Locations
where we shoot
Where to take photos in Las Vegas
Six settings across the valley, each one suited to something different — open desert, water and old trees, or your own front room. What each is actually like to stand in, and which sessions suit it.
Our six
Where Melyssa shoots
01
Red Rock Canyon
This is the location most people picture when they imagine desert portraits in Las Vegas, and it earns the reputation. The sandstone holds color that no other landscape here does, and in the last hour of light the walls glow warm and amber while the light falls softly across faces. There are level, gravel paths close to the road, so nobody is hiking in a third trimester or carrying a toddler up a rock face.
- Getting there
- About 25 minutes west of the Strip
- Best light
- The hour before sunset, year-round
- Terrain
- Level gravel paths and open desert floor
- Best for
- Maternity, Family, Couples
02
The Dry Lake Bed
A landscape stripped back to two things: ground and sky. That emptiness is the whole point, because it leaves your family as the only subject in the frame. It is also the easiest terrain in the valley — dead flat, hard-packed, and open in every direction, so a toddler can run without there being anywhere to run off to.
- Getting there
- About 30 minutes northeast
- Best light
- Sunrise, or the last half hour before sunset
- Terrain
- Completely flat, hard-packed, stroller-friendly
- Best for
- Maternity, Family, Couples
03
Springs Preserve
The green counterpoint to everything else on this list. Botanical gardens, mature planting and shaded walkways make it the softest setting in the valley, and the paths are paved and level throughout — the most genuinely accessible option if you are bringing a stroller, a grandparent, or a child who has only just started walking.
- Getting there
- About 10 minutes from downtown
- Best light
- Late afternoon, filtered through the planting
- Terrain
- Paved, level, fully stroller-accessible
- Best for
- Family
04
Floyd Lamb Park
Old trees, wide lawns and water, which is about as far from the desert cliché as Las Vegas gets. Peacocks wander the grounds, the light comes through the canopy rather than straight across the ground, and there is real grass to sit on. It is the location to pick when you want the photographs to look like anywhere but the desert.
- Getting there
- About 20 minutes north
- Best light
- The hour before sunset in spring and fall
- Terrain
- Grass, shade and level paths
- Best for
- Maternity, Family
05
Lake Mead
The reason to drive out here is the four months of the year when Red Rock cannot help you. Its Scenic Drive closes at five from November through February, which is before sunset, so the best hour of the day sits behind a gate for a third of the year. Lake Mead has no posted closing time and no timed-entry reservation. The other thing worth knowing is that the water has pulled a long way back from where the maps still show it, so the lake reads as a far-off blue line rather than something you stand beside. What holds up in the frame is the rock — the red sandstone at Redstone, about an hour out on Northshore Road, where a half-mile loop of level sand circles outcrops the same color as Red Rock with almost none of the traffic.
- Getting there
- About 40 minutes southeast, an hour out to the Redstone rock
- Best light
- Sunset, with no gate closing before it
- Terrain
- Level sand and dirt at Redstone; the shoreline itself is rocky
- Best for
- Maternity, Family, Couples
06
Your own home
The default for newborn sessions and, increasingly, the one people ask for by name. Nothing has to happen: you are not dressing a five-day-old and driving across the valley, the room is already warm, and if the session pauses for forty minutes because someone is hungry, it pauses. Photographs made in your own house also look like your actual life — your light, your bed, your hallway — which is exactly what you will want to see in fifteen years.
- Getting there
- Wherever you are in the valley
- Best light
- Whenever your largest window is brightest
- Terrain
- Your living room
- Best for
- Newborn, Maternity, Family
The whole valley
Every outdoor photo location in Las Vegas, compared
Useful whether you are booking a session or shooting one yourself. Permit status, entry fees and hours were verified against each agency’s own pages on September 19, 2026.
| Location | Who owns it | Permit | Entry | Winter sunset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Rock CanyonWe shoot here | Bureau of Land Management | Sources conflict | $20 per private vehicle, per day | Closes first |
| Lake MeadWe shoot here | National Park Service | No permit, normally | $25 per private vehicle, good for 1 to 7 days | Open |
| Valley of Fire | Nevada Division of State Parks | Permit required | $10 per vehicle for Nevada residents, $15 for non-residents | Ask |
| Springs PreserveWe shoot here | Las Vegas Valley Water District | Permit required | Admission is per person, not per vehicle: $9.95 adult and $4.95 child for Nevada residents, $18.95 and $10.95 for non-residents. Parking is free. | Closes first |
| Clark County Wetlands Park | Clark County | Permit required | Free | Open |
| Sunset Park and other county parks | Clark County | Permit required | Free | Open |
| Floyd Lamb Park at Tule SpringsWe shoot here | City of Las Vegas | No published policy | $6 per vehicle, card only — the park is cashless | Closes first |
| Eldorado Dry Lake Bed | City of Boulder City | Permit required | None published | Open |
| Jean Dry Lake Bed | Bureau of Land Management | No permit, normally | None | Open |
“Winter sunset” is whether the gates are still open late enough to photograph through sunset between November and February — several are not. Full detail, sources and phone numbers are in the permit guide, and the actual times are on the golden hour calendar.
Ready when you are
Not sure which one suits your family?
Tell me who is coming, how old they are and roughly when — I will tell you which location will be kindest on the day.
Monday – Sunday, 9am – 7pm