BEST Photoshoot Locations in the Denver-Metro Area
Choosing a location for your photo session can be as difficult as deciding what to wear! Sometimes the most convenient place isn’t necessarily the most aesthetic location for a photoshoot. Think about access to shade, variety of backgrounds for your photos, parking, how busy the location is (Washington Park), and permit requirements. Here is a look at some of my favorite locations in the Denver Metro area. Not all locations work at any time of day. Please keep in mind that selecting a location is a combination of what feels right to you, what works best for the type of images we are creating, and what types of permits may be required. Have a location in mind? Happy to check it out!
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens is one of my favorite places for a photo session. It is beautiful year round with a huge variety of looks and options. My photography permit also allows us access to Cheeseman Park through the back gate of the gardens, for quick access to a completely different aesthetic. The Botanic Gardens has trees, shrubs, and flowers and so many different themes from English gardens to bamboo. If you want a location with a ton of variety, the Botanic Gardens is the best. And parking is easy! The downside is if you want to combine your shoot with a more urban look or even a basic brick wall, the Botanic Gardens is probably not the right location.
City Park & DMNS
City Park and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science offer a huge variety of looks. From evergreen trees to a lake, small ponds, playgrounds, old growth threes, and flowering trees in the spring, City Park usually has convenient parking and many beautiful spots for photos. Adding further variety, the DMNS building offers many interesting walls and modern architecture for another entire type of aesthetic. When the museum is open, they are friendly to photographers and there are several areas inside the museum (not in the exhibits) that are gorgeous for indoor portraits.
Bear Creek Greenbelt
Bear Creek Greenbelt is in Lakewood between Wadsworth and Kipling at about Yale. It offers a creek, tall grasses, a pond, lots of cool fallen trees, and bridges and railings. Lots of low foliage and large tree stumps create a lot of different opportunities for posing. One main parking lot makes finding each other easy and not much bike traffic to compete with your photoshoot.
Bluff Lake Nature Preserve
This preserve feels like you are far away from it all but it’s right here in the city at the edge of the neighborhood formerly known as Stapleton. Located at approximately MLK and Havana, there is a parking lot for easy access to the trails. This is not a great location for folks who aren’t okay on stairs or walking a bit to get to the main park area (center photo first row shows the access). The preserve features a pond with cattails and many deciduous trees and tall grasses. Very pretty and feels “far away” without a long drive. No dogs allowed at this location, so not a good spot for photos with your pet.
Cherry Creek State Park
Also known as Cherry Creek Reservoir, this location has a lot of different looks in a fairly small area. The reservoir itself offers sandy beaches, a small dock area, and groves of shade trees. Gorgeous tall grasses that turn gold in the fall and stay beautiful all winter create an aesthetic that is hard to find within the city. You do have to pay admission if you don’t have a State Parks pass.
Cheeseman Park
Cheeseman Park is one of the few locations in Denver that has weeping willow trees. They have some low flower gardens, the large marble Greek-styled pavilion and some lovely groves of old conifer trees. One downside to this location is that is it’s popularity. Parking can be difficult and finding a moments for wide shots in the pavilion without other people and photographers can be a challenge. The pavilion and the weeping willows are what differentiates this park from other parks around the city.
Ketring Park
This park is located in old downtown Littleton, between Broadway and Santa Fe just off Littleton Blvd. This park has a small lake but the best parts are the old growth deciduous trees that are old and dense enough to look almost like forest. There’s a lovely grassy park area encircled by old trees, creating beautiful shade (which we photographers love). This location is beautiful morning or evening.
Downtown Denver
If you want a more urban look, the streets of downtown Denver offer a ton of variety. There are old train bridges with overgrowth of ivy, interesting walls and doorways, the trendy modern bridges, place-defining landmarks and buildings, and urban streets. The DCPA area, LoDo, Commons Park, and even the Civid Center Park area with the Supreme Court building, the State Capitol, the Library and Museum buildings offer a ton of variety. Even “boring” spaces such as garages, stairwells, and the light rail make an interesting backdrop for the right client.
O’Fallon Park
This park is both a trailhead to a couple of lovely hikes, but also access to Bear Creek. It features open grass areas, a low creek that is accessible for shallow wading and some water play, and lovely leafy trees. It’s fun to incorporate water into your senior photos and have a ton of visual variety. A couple of downsides, it tends to be extremely busy on weekends during the summer and so this is only a weekday options. Also it’s a bit further afield for anyone who lives in Central Denver. But a gorgeous location that provides a very different vibe.
Mural Walls RiNo
The mural walls in the RiNo area of Central Denver offer an interesting, bright, and artistic look. Options can range from the very artwork-centric so using parts of murals to just create an interesting background. The primary area for the murals is closer to downtown and also offers a lot of basic brick and plain backgrounds. My “secret” location also has an ivy covered wall and some more industrial looking walls (shown in the Industrial) section below. Choosing this type of location doesn’t mean 100% of your photos will feature murals. There are plenty of unpainted spaces that can be used to create a more neutral background or walls that are simply a vibrant color but offer no specific designs or patterns.But if vibrant, city feel is what you want, mural walls are a great option.
Hildebrand Ranch Park
Nestled against the hogback in Littleton, this park is next to the Chatfield location of the Botanic Gardens. It features tall trees, tall grasses, and views of the foothills. There’s even an old barn if that appeals to your aesthetic. This is a great location if you want some of your photos to show “mountains” (aka foothills) in the background. The park is easy to access right off C-470 and Wadsworth. One small disadvantage in this location is that it is very popular with other photographers. I have never done a photoshoot there when there were not other photoshoots happening at the same time. That said, it’s a beautiful location!
Industrial
The industrial look for me means spaces that are often not particularly beautified and often feature a lot of concrete. These examples represent a couple locations but “industrial” could really be anywhere where concrete rules. I am interested in spaces that have their own unique charm and funkiness and always keep my eyes open for those special spots. Both of the example locations are in North Denver. For certain styles of shoots and the right personality, this type of location can deliver a unique look. My family is drawn to this look so we do photos here often! (Can you find my self portrait?)
Want more location options you don’t see here? Contact me and I am happy to share other locations I have used or new locations that I’m not ready to feature here yet.