Favorite outdoor shoot locations in Austin

Here are some of my very favorite and most reliable shooting locations in and around Austin! You’ll notice that, even when made in one location, photos will often look very different from each other. Each of these locations will change depending on the season, the time of day, the recent weather, the vibe, etc. The best thing to do is to have a conversation with me about where you’d like to shoot! I’ll start this post with my most-used locations but will definitely include some others that I really love but haven’t had the ability to use more than once or twice in the past year. If you’re curious about a location that doesn’t have a lot of example photos, just ask!  I might have more.

Pease Park (central Austin)

Pease Park is a perennial favorite of mine. Lots of different kinds of trees and other foliage populate the landscape, and there’s easy access to a beautiful shallow creek, as well as a long field with short grass. If you like a lot of depth in your background, you’ll love Pease. You’ll probably notice that one of my favorite spots in the park is the gorgeous section with Spanish moss. Pros: free, really easy parking, great lighting in the morning or evening (I’ve even had luck here at the SUBOPTIMAL hour of 1:00 p.m., but please don’t make me do that again). The treeline is so high it allows us to shoot earlier in the evening than most places (helpful for little ones). Cons: it can get crowded when the weather is nice, and there can be loose dogs at all hours—if anyone in your group is afraid of dogs, this probably isn’t our spot. But aside from that, this is a great spot for large families, small families, babies, toddlers, headshots, really anything!

 Mueller Southwest Greenway (central Austin)

The Southwest greenway is a large, lush area with some landscaped areas and some wild, natural areas. Most of the year there are some flowers. Parking is free and easy, but a bit of walking is required to utilize multiple spots in the park. Pros: free, variety (nature only), good for morning or evening. Cons: requires a lot of walking and there isn’t a lot of shade. Great for families, children of any age, and team headshots.

Mueller Lake Park

Mueller Lake Park is very different from the Southwest Greenway. The lake Park has no wild areas. It has mown grassy areas, a lake with lots of ducks and geese, a playground, some gorgeous huge terra cotta steps, some really beautiful pillars with vines growing on the top, plus access to some architecture around the Thinkery! Pros: variety of nature and architecture, kids can play on the playscape or get ice cream after the shoot. Cons: kids can be very distracted by the playground (which is usually too crowded to shoot on), a bit of walking is required to utilize the space properly, parking can be a real bitch and is almost never free.

Bull Creek District Park (Northwest Austin)

Bull Creek is amazing. FREE. Rocks and trees and water. The district park is mostly great for morning shoots. Parking is easy and free. Not a lot of walking is required to use the best spots. An absolute winner and STUNNER. 10/10 no notes.

Bull Creek Preserve (Northwest Austin)

Just as stunning as the district park, this is the part of Bull Creek I like to use with evening light. It’s especially beautiful if/when the fall color hits. Not much walking is required despite how untamed the location appears in photos. Cons: parking lot (free) is extremely rugged; the path is a bit unsafe for younger or more rambunctious kiddos, since it’s mostly on a 15-20 foot cliff; sometimes there are people drinking White Claws and listening to god-awful EDM music on a loudspeaker—but to each, his own.

The Long Center and parking garage (downtown Austin)

The Long Center is a cool building with a large cement platform and pillars, lots of glass, large gray metal wall tiles, and some landscaped grounds. It has a great view of the skyline! Even the roof of the parking garage is a great shooting location. If we walk past the Palmer Events Center, there’s a really great (photogenic) playground and gorgeous skyline views with a huge grass field. Parking costs like $8 but is always easy unless there’s an event at the Long Center.. in which case you won’t really be able to shoot there anyway. You can check their calendar here: https://thelongcenter.org/full-calendar/

Seaholm District (downtown Austin)

The old art-deco Seaholm power plant has been re-developed into a multi-use project with lots of different backgrounds (plus a Trader Joe’s). Parking is free in the garage if you get it validated (see aforementioned Trader Joe’s). Seaholm is adjacent to the Central Library (see below), so we could potentially do both in one shoot!

Central Library (downtown Austin)

The Central LIbrary on Cesar Chavez is one of the only reliable indoor shooting locations in town! The light isn’t the BEST but it doesn’t suck either. One of my favorite things about the library is that the staff truly doesn’t seem bummed to see me walking in with clients and a camera. The best stuff at the library is on the kids floor. Parking costs a few bucks and sometimes gets full.

Red Bud Isle (West Central Austin)

Red Bud Isle is an off-leash dog park, and it’s (in my opinion) one of the most gorgeous places in town. It’s got water, gorgeous cypress trees, and beautiful light both in the morning and the evening (but I do slightly prefer the light in the evenings over the mornings). Pro: you can bring your dog to the shoot and have them off-leash. Con: if anyone in your group is uncomfortable with dogs, they’ll be very uncomfortable here.

Mattie’s at Green Pastures (Travis Heights, South central Austin)

Mattie’s is a restaurant and event space in Travis Heights, and the light is gorgeous there in the mornings. They do water it during droughts, so it’s one of the greener places when everything else is crunchy and yellow. Depending on the weather, though, it can be REALLY verdant. Pros: free, green, wonderful light, lots of shade, peacocks, some beautiful Victorian architecture. Cons: scheduling can be hard because we never want to disturb them when the restaurant is open.

Emma Long Metropolitan Park (far West Austin)

Emma Long is best known for a small, sandy beach, with a cute pier! The light is best at Emma Long in the late afternoon, as the sun will set over the ridge across the river. There is an entrance fee per car.. Probably like $8.

Texas State Capitol Grounds (Downtown Austin)

The capitol grounds are an easy go-to. It’s one of the best spots for large groups! Green year-round. Lots of shade. For a few years, I was shooting all of the headshots for the whole Spectrum News team, and we always used the capitol. I have different favorite spots on the grounds depending on whether we’re shooting in the morning or evening! Entrance is free, but parking will cost you a few bucks (and may be difficult, depending on what’s going on nearby).

The Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake (Downtown Austin)

To be perfectly honest, while I love the skyline sunset views we can get from the boardwalk, I kinda hate the way the boardwalk itself looks. You won’t see much of the infrastructure in my photos, because I think it’s ugly. But there are other attributes! I do find the angles to be kind of challenging but if we’re willing to walk a lot, we can get some variety. Con: parking sucks. We have to park at the Cidercade and walk a ways, so keep that in mind!

Zilker Botanical Garden (downtown Austin)

The botanical garden is a really nice place to shoot for certain types of sessions. It does require quite a lot of walking to get between the different shooting spots, so keep that in mind. It also costs $50 to shoot there, and you have to pay online in advance. My gripe with the botanical garden is with the layout.. Almost none of the most photogenic spots are laid out for back lighting, which is by far the most flattering and flexible lighting. All of the nice flowers and landscape elements seem to be laid out for side-lighting. I always get some really beautiful photos at ZBG, but it just feels more challenging than it seems like it should, if that makes sense! Note: a cloudy day removes the challenges! Pros: dedicated parking, watered landscaping, lots of variety. Cons: lots of walking, challenging lighting, costs $50 to shoot there.

McKinney Falls State Park (Southeast Austin)

McKinney Falls is a GOLDMINE and is only like 15 minutes from downtown, which is insane. It is probably the best bluebonnet location I’ve ever seen, but it’s also great any other time of the year. If you’re comfortable with a little walking (and even some driving around on the grounds), there’s a lot of variety to be had. Some absolute moonscape-type scenery, plus a giant field filled with whatever’s blooming (or just dead tall grass in a drought, which can also be pretty), plus a cliff over water with cypress trees, plus a limestone beach leading to more water. The only challenge is that it can get really pretty crowded with swimmers on weekends. It can also change a lot depending on the water level. The light is generally best for evening shoots. It costs probably $8 per car to enter the park.

Your Neighborhood (literally wherever you live)

I love this idea because it adds a personal flair to your shoot. Most likely your kids will remember, and will want to remember, your neighborhood. We will have to chat a little bit about what time would be best with lighting in your hood, but I think the payoff can be really sweet! I can meet your at your house, and then we can take a walk around the block and make little pit stops here and there.

Vintage Shops on Guadalupe (central Austin)

Such a great location for senior photo shoots in particular! Lots of color and a little bit of grit. Parking can be a little stressful.