Bedford County photographer — Smith Mountain Lake, Peaks of Otter, and Forest.

Bedford County has the lake, the mountain and Jefferson's house, which is more than most counties manage. I would love to photograph your session in it.

Weddings, engagements, senior portraits, families, branding. Forest, Moneta, Huddleston, Montvale and the town of Bedford — I come to you. And yes, the town of Bedford: it stopped being a city on July 1, 2013 and went back to being a town inside its own county, where it has been the seat since 1782. Locals notice when you get that wrong.

Bedford County spots I'd love to shoot

Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Huddleston — 1,248 acres along the north shore of the second-largest freshwater lake in Virginia, with a 500-foot beach, one of only two public beaches on the whole lake. If you are getting married there: the amphitheatre sits on the water, holds up to 55 guests, and runs 8:15 in the morning to dusk. The special use permit application goes to the park office at least two weeks before the day and it carries a fee. There are no tables or chairs at the amphitheatre and no restrooms there — the nearest are at the Discovery Center. Separately, a paid portrait or engagement session anywhere in a Virginia state park needs a commercial photography permit arranged with the park, and that takes processing time. Check their current terms before you set a date.
Peaks of Otter, Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 85.6 — the classic Blue Ridge frame, and the most useful rule on this page: the Park Service generally does not require a permit or a fee for still photography involving eight or fewer people, and that now applies the same way whether the shoot is commercial, student, news or personal. Above eight, a permit plus location and cost-recovery fees apply. Ceremonies go through the Parkway's separate wedding permit. Confirm with the Parkway before your date.
Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, Forest — Jefferson's octagonal private retreat, the grounds, the parkway and the walking trails. Read this bit twice, because it catches people out. An unbooked photoshoot is not permitted anywhere on the property. A booked private photo session is — arranged in advance, at least a day ahead, for a fee, and the booking covers the property including the parkway and near the trails. So: never a walk-up, always booked. Drones are strictly prohibited. And it is a photo session, not a ceremony venue.
Bedford Historic District, downtown — listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register. The late-Victorian storefronts are what went up after the 1884 fire, and the district also holds the Greek Revival Bedford Presbyterian Church, a 1912 Spanish Colonial Revival school, the 1930 Georgian Revival courthouse, and the 1844 Liberty Presbyterian Church with its Doric columns at West Main and South Bridge. We would be walking the streetscape. I make no promises about getting inside anything.
Falling Creek Park, County Farm Road — the first park the county developed and still its signature one: trails, a 36-hole disc golf course, a BMX course, playground and picnic shelters. Here is a genuinely useful planning fact — all five Bedford County parks, Falling Creek, Independence, Montvale, Moneta and New London, are open dawn to dusk, every day. A photography-specific rule is not published, so I check with Bedford County Parks & Recreation ahead of time.

Or a place that is yours — the dock, the church, the field your family has had forever. Those are the ones people end up framing.

Pennsylvania work you can judge me on

I have not published a Bedford County session, and that is the honest state of it. Here is Pennsylvania work that shows you how I shoot:

The rest is on the blog. What past couples said is on my testimonials page.

Bedford County questions, answered

Do I need a permit at Smith Mountain Lake, Poplar Forest or on the Parkway?

A different answer at each one, and that is the part I take off your plate. Smith Mountain Lake State Park: a paid session needs a Virginia State Parks commercial photography permit arranged with the park, and a wedding at the amphitheatre needs a special use permit filed at least two weeks ahead. Poplar Forest: by advance private booking only, never a walk-up, arranged at least a day ahead, and it carries a fee. Blue Ridge Parkway: the Park Service generally does not require a permit for still photography with eight or fewer people, and does above that. Confirm current terms with each place before you set your date.

Can we take photos at the D-Day Memorial?

No, and I would rather tell you now than at the gate. The Memorial's own policy is that it is a place of reverence and its use as a photo session location is prohibited. It is private property and they reserve the right to decline photography or site access. It is one of the most striking places in the county and it is genuinely off the table, so we plan around the lake, the Parkway or downtown Bedford instead.

What time of day is best?

The hour before sunset, nearly always, and it matters more here than in most places because you are usually shooting toward water or off a ridge - that low light comes across at you instead of down on you. One practical thing to plan around: the county's five parks are open dawn to dusk, every day. So a sunset session at Falling Creek works beautifully and a session after dark does not happen at all.

How does booking work?

Send me a note through my book me page with the kind of session and a rough date, and I will tell you what is open. Session length and the rest of the details are something we go over when we talk through your shoot.