Top Ten Portrait Sites in Austin

Portraiture in Austin hardly can be contained to a studio when so many fantastic backdrops reside in our backyard. Engaged couples, brides in their dresses, senior students, families gathering for a Christmas card photo, and those looking to have a photo as unique as the city itself have a multitude of options located in every neighborhood of Austin. Here are the top ten best photography sites in Austin.

UT stadium – Austin has at least one internationally recognized landmark: the Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium, home of the University of Texas Longhorns football team. With special permission from the UT athletic department, portraits can be taken on the expansive bleachers, in front of the stadium gates, or on the field itself; a sure touchdown for a winning picture.

Congress Avenue – from the steps of the capitol to the Hey Cupcake! silver trailer on South Congress, affectionately known as SoCo, this long street offers a wealth of picture perfect photo opportunities. The green lawn in front of the capitol dome offers stately statues, stairs, and fountains, while the downtown Congress strip offers colorful store fronts, life-size guitars, beautiful architecture, and painted murals.

Zilker Park – Zilker Park, with its expansive green space, offers a sweeping city view that includes the picturesque Austin skyline. Portrait takers can pose in front of trees, creating a natural landscape, or in front of Austin’s urban backdrop. A short walk to the outskirts of the park will take you to the Town Lake jogging trail, where portraits can be taken alongside Town Lake with swans, foot bridges, and trees sweeping their limbs over the water as backdrops. Lou Neff Point, a gazebo along the trail, offers the lake and the skyline in one setting for picture takers looking for an urban-nature fusion.

Laguna Gloria – Part of the Austin Museum of Art family of properties, Laguna Gloria is an indoor and outdoor venue that consists of twelve acres of beautiful parkland, including a mile of Lake Austin shoreline. The site features a Mediterranean-style villa built in 1916. The house and surrounding grounds are listed on local, state, and federal historic site registries.

Austin Botanical Garden – Located close to Zilker Park, the Botanical Gardens offer acres of green space, flowers, fountains, gazebos, and native landscapes with a variety of cactus and succulents for a wide choice of outdoor photo opportunities. The gardens are divided up into sections, including a Japanese style garden, a rose garden, and a butterfly trail.

Graffiti Wall in East Austin – East Austin is literally at the heart of Austin’s charm, boasting historic buildings, artist murals, and urban features that includes train stations, aging warehouses, and eclectic restaurants. At 1704 East 5th St, a large graffiti mural runs alongside train tracks, featuring stellar works by urban artists that provide a colorful and funky backdrop for portraits.

Auditorium Shores – Portrait takers can find another sweeping cityscape on Auditorium Shores, posing either along an expansive bridge, or on the veranda of the Long Center for the Performing Arts. From the Long Center, photographers can shoot facing the Austin skyline, or the sparkling blue tiles that flank the building.

Mayfield Park – Mayfield Park and Preserve is located in the middle of Austin, Texas. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the estate was established as a park in 1971. The grounds include 2 acres of colorful cottage gardens with towering palm trees, brilliant peacocks who may wander into a photograph, delicate water lilies, and 21 acres of nature preserve, walking trails and wildlife habitat.

Mount Bonnell – Sitting atop the city of Austin, Mount Bonnell overlooks the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River. From the vista, picture takers can pose with the city, Lake Austin, and the hill country in the background. A long, winding staircase to reach the top also provides plenty of photographic opportunities in a natural setting.

Austin Postcard Mural – Located at the northwest corner of Annie St. and South 1st St., the painted vintage Austin postcard is an iconic mural that true Austinites can pose in front of for any type of portrait. Reading “Greetings from Austin, Capitol of Texas,” the mural is ideal for photos that will be sent to out of town friends and family.

If the beauty of Austin and its picturesque scenery are beckoning you to call the city home, contact premier Austin realtor Brian Talley to help you start your Austin home search. Austin luxury homes also can provide a beautiful backdrop for pictures, and Talley can help you locate the ideal home to hang your portraits.