Yearbook deadline approaching for senior pictures

With senior picture deadlines coming in, finding local, experienced and affordable photographers is hard. Molly Long was born and raised in Waterloo and is both a professional and master photographer. For her, fall is the busiest time of the year. Molly said, “Everyone loves the fall colors.”  

Senior pictures only take about one hour, but the time frame depends on outfit changes and location choices. For seniors with three-four outfit changes, Long can usually take about 45 images in the span of one hour. 

Long owned a portrait studio on Main Street in Marshalltown, but her studio was hit by a tornado, so she decided to move back to Waterloo and started a part time job. Now she is the portrait and wedding photography instructor at Hawkeye Community College, one of the best schools for photography in the country. 

Although Long’s career has been successful, she said, “I wish I would have gone to a professional photography program. I could have saved myself a lot of time and money by getting the proper education the right way instead of doing it on my own throughout the years.” 

Senior Calyn Krecklow took her senior pictures at Big Woods campground and downtown in Cedar Falls, while senior Kaitlyn Schellhorn traveled down to Des Moines and took pictures in the city park. Still another senior, Kayla Schmitz, took her senior pictures locally at Hawkeye Campus and the Cedar Valley Arboretum, while Elise Wehr took her pictures at UNI Prairie in Cedar Falls, downtown Waterloo and 12th Street in Cedar Falls. 

Cedar Falls High School’s deadline for senior pictures is Tuesday, Nov. 23.