Brenna | Born for the Camera

Brenna would make the perfect model someday between her fashion and personality. Her bubbly and easy-going personality made it so much fun to work with her. She made the best facial expressions and knew how to pose like a natural while we took her pictures at Bolm-Schuhkraft Park. Scroll down to view this model in the making’s images!

Lakeview Park

In Waterloo, IL sits a 100-acre, three lake park called Lakeview Park. With multiple bridges, a pathway, white gazebo, trees galore (including a willow tree), a small creek, and the beautiful lakes, Lakeview Park makes the perfect location for a short senior session or a great addition to a longer session.

Check out my list of the top senior picture locations in St. Louis, MO to get inspired by more locations to have your senior pictures taken.

The Best Part About Lakeview Park

Maybe you’re someone who enjoys taking a stroll through the park, sitting in the grass and letting the wind blow through your hair, enjoy kicking your feet around in a creek, or love to fish. Lakeview Park has the perfect accommodations for you. There’s plenty of lakes to take fishing portraits in if you want to incorporate fishing into your senior pictures. You can sit on the edge of the lake and dip your toes in the water, or even stand or sit by them for the perfect backdrop. The gazebo is also positioned in the perfect spot to either have trees or the lake as your background.

Take a stroll down the path and take some fun walking towards or away from the photographer shots with trees surrounding you. Maybe you even want to stand in the willow tree and let the branches surround you as they form a perfect frame. Down the path a little further is a wooden bridge that’s excellent for leaning or sitting on. You can even have the lake as your prime background here.

Head up to the third lake for a different view, where one of the bridges is surrounded by trees and there’s a large hill of grass to change up the scenery. Not far from there is the small hike down to the shallow creek which is surrounded by trees and scattered with rocks.

What to Expect Each Season

Spring

There aren’t too many flowers that bloom around Lakeview Park, but the fresh blooming trees and grass along with cooler days make spring a prime season for your senior pictures. The creek may feel a bit colder due these cooler temps, but you’re more likely to find wildflowers blooming around it and the path to get there.

Summer

With all the green trees and grass, summer makes the best season to head out to Lakeview Park. You’ll be surrounded by lively plants and beautiful green and blue colors from around the lake. It’s also the perfect season to take some creek portraits because the water won’t be too cold and will help you feel cooler.

Fall

Trees across from the lake, surrounding the bridges, and along the creek are great locations within Lakeview Park if you’re looking for some fall leaves in your senior pictures. The creek will have the best fall colors since it’s surrounded by trees. You may even be able to still step in the creek if the water is not too cold yet.

Winter

Winter doesn’t have much to offer as the trees and grass are now brown, but it’s a great location for snow portraits. With the wide open-fields, there’s plenty of space to stand without getting too many trees in your photos while also getting the frozen and snow-covered lake in the background. If you want a few snow-covered trees as your background, you can walk down the path a short way to find a small grouping of them.

Pricing and Accommodations

Lakeview Park is a quiet and absolutely free park that’s open to the public 7 days a week. There are public restrooms located near the playground at the third lake.

Address

Lakeview Park is located on Lakeview Dr. There are three entrances. The first lake is located directly off Lakeview Dr., the second entrance is located on Stockel Ln., and the third entrance is located on Waterworks Rd. in Waterloo, IL 62298.

Senior Pictures at Lakeview Park

Sam
Lakeview Park
Talk about having fun and a bubbly personality, Sam was all kinds of happy during her senior pictures. She had the best smiles while we took her portraits at…
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Jordan
Lakeview Park
We can always find a place for pictures no matter what time of year it is, so when Jordan had his pictures taken in January, we made sure to find locations that would work great, even…
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Katie | A Trip Around Town

For Katie’s senior pictures, we kept it so close to home that we were in her hometown. We also drove just a little bit further to stop at the Salem-Baum Church for a little more unique background. We discovered some neat murals that were painted on the side of some buildings, which made for fun and cute backgrounds. Check out all the fun we had below!

Salem-Baum Church

Hidden on the backroads of Waterloo, IL sits a beautiful shell of a stone church that was built in 1883. This unique location is sure to make your senior pictures stand out against the rest. With large windows to stand in, a stone pathway, the overall structure, and a gravel road engulfed by trees nearby, you can easily spend an hour in this magnificent location.

Check out my list of the top senior picture locations in St. Louis, MO to get inspired by more locations to have your senior pictures taken.

The Best Part About Salem-Baum Church

With windows almost as high as the walls and wide steps that lead to an amazing entryway, Salem-Baum makes for a beautiful backdrop to your senior pictures. Grass and ivy grow in the building, and a stone pathway leads you from the doorway to the back of the church. A nearby, seldom used gravel road next to the church goes back a short way and has trees and plants galore surrounding it.

The steps leading up to the church make for the perfect spot to sit and get the entryway in your portraits, or you can stand in the entryway yourself and lean on the stone walls. At the end of the pathway is a perfect landing spot to place a chair to sit in, or you can climb up into the windows to stand or sit in them.

Ivy is perfect for changing up the scenery a little bit by adding a little pop of color to the grey stone background. Down the gravel road, you can place a chair in the road and sit in it, or even take some fun walking away or towards the photographer portraits.

What to Expect Each Season

Spring

As the trees around the area begin to grow their leaves and regain color again, and the wildflowers begin to bloom down the pathway, Salem-Baum now stands out from the rest of the dull, brown background. This makes for the perfect time of year to take your senior pictures here while it’s not too cold out and the area regains its color.

Summer

All the plants and trees are blooming now around Salem-Baum, so there is plenty of color around the area. The days will most likely be hot though, and Salem-Baum is not covered by shade unless you’re down the gravel road. The field across the street from the church will be growing corn and can add more color into your portraits if you take any facing away from or outside of the building.

Fall

When the leaves begin to change, the whole area around Salem-Baum is draped in beautiful orange, red, and yellow hues. The gravel road has leaves falling all over the place, and makes for fun leaf throwing portraits, or is even beautiful with the leaves all over the ground. Not only are the beautiful fall colors showing, but the weather is starting to cool off too, making this a prime time of year to have senior pictures taken here.

Winter

While the surrounding trees are dead, a good snow can create a winter wonderland here. If you’re looking for snow portraits somewhere that’s not just all forest, then Salem-Baum is the perfect location for you. Since Salem-Baum has no roof, there will also be snow inside the building. If you want a mixture of stone building and some forest, you can walk down the gravel road to get some forest snow portraits as well.

Pricing and Accommodations

Salem-Baum is quiet and absolutely free. It’s open to the public 7 days a week. Donations are appreciated to help keep the building maintained. There are no restrooms accessible.

Address

5779 Old Baum Church Rd, Waterloo, IL 62298. The best place to park is on the gravel road next to the church.

Senior Pictures at Salem-Baum Church

Sam
Salem-Baum Church
Talk about having fun and a bubbly personality, Sam was all kinds of happy during her senior pictures. She had the best smiles while we took her portraits at…
Read More

Jordan
Salem-Baum Church
We can always find a place for pictures no matter what time of year it is, so when Jordan had his pictures taken in January, we made sure to find locations that would work great, even…
Read More

Katie
Salem-Baum Church
For Katie’s senior pictures, we kept it so close to home that we were in her hometown. We also drove just a little bit further to stop at the Salem-Baum Church for a little more unique…
Read More

Brittaney | A Lover of Music

Talk about a musician, Brittaney played both upright bass and flute in high school, so she brought both of her instruments along to Bolm-Schuhkraft Park for the most unique session ever. We had the most beautiful spring day during her session, and she was an absolute model with all her facial expressions. You can view all the unique portraits below!