Charlie | Freeburg Football Star

Despite the super windy day, we had such a fun time taking Charlie’s senior pictures. He was so easy going to work with and full of smiles. We spent half of our time on the football field, since he spent lots of time in high school playing football, and the other half at a park in his hometown, which was the perfect location to capture some fall foliage and take some portraits of him with his Dodge Challenger. Check out all the awesome images below!

Sunflower Field

Sunflower fields can be found in a variety of areas around St. Louis that are usually about 30 minutes away from St. Louis County. They can make for beautiful, summertime senior pictures. The bright yellows from the flowers will make your portraits pop and give off a warm and happy feeling. You can easily spend an hour in any sunflower field.

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 Sunflower Fields

Sunflower fields usually have a beautiful backdrop of green trees, making you and the sunflowers stand out against everything else. Certain fields even like to park tractors and old trucks near the field for you to sit on and stand next to, giving you even more variety of poses.

This is the prime time to wear your cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and ripped up jeans. The sunflower fields scream country rustic. Solid colors, like white or black, compliment the sunflowers perfectly and help set you apart from them.

The fields can be a bit dusty too, as the sunflowers are growing out of the dirt, but this is the perfect opportunity to take some fun barefoot portraits as well. Some poses that are great in the sunflowers are peaking around the sunflowers or through them, sitting on the ground in front of them, standing in the middle of them, holding out a sunflower, and even standing on the pathway between the sunflowers.

Some fields won’t let you pick or cut the sunflowers, so it’s recommended that if you want to hold a sunflower in your portraits that you bring a fake one with you as a prop.

What to Expect Each Season

Sunflowers have a very short time span for when they bloom. They usually start about early to mid-July and last until late August. Sometimes they can go into early September, but it’s not very common, and what’s left may be wilting at this point. Each field only lasts about two weeks. If you’re looking for sunflower senior pictures, it’s best to aim for July in case the flowers start to bloom earlier or later than expected. This will give you ample time to adjust your session date and you won’t be hoping sunflowers are still blooming at the last minute.

Some years the sunflowers can be shorter than others. It depend on what the farmer plants. The shorter ones can be shorter than the average person, and the taller ones can be taller than the average person. Short or tall, they’re always beautiful and make for amazing senior pictures.

Here are some fields that are known for growing sunflower fields every year and when they tend to bloom:
Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area: Blooms start early to mid-July and last until about early August. There are multiple fields planted, and sometimes they can be hard to find.
Eckert’s: Blooms start about mid to end of July and can last until early August.
Brookdale Farms: Blooms start about early August and last until mid-August.

Pricing and Accommodations

Different sunflower fields cost different prices, and they vary by the year. Some of them have restrooms while others do not. Depending on the day and time, sunflower fields can either be quiet and empty or filled with other people. Most have parking accommodations, whether it be a parking lot or gravel lot.

Address

Sunflower Fields vary by the year, but some of the most popular ones are at:
Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area 801 Strodtman Rd, St. Louis, MO 63138
Eckert’s 951 S Green Mt Rd, Belleville, IL 62220
Brookdale Farms 8004 Twin River Rd, Eureka, MO 63025.

Senior Pictures in a Sunflower Field

Emily
Sunflower Field
Sunflower fields have become a popular trend and beautiful location for senior pictures, so Emily knew exactly where she wanted to have her session. We had to wait a little bit though…
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Emmie
Sunflower Field
Emmie just knew that she had to have some sunflower senior pictures taken when she heard they were growing at Eckert’s! Not only did we find beautiful sunflowers growing…
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Riley | Strutting Down the Street

When I heard Riley wanted her senior pictures taken in St. Charles, I got so excited! Her mom even wanted to make sure we had some flowers in the pictures, and we found plenty of them! Her outfits were absolutely perfect for a more urban look, and we even stopped at a cabin to take some pictures of her in her beautiful, lace, white dress. View some of my favorite portraits from Riley’s session below!

Zach | Calm, Cool, And Collected

Zach took a little bit to warm up during his senior pictures, but once he did, he had an awesome time. We stayed in his hometown and found some unique locations like a historic home and a dead-end road that was perfect for safe, road portraits. Scroll down to see the awesome portraits we got in these unique locations!

Emily | Capping Off Senior Year

With Emily’s senior year coming to a close, so were her senior pictures. After working with Emily multiple times throughout the year, it was finally time for her cap and gown portraits at her high school. We took some portraits of her in front of the building so that we could get the Fox High School sign in the background, and then went out on the football field where she danced all four years with the Fox Warriorette’s. Her mom even surprised her by inviting some of her past teachers to come take pictures with her. Scroll down to view her final set of senior pictures!