Best places for graduation photos in St. Louis

Art Hill's slope up to the Saint Louis Art Museum gives a cap and gown portrait a formal, almost ceremonial rise, with the reflecting basin below for a wider group shot. It comfortably holds a whole extended family without anyone crowding the frame.

For graduation photos: a campus-adjacent backdrop that reads academic.

A cap and gown reads clearly against the Arch's curve, an unmistakably St. Louis backdrop for anyone graduating from a school in the city. The lawns around the monument are wide enough to line up an entire extended family for the group shot.

For graduation photos: room for the cap toss and the reaction.

The stone colonnade's limestone arches give a cap and gown some architectural weight, more formal than an open lawn without needing an actual campus. There is enough floor space under the arches to line up grandparents and siblings for one wide group shot.

For graduation photos: a setting that suits regalia without competing with it.

An 1898 Romanesque water tower gives a graduation portrait a serious, historic backdrop that has nothing to do with any particular school. The small landscaped park around its base has enough open grass for a modest group shot after the individual portraits.

For graduation photos: space for family to gather after the solo frames.

The Grand Hall's gold leaf and barrel-vaulted ceiling give a cap and gown genuine formality, the kind of grandeur a gymnasium backdrop cannot match. It is fully indoor, so a rainy graduation day does not cost the family their portrait.

For graduation photos: clean architecture behind a gown and hood.

A domed rotunda and neoclassical columns lend a cap and gown the gravity of a courthouse rather than a classroom, fitting for a milestone this formal. The exterior steps have enough width to arrange a full family group before heading inside for the rotunda shot.

For graduation photos: somewhere the colours of the regalia stand out.