10 Favorite Locations for Blogger Shoots in Dallas

Calling all Dallas photographers/bloggers: If you're in need of a cool spot to shoot, I'm sharing TEN of my favorites on the blog — as well as tips on how to find your own!

Have you ever moved to a new city? If you have, you probably know how frustrating it can be to look for new places to shoot for your blog or website. I definitely went through this when I moved to Dallas three years ago (and still am!).

I’m constantly searching for fun and vibrant places to shoot so that when bloggers ask me for recommendations

for a shoot

, I have places in mind that fit well with what they’re wanting and work well with their brand and style.

So whether you’ve lived in Dallas your whole life or are completely new and trying to find a new spot to shoot and mix it up on your blog, here are ten of my favorites. (

Psst

, if you’re not from Dallas — I’ve got some ways for you to find locations at the end!)

1. Downtown Dallas at Main Street Garden Park

— There's a good mix of greenery and open space in this park but if you want to use buildings as the backdrop, you have that option too. I also love using the Dallas Municipal Court building on the east side of the park. It has lots of stairs and columns for a more elegant look.

2. Downtown Dallas

at Dallas Power & Light Building

(and surrounding area) — I shot in front of this building many times during the rewardStyle conference this year, and the streets on either side of the building are also great to use for action and walking shots. Jackson Street is a one-way street and I found it to be a little safer and easier to use since there was less traffic.

3. Arlington Hall at Lee Park

— This park includes a gorgeous white building with columns, steps and a few side garden areas that are great to change up the look while still staying in the same location. There is also a lot of greenery and trees for a more natural background.

4. UT Dallas Campus

— This is a little further north in Richardson but definitely worth the drive. I’ve shot here multiple times and am a fan of the four long fountains surrounded by rows of huge trees. You have the option of greenery and water, but they’re also surrounded by large neutral buildings, which can be great if you want a less distracting background.

5. SMU Campus

Meadows Museum — This location is also really versatile. There are a few statues in the courtyard area, large columns in the front of the building and greenery to break up the sidewalks. I shot here on an overcast day and it was perfect!
Blanton Student Services Building — This building has a gorgeous fountain in the front of the building, lots of stairs, and there are also lots of trees to shoot with. I love the neutral buildings which are mostly white with red brick, and the fact that I had the option to work with the fountain and greenery.

6. Highland Park Village

(where this shoot with Blair & Kaitlynn of

This & That Bloggers

took place!) — This is a popular spot to shoot in Dallas and for good reason. There are a ton of cute and colorful shop windows that make for beautiful backgrounds. Plenty of stairs, a theater, colorful tiles and ivy which all make for fun details to work with.

7. Henderson Avenue — This is a really versatile street to shoot on and is convenient since you can hop from one place to the next:

Second Kiss Vintage Boutique has a fun blue wall on the side.
Artifkt has a white brick wall on the north west side of its building.
There are two colorful walls close to each other: one across from Houndstooth Coffee and one by the parking lot north of Houndstooth.
There’s also a fun green wall on the east side past Milk & Honey Boutique!

8. Downtown Plano

— This is about 30 minutes north of downtown Dallas but is a charming place to shoot. If you just start walking down 15th street, you’ll find a ton of cute boutiques to shoot by. There’s also a park on the west side of the shops.

9. Highland Park Library

— I’ve used this location multiple times! There’s a gorgeous building with intricate details, a sunken area with more trees, shrubs and a small rose garden area in front of the building. There are also two fountains with colorful tiles — so many options!

10. Historic West End downtown

— I’ve used this location a couple of times as well. If you love red brick and older buildings you’ll really like this spot. I usually start close to Spaghetti Warehouse and walk around from there based on the lighting and time of day.

Shoot tip: If you’re going to be shooting multiple outfits in one location, try to find somewhere that has a variety of different backgrounds so you can mix it up and avoid having every outfit with the same background.

If you’re not based in Dallas and are searching for new locations, here are a few ways I like to find and curate a list of locations:

Google Map and Google Earth — I use the street view to see an area I’m interested in (it may not be completely accurate but still gives you an idea of the surroundings).
Search for locations on Instagram and social media — If I see someone at a fun or new location, I take a screenshot of the image and add it to a “Locations" folder in my phone so I can reference them easily.
Search for locations while driving — This one sounds obvious but when I’m driving around and see a fun location, I’ll take a picture of it and try to note the street I'm on. Into my Locations folder it goes!
Google (re)search — I’ve found really amazing locations just by searching for something specific in the area. It may take a while to research and find but definitely worth it if you can find something that will make the shoot!

This shoot was taken at Highland Park Village with Blair and Kaitlynn of

This & That Bloggers

! They're so sweet and make me want to start a blog with my best friend. :)