Hey Everyone…thanks for checking out another blog post. I have a goal to, over the course of the next little while (phrasing = completely ambiguous timeline designed to let me off the hook of a dealine 🙂 ) be putting together a series of posts on the most most popular photo locations for sessions booked in San Antonio & surrounding areas. The agenda is not to sway you towards or away from these places. (Sometimes “popular” is popular for a reason…and sometimes it’s just overused.) But, for the purpose of this exercise please know that we won’t be featuring any locations that do not offer quality in their aesthetic variety, style, and availability (they’re all lovely and we enjoy working at each of them), but I want to show off just enough of the location’s diversity and offer a bit of insight…in hopes that it helps guide you towards (or away from) it if it’s the right location for you (or not)!
Today’s popular photo location is Gruene, Texas. Gruene was established in the mid-1800’s by German farmers. A quick look at Wikipedia gives a very interesting history of the town…which I won’t repeat here. But any visit to Gruene and you will be able to tell that it’s held on to its German influence. It’s now a small tourist-district of New Braunfels with AMAZING food at the popular Gristmill River Restaurant and a lively night-life at Gruene Hall – which hosts concerts almost every night (quick tip – see who’s playing at Gruene Hall before you schedule your session there to gauge how big the crowd will be). It is also home to several other restaurants, a general store, independent boutiques, and B&B’s. Each building is nicely spread out and has very unique architecture leaning heavily towards an overall quaint and rustic energy.
I’ll be injecting pictures throughout this post because (as is evidenced above) painting pictures verbally isn’t necessarily my calling!
First, let me tell you why I recommend and LOVE Gruene as a location option : its ability to cater to a wide & diverse type of clientele. If my client is leaning towards an “outdoorsy”, “rustic” or even a “country” session…this will work and give LOTS of different background options. And while those descriptive terms may, at first glance, seem like they are synonyms…when you are designing a photo session custom to the unique styles and personality of LOTS OF CLIENTS, those descriptive terms can be as far apart from each other as east is to west. And, our next client could come in asking for a session using those same descriptive terms and have a completely different vision than the last client. So I sincerely love the fact that I can offer almost ANY type of client (HS seniors, engagements and bridals, families, maternity, quinces, even boudoir in the B&B’s) this option and it can work for them.
I also love the variety the grounds & the architecture provide! I’ve probably been to Gruene over a hundred times for sessions and I feel like I *STILL* spot new locations and new angles. We can create a youthful, even edgy vibe with our seniors and, in the exact same spot, be able to photograph a playful, energetic family.
We like to start our sessions in front of Gruene Hall. It’s located right across the street from Gruene’s primary parking lot and it’s a central spot to decide which direction you want the session to go.
I think the area we use most consistently is surrounding the river…down the street winding from the main shopping area and towards the tube rentals. You can walk (but bring comfy shoes!) or drive and park in the tube rental parking to get there. The trees are lovely, the water feels energetic…and at the right time of day, it can be very romantic 🙂
Another fun and commonly requested spot is the General Goods Store :
And the green, open field in front of the Gristmill :
But I find that we get some of my favorite images just walking and finding unique walls, textures or backdrops that don’t feel like the “main entertainment” areas!
The cool thing is that almost the whole district can be covered within a 1 hour photo session. So we end up with lots of varied poses and backdrops when we shoot here. And while this location isn’t necessarily the right place for clients looking for “big city” or “fashion” or “moody”…it’s become a staple for my clients who aren’t sure they know exactly 100% of what they want…but they know they want outdoors and with lots of variety! 🙂
I’d love to hear what your favorite places are to visit or to photograph in Gruene! Please leave them in the comments.
And if you have questions for us, about our services or about photography or events in general, please feel free to CONTACT US at any time. Or leave your questions in the comments, I promise we’ll get back to you right away. We offer photography and event planning for most any occasion (Weddings, Family, Teens, Social Events, and Corporate Events) so don’t ever hesitate to lean on us as a resource…we’d sincerely love to hear from you!
I hope this gave you a couple of good ideas or, at least some clarity as to what Gruene has to offer for your photo session. Thanks for checking out this blog post. I’m sincerely honored with your visit. If you’re looking through our blog for specific information, use the “search” feature to dig through the archives. Or, feel free to bounce around from post to post to see all the pretty pictures! 🙂 Until next time ~
Cheers everyone…