If you’re a milspouse photographer getting ready to restart your business at Little Rock AFB, then I’m excited to connect you with Victoria Mendoza! In this Little Rock, AR Photography Spotlight, Victoria shares her favorite locations and best local insight to help you get started. Let’s get to it!

What are your favorite locations for sessions? Briefly share about each.

Base Trail

This spot is perfect for serving military families and I love the location for its versatility year round. Close enough to the road to be easy to get to while still being isolated, this is a perfect spot for toddlers. There is plenty of room for them to roam around, little things to distract them with if they need a break (bunnies, flowers, the pond, and allll the sticks!), and an overall quiet and relaxing spot. I prefer to shoot about two hours before sunset, but the Golden Hour glow here is also stunning.

State Capitol

Located in downtown Little Rock, the capitol building provides an elegant backdrop and alternate location for those who don’t want a nature setting. In the spring, the Magnolia blossoms bloom around the end of March/beginning of April. A good way to keep an eye out is to find the prediction for the DC blooms and monitor the Little Rock blooms starting about 4 weeks prior. This year, most of the blooms froze and did not make it. There was only one tree blooming for the session I had planned. The magnolia blossoms here would not be suitable for minis-they’re just too unpredictable. But it would be wonderful for a model call, which is what I did so there would be no pressure. This spot does have a lot of photographers, but everyone is very nice and accommodating of each other.

Two Rivers Park

If you are marketing to the Little Rock area, this is a beautiful, central location that provides ample space for families to play in. I have used multiple spots here, it just depends on the time of year. Both for lighting and for the amount of people taking photos!

Old Mill

The Old Mill is a beautiful historic location in North Little Rock with amazing blooms in the spring. Being that it is a popular photo spot for tourist photos, prom photos, etc., I would recommend doing photos here on weekdays or at sunrise. If you choose to do them at sunset, just know you’ll be removing a lot of people from the background! 

Sadly, I never shot here professionally because I misinterpreted the permit requirement and thought it was $300 per session! I’ve since learned that isn’t required and a permit is only needed to shoot indoors. If I could go back, I’d absolutely take more than just a snapshot with my kids!

Are there any particularly busy seasons for photographers in this area? Any events an incoming photographer should know about?

Fall is the busiest time for photos here. Winter can be slow due to the weather, it drops down to below 45 and gets very windy, making photos outside uncomfortable. It also snows about 1-2x per season and things stay shut down for a few days.

What should an incoming photographer know about permits in this area?

The Museum of Fine Arts near downtown is also a beautiful location with ample natural lighting, if you want something different. They require a permit, no flash, and only allow photography sessions on certain days. I would not recommend a family session with young children inside the museum (the guards are everywhere to ensure the artwork is carefully monitored and there’s a lot of things for curious little minds to touch). It would be a stunning location for couple/engagement, maternity, or senior photos. You are allowed to use their grounds on the weekends to photograph. The courtyard in the front makes for lovely photos too. 

What is the biggest piece of advice you’d give to an incoming photographer?

The weather here is extremely finicky, especially in the spring! The amount of thunderstorms and accompanying tornados makes scheduling spring sessions very difficult (and yes, it’s more temperamental than typical southern weather!). This area tends to flood easily, so keep in mind that you may have to give the grass several days to a week to dry up. I would not recommend booking yourself to 100% capacity in the spring. Absolutely give yourself plenty of availability to reschedule sessions-it will happen. It’s also very windy here and the wind gusts can cause reschedules as well. I would not recommend spring minis here simply because the weather is so fickle. If you do choose to host them, you will absolutely need a back-up date.

Any other local expertise you’d like to share?

If you rely on military spouse pages to advertise your business, this base only allows promotions on Fridays. I would highly recommend learning or working on your SEO about 4-6 months before your move. Blogs have helped me get the highest traction, with my best blog post being one with Christmas activities in the area. Faulkner Lake Orchards allows photographers on their property and they have a lovely peach orchard. If you want to catch the peach blooms, just know that is also very dependent on the weather. The folks there are super helpful at keeping you in the loop and will help you with scheduling. They are hard to reach via socials/website though, so I recommend calling them directly instead.

Where can other milspouse photographers connect with you?

Website: https://victoriamendozaphotography.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/vmendozaphoto

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Are you a milspouse photographer interested in contributing? I’d love to have your insight! Please send me an email at erin@erinthompsonphoto.com and I’ll be in touch with the details!

If you enjoyed this Little Rock, AR photography spotlight, be sure to check out other featured location guides and tips for moving your business!