Last year nearly half the seniors I photographed requested the same location for their portrait session. I think a great photo can be taken anywhere, don't get me wrong, and so I didn't complain when the umpteenth person requested photos at Cheeseman Park. It's my job as a photographer to deliver spectacular and unique images, wherever you choose to shoot. I did a session at the Clear Creek History Park in Golden which has to be the most overused photography location in the state and there were no fewer than 15 other photographers there with seniors and families. So I throw this down to seniors and photographers -wouldn't it be cool to go somewhere different? I offer these eight unique places for senior photos in Denver:
1) Out in the open - no trees or flowers to be seen anywhere. A good example of this is Central Park in Stapleton. You can create a feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere, or on top of the world.
2) A parking garage. The darkness behind, the concrete, shadows, and weird industrial fences make for lovely lighting and shadows. This one is near DPAC but I've shot in a half dozen different garages and love them all.
3) At a trampoline park like Jumpstreet or Big Time. Some yearbooks require a more standard photo but that doesn't mean you can't have photos for YOU about YOU wherever YOU want. We can get ordinary photos anywhere.
4) On a farm. Farms have open space, vegetables and many beautiful bright colors. Think nature, animals, tractors, hay, vegetables, fruit trees. There are small community gardens all over the Denver metro area and a number of nearby commercial farms in Denver County.
5) Near a body of water. We have several reservoirs in the Denver metro area, plenty of docks and wide lakes that create a fantastic beach-like look.
6) In a cemetery. Even if you don't want headstones in your photos, most cemeteries have beautiful and very peaceful, solitary, areas for sitting or walking.
7) In front of murals or graffiti - South Santa Fe Blvd. has a lot of lovely murals that can be a fun backdrop for senior photos.
8) An amusement park or carnival - imagine your photos on the tilt-a-whirl or just with all the sparkly lights in the background during an evening shoot?
