- great background even from the parking lot. Joshua Tree National Park thread on MM Anbody shot in Joshua Tree Calif? thread on MM Anza Borrego Desert in San Diego, ever shot? thread on MM Desert Locations in SoCal thread on MM Location - El Mirage Lakebed [Location Reference] (With instructions and directions) Need help finding desert location close to OC,LA SoCal Desert Location For those interested in shooting in a cave Sand Dunes near L.A.? Beaches Aliso Beach near Laguna Black’s Beach in San Diego county (nude beach) Corona Del Mar Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County El Matador State Beach near Malibu (Nice rocks, and some caves) Hermosa Beach - nice rocks in the breakwater wall, but generally very crowded. (Technically, the breakwater is in Redondo Beach, but the waves are ‘in’ Hermosa ) Laguna Beach Leo Carillo State Beach, 30 miles N of Santa Monica on PCH. Paradise Cove (Need permit) Pirate’s Cove in Corona del Mar (check the tide schedule, as many parts can’t be reached at high tide) Point Dume (Large rock cliff) Redondo Beach / King’s Pier San Onofre in San Clemente Sunset Beach, south of Long Beach (no rocks, just sand) Zuma What are the best beach locations in Los Angeles? thread on MM nude beachs in CA, Los Angeles thread on MM SoCal fotogs - good beach?? thread on MM Beaches in OC thread on MM Great Beaches To Shoot At Along SoCal Coast.. thread on MM Location help in San Diego for a beach shoot! thread on MM Need L.A. shoot locations. Nude beach in LA? Sand Dunes near L.A.? Los Angeles beach+cliffs, suggestions? Hotels Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Hotel Beverly Laurel Motor Hotel in West Hollywood Chateau Marmont on Sunset The Figueroa downtown LA Hotel Figueroa thread on MM The Hotel California in Santa Monica LA Hotel for photoshoot? thread on MM Madonnna Inn in San Luis Obispo. (OK, so it’s not close. It’s cool.) Rooseveldt Hotel thread on MM Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica Shooting Nudes Locations for outdoor nude shoots in LA thread on MM Outdoor Nudes (…near Riverside or LA) Need L.A. shoot locations. Nude beach in LA? Oddities Looking for a deserted town/city in So Cal thread on MM Cabazon Dinosaurs (Near Palm Springs) Club Ed in Lancaster. Private, get permission first The OLD Los Angeles Zoo (greatly decayed) (See The Old LA ZOO?? thread on MM for more info.) LA River Aquaduct (graffiti) Various murals around town (See Los Angeles Murals for many examples and addresses.) Looking for a grungy Location In Los Angles Area thread on MM. Pioneer Town western movie set near Joshua Tree (May be closed now.) Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona Lomita Railroad Museum Urban Exploration / Abandoned places :LiveJournal SoCal Abandoned community has many examples and directions to abandoned sites. Inland Empire and beyond Kimberly Crest mansion in Redlands Prospect Park in Redlands Redlands Historic District Sylvan Park in Redlands University of Redlands (Some lovely old architecture) The Old Highway near Barstow. Lots of abandoned buildings. Places to shoot out in RIVERSIDE, CA?? Outdoor locations near Lake Elsinore, CA San Diego San Diego Locations General Film Resources California Film Commission (Lots of good info and links) Cinema Scout: free location database Film LA, a “a one-stop resource for location production permits, notifications, and monitoring" Location Scouts and Libraries (Mostly fee-based) California Photo Scout, a free site with a ton of listings of possible locations. PlanItLocations (Direct link to their search page) Five Star Film Locations Central Locations’ LA page Stock Locations (Includes studio listings) PlanIt Locations Film and Event Location Services Universal Locations Permits Permits and regulations for SoCal beaches thread on MM do i need a permit for a public beach? (LA and OC) http://www.largeformatphotography.info/photo-permits/ California State Park (Look for permits link) California Film Commission FilmLA Permit application and links to other LA-area concerns. Updated 3/19/2016 Apr 02 08 03:05 am Link Kevin Connery wrote: quit being so stingy with the locations! ; Apr 02 08 03:08 am Link another cool desert place...before it gets too hot! agua dolce, out in santa clarita. Apr 02 08 03:09 am Link oh yeah, the Getty Villa.... just march up there with a camera and a model and see how fast you get thrown out. dont get the boy killed! Apr 02 08 03:11 am Link Geez.... I live in LA and didn't know all that. Thanks, but some words of advice to the OP... check them out ahead of time to determine what condition they're in, what times of day to shoot (angle of sun), and whether you need permission and/or permits to shoot. You will need permission and permits on many of the places listed. Permits for most govt agencies, especially the city & county of LA, and state of CA can be obtained from http://filmla.com/. Private property locations may also need permits if the gig is big enough. Andy Pearlman Apr 02 08 03:14 am Link Sweet list Kevin - thanks Apr 02 08 08:46 am Link Kevin's list is a good resource.  Apr 02 08 08:50 am Link Laguna Beach (about 45 minutes south of LA) has some great locations. Both of the beach shoots in my portfolio were done there. The town also looks like an old artist/beach town (if that makes sense) and would make for some great locations. Apr 02 08 08:55 am Link Good list, though given the nature of what I've heard about LA and its photographer-unfriendly money grubbing, you ought include a price next to each location... Apr 02 08 09:00 am Link More Hotels: Pioneertown Motel (Near Joshua Tree) funky, 1940s-1950s feel Mission Inn Hotel (Riverside) Historic and classy Apr 02 08 09:13 am Link If you want a more wilderness/stream/large rocks area, try going to the mountains north of Pasadena/Alta Dena. Nice streams, huge rocks, a few waterfalls. Don't forget the Huntington Gardens and Library, at the end of Allen in Pasadena, and the Arboretum off Baldwin in Arcadia. Great and HUGE garden areas. Apr 02 08 09:38 am Link William Steel wrote: If you don't have a tripod or camera bag, use a p&s camera casually with natural light, and it's just the photog and model, you can do it...just look like all the other tourists... Apr 02 08 03:49 pm Link William Steel wrote: Actually, I must have had good luck (or security didn't take me seriously as a 'tog, LOL), but I spent a whole day shooting at the Getty Villa without any trouble. A couple of the pics in my port were at the Villa. Apr 02 08 04:00 pm Link It's all about location, Location, LOCATION ! May 03 08 06:03 pm Link Kevin Connery wrote: There is no breakwater in Hermosa Beach. You're probably thinking about the breakwater at King's Harbor in Redondo Beach. Jun 09 08 11:37 pm Link How about the Getty Center? I shot there just this April:  I had permission, of course. Jun 10 08 03:51 am Link What about in Orange County- no beach locations tho. Just inland a bit? Jun 10 08 03:58 am Link Jun 10 08 05:05 am Link So nobody has shot here? Carlos Arturo Velarde wrote: Jun 10 08 06:17 pm Link Carlos Arturo Velarde wrote: I shoot there more often than not, I brought Meisel's scout there and the owner Bill is a good friend. Sep 29 08 04:43 am Link  Oct 03 09 03:32 pm Link Jenna Black wrote: Thanks for resurrecting this awesome thread. Oct 04 09 02:14 am Link Do you need a permit to shoot in Descanso Gardens in La Cañada? Oct 05 09 09:04 am Link THANKS to all who have posted locations on this thread. I found OK parking garage rooftops...open every day i believe, actually its a series of them, at SANTA MONICA COLLEGE. does anyone know the closest SM Mountain hiking trails, closest to the city of SM? Feb 28 10 12:39 pm Link if you not from Los Angeles, like for example from Europe. Does you need permission? Jul 05 10 01:02 pm Link J C ModeFotografie wrote: something like this with out a location release will get in some very deep doo doo. Jul 05 10 03:08 pm Link SAND DIAL wrote: The West Ridge Trail is very popular off Sunset Blvd. And there's a great trail head in back of the intersection of Amalfi and Capri in Pacific Palisades. Leads past Camp Josepho, the Boy Scout Camp. Sep 27 10 02:31 am Link Carlos Arturo Velarde wrote: Shot this at the mountain mermaid last year. Sep 27 10 02:39 am Link Has anyone tried shooting at Glendora mountain road? You can shoot overlooking the dam in Azusa canyon. Oct 03 10 10:46 am Link William Steel wrote: It can be done...But you cannot bring any tripod..or monopod..but U have to be very cool and slick about getting the shots in...downgrade ur camera if u can..take off the battery grip and NO flash of any kind..and u can stay all day... Oct 03 10 11:04 am Link What about Santa Monica, Venice, Topanga? Any pointers? Mar 26 11 10:06 am Link This thread prevented a stroke. Kevin's post is a huge lifesaver. Thanks to everyone who posted places! Jun 30 11 08:38 pm Link This is awesome! Thank you! Port dume Is a beautiful place to shoot too! Jul 19 11 02:07 pm Link Will Cops ask for a permit at Point Dume? Aug 15 11 04:42 pm Link behind the actual public beach, there are private beaches if you go up the hill and around the bend. I had no problem there, and I just took over any space I needed. Also, El matador in Malibu is amazing. I think there were 10 other photographers there when I was.. Sep 14 11 12:55 pm Link Mandy Matzke wrote: I shot there the other day and I was not asked, of course I was shooting the plants and flowers, don't know how it would be with models? May 09 12 04:21 pm Link SAND DIAL wrote: Google for hiking trails. Lots off Topanga Canyon or out of Will Rogers Park. The place is lousy with fire trails. All lead to the same spine up near Mulholland. L.A. one side, Valley the other. May 09 12 09:17 pm Link Elizabeth West wrote: El Matador theoretically needs a permit. Rangers will boot you if they catch you. Leave the heavy bags and lights at home. Try to look like an amateur. May 09 12 09:18 pm Link John Hong Studio wrote: Griffith Observatory is good but you need a permit so leave the gear at home. Look like an amateur. Disney Hall is another. Again, leave the gear home. May 09 12 09:20 pm Link |
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