Picking a location for photos can be a little challenging when there are so many beautiful options! There are a variety of backgrounds that can provide your photos with completely different vibes. If you’re up in the air on where to have your photos taken, this blog is for you! We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite locations to help you pick.

Remember… a lot of the colors and tones you see here have to do with the season you select for your session. Spring will give you more vibrant greens and blooming flowers, whereas fall will give you rust colors and tall grasses. Just keep that in mind as you’re making your decision! Make sure to secure whatever season you want as quickly as possible! Our schedules start to book out pretty far in advance!

Special note: Some of these locations require a fee and advanced notice to use. Depending on the location you select, we will need to confirm it’s available for use the date we have your session scheduled for and you will be responsible for covering any additional fees the venue may require.

Urban Rooftop

For downtown locations, we recommend alleyways and roof tops! A roof top adds so much edginess to your session. Downtown adds character, dimension, and detail to the background of your photos. When you select a downtown location, we can usually do both the alleyways and the roof top during your session. This specific location in Peoria, IL will require a little bit of travel, but not much! It’s all within the same area. It will cost $5 per car for the rooftop.

Nature

Nature brings so much serenity to your photos and really places focus on you, the subject! We have a few different nature locations we love, highlighted below.

Submerged in Nature (Featuring Pine Trees + Tall Grasses) – Edwards, IL (no fee)

A Cobblestone Park (Featuring a Rustic Bridge + Open Fields) – Peoria, IL (no fee)

A Running Creek Park (Featuring Bridges + Trails) – Chillicothe, IL (no fee)

Woodlands (Featuring Pine Trees, Woods, + Rustic Building) – Peoria, IL (no fee)

Greenhouse

A botanical garden just screams romance. It brings so much greenery and depth to your photos. A greenhouse will often give us fairly even light and tones. This botanical garden is located in Peoria, Illinois and requires a $50 fee.

Architecture

This beautiful location in Bloomington, IL is packed full of charm and character! Doesn’t it just give off this romantic love story vibe?! It’s a $50/hour fee to use this gorgeous location.

Rustic

Barns make a great backdrop if you’re going for a rustic, country feel. This beautiful barn is in Chillicothe, IL and requires a $50/hour fee.

Riverfront

We don’t have miles of beaches here in central Illinois, but we do have a river, which as majestic as it isn’t, we can sure make it look majestic in photos. LOL! We love riverfront photos, especially at sunset! The advantage of this East Peoria, IL location is you get woods/nature and beach all in one setting.

Your Own Property

We’ve had plenty of our clients prefer to use their own property or their family’s property. We are always on board for new locations, but we only ask that you be aware of the sun location and that we are provided plenty of shade. We will usually shoot an hour and a half before sunset so we can make most properties work during that timeframe! But having good lighting plays a huge role in how your photos turn out… whether you get a warm glow and even lighting or harsh shadows and direct sun.

In addition to your location, your outfit has A LOT to do with the vibe of your photos. Everything from edgy and romantic to summer lovin’ or warm and cozy, your outfit can speak so much personality into your photos, so make sure to use the styling service we provide all our clients and read our blog on what to wear.

Once you pick your location, it’ll be easier to decide on your outfits and what sort of vibe you want to go for!