Addi's Lincoln Senior Session | Pioneers Park, Lincoln's Oldest Dairy Queen & Harvest Home Flower Farm
About ten years ago, Addi's older sister Kaitlyn made the drive from Fontenelle, Iowa to Wahoo, Nebraska for her own senior photos. This summer, Addi made a similar drive, just a little further east to Lincoln, to do hers with me.
That kind of detail is exactly why I never treat a senior session like a location checklist. It meant a stop for professional hair and makeup before we even picked up a camera. And it meant three very different locations in one afternoon: the green lawns and pillars of Pioneers Park, the oldest Dairy Queen in Lincoln, and a flower farm just outside the city in Waverly. Three locations, three completely different sides of who Addi is, and one really fun day.
Pioneers Park: Where the Story Started
Addi got the full glam treatment before we even started, professional makeup from Alicia's Makeup Artistry and hair styled by Molly at Salon Raven, both in Lincoln. By the time she met me at Pioneers Park, she was ready to move.
And move she did. She wore a hot pink long dress with spaghetti straps, flowy enough that she could twirl, run, and really play with the space. Against the green grass and trees at the park, that pink popped exactly the way we wanted it to. For a second look, she changed into a short white dress with blue flowers and we shot by the pillars, along the sidewalk, and even had her lay in the grass for some dramatic, looking up shots.
It happened to be a cloudy day, which was actually perfect. Soft light like that meant Addi could look straight up without squinting, and her dark eyes handled the low light beautifully. We did lose about ten minutes to a light sprinkle and had to wait it out under the hatch of my car, but that's senior sessions for you. A little weather never ruins a good day, it just becomes part of the story.
Senior year has a lot of sides to it, and I never want to rush through capturing them. Pioneers Park gave Addi room to be playful and a little dramatic in the same afternoon, and that range is exactly the point.
Lincoln's Oldest Dairy Queen: A Treat Stop That Became a Favorite
This DQ is technically just a treat stop, the oldest one in Lincoln, but we made it a full location. Addi ordered a strawberry shake and got to actually enjoy it while we shot, and the old school sign out front, advertising a parking lot party, gave us the perfect backdrop. We worked different angles to get the sign and Addi together, and honestly, she was just as excited about the chicken strips waiting for her later.
She changed into a purple shirt, jeans, and black boots for this stop, a completely different vibe from the flowy dress at the park.
Right next door was a building with grungy brick, exactly the texture Addi had been picturing for one specific look: her volleyball jersey and ball. This is the spot where she spiked the ball mid-shoot and hit me. If you've seen my TikTok, Instagram reel, or YouTube short, you already know the moment I'm talking about. We didn't have to drive anywhere else to find that gritty backdrop, it was sitting right there next to a Dairy Queen.
Fun fact: the building next to the DQ turned out to be the perfect stand-in for a sports look, brick and all, without adding a single extra stop to the day.
Harvest Home Flower Farm: Slowing Down in Waverly
After a thirty minute drive out to Waverly, Addi got a little breather before we spent an hour at Harvest Home Flower Farm, a spot you can rent by the hour, with rows of colorful and white flowers to choose from. She wore a white slip dress and went barefoot, which felt exactly right surrounded by flowers, and the farm cats made a few photobomb appearances along the way. Time it right out there and the light is some of the most beautiful you'll find.
We played music while we shot, and when a Sabrina Carpenter song came on, Addi lit up and started dancing. Those are the moments I'm always chasing, the ones nobody can pose for.
It's About More Than Pretty Locations
Addi has this jet black hair that gives her a bit of a mysterious look in photos, but the second she opens her mouth, that mystery is gone. She's funny, she's up for anything, and she comes up with lines on the spot. At one point I had her prop a bare foot up on a pillar for a shot, and she looked at me and said, "I feel like this is a feet pic." I promise, it did not look like that.
That's the part locations can't give you. Pioneers Park, the DQ, the flower farm, they were the backdrop, but the real story was Addi driving in from Iowa the way her sister once did, dancing to a song she loves, and cracking jokes the whole way through. That's what I'm actually there to capture.
Planning Your Own Senior Session
Every senior session I shoot is built around the person, not a location checklist. Addi's day worked because it matched her: playful and dramatic at the park, a little nostalgic at the DQ, calm and pretty out at the flower farm. Your session should look just as personal.
I'll walk you through the whole time, and if you want to try a pose or a spot, just say so.
I'm Kate DeCoste, a senior portrait photographer based in Lincoln, Nebraska, serving seniors and families across Lincoln, Omaha, and southeast Nebraska. If you're planning your senior session and want to talk through locations, outfits, or timing, reach out and let's figure out your story.
Quick Answers About Senior Sessions Like Addi's
Where was Addi's senior session photographed? Addi's session was shot in and around Lincoln, Nebraska, at Pioneers Park, the oldest Dairy Queen in Lincoln, and Harvest Home Flower Farm in nearby Waverly.
Why did the session use three different locations? Each location matched a different side of Addi's personality, from playful and dramatic at the park to nostalgic at the Dairy Queen to soft and relaxed at the flower farm. Multiple locations let a senior session tell a fuller story instead of one flat look.
Do senior sessions need to include hair and makeup? It's optional, but Addi had her hair and makeup done professionally before her session, and it's a great way to feel camera ready from the very first shot.
Where does Kate DeCoste Photography offer senior sessions? I photograph seniors and families throughout Lincoln, Omaha, and southeast Nebraska, and I'm happy to travel to a location that fits your story.
What should I wear to my senior session? Bring a few outfit options that reflect different sides of you, comfortable clothes you can move in, and anything that connects to a hobby or interest, like Addi's volleyball jersey.
Interested in a senior session of your own? Reach out here to start planning your consultation.
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