Campbell County, VA photographer — Rustburg, Altavista and the Staunton River.

Here is the thing I like about Campbell County: Lynchburg came out of it. The city was created from Campbell County land in 1786 and has been independent of any county ever since, and it still sits right on the county's northwestern edge. So when I drive out to Rustburg or Altavista, I am not leaving my patch. I am going further into it.

Weddings, engagements, senior portraits, families, branding photos for a small business. Rustburg, Altavista, Timberlake, Brookneal, Concord — I come to you. Natural light, no stiff posing, and enough hustle that a big family group never turns into standing around.

A young woman in a pink dress kneeling at the end of a wooden dock, open water and a wooded far bank behind her
A senior in a long blue dress standing at the edge of a goldenrod field at dusk

Campbell County spots I'd love to shoot

  • Avoca Museum, Altavista — an American Queen Anne house built in 1901, a Virginia Historic Landmark listed on the National Register, sitting on a lawn with grounds, an arboretum and a brick patio under a permanent event tent. The house and grounds are rented in advance, so a session here is arranged with the museum and we start that conversation early.
  • English Park, Altavista, on the Staunton River — built in 1993, part of the town's roughly 61 acres of park land, with a trail running right along the river, picnic areas and a playground. It is a town park, so I check with the Town of Altavista before we settle on a spot.
  • Dalton's Landing canoe launch, on Highway 43 outside Altavista — a quiet river access point for self-propelled boats only: canoes, kayaks, small flat-bottoms, tubes. That restriction is exactly why it is calm enough to photograph at. Same check with the town first.
  • Countywide Park on Ewing Drive and Long Mountain Park on Bear Creek Road, both Rustburg — two of the county's seven public parks, at the county seat. Long Mountain gives you more tree line and more elevation than the flat rec fields do. Campbell County Parks & Recreation handles space through a rental inquiry form, and I put that in ahead of time if we need it held.

Or somewhere that is actually yours — the farm, the church you grew up in, the field behind the house. More often than not, that is the better photograph.

Black and white frame of a young woman sitting on a dock with her chin on her knees, water stretching to a far tree line
Two friends holding hands and walking away through a mown field, both of them laughing

Pennsylvania work you can judge me on

No Campbell County session on the blog yet, and I would rather you heard that from me. What I do have is Pennsylvania work, and how I shoot does not change at a state line:

The rest is on the blog. Real client words on my testimonials page.

Campbell County questions, answered

Do you come out to Campbell County?

Yes, and it is a short drive. I am a Liberty University student, so I am in Lynchburg through the school year and Campbell County is right on the city's doorstep. Pottstown and greater Philadelphia are home base the rest of the time, and I travel for the right session either way.

Do I need a permit for photos at Avoca or a county park?

Avoca is arranged with the museum in advance - they rent the house and the grounds, and a session there gets booked through them. The parks are a different answer: neither the Town of Altavista nor Campbell County publishes a photography rule I could find, so rather than guess I check with them before we settle on a spot, and Campbell County Parks handles space through a rental inquiry form if we need it held. Confirm current terms with each place before you set your date.

When is the light best out there?

The hour before sunset, and along the Staunton River it is genuinely worth planning around, because the water throws light back up at you instead of letting it come straight down. Sunrise if you would rather have the riverbank to yourselves.

How do I get on your calendar?

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

Let's plan your Campbell County session

Dates are limited and I book out early, so get your date in front of me before you have everything else figured out.

BOOK YOUR SESSION

Nearby: my whole Lynchburg list · Bedford County — Smith Mountain Lake and Peaks of Otter · Appomattox County — Holliday Lake and historic downtown

More on how I shoot weddings and portrait sessions.