As an Atlanta lifestyle and family photographer, one of my favorite hobbies is searching out the best locations in the Cobb County area to shoot outdoor sessions at. Throughout the past nine years, I’ve compiled a classified list of my best kept Atlanta photoshoot locations and today I wanted to share with all of my blog-readers one of my favorite places to shoot at in Marietta, Georgia, Green Meadows Preserve.

Green Meadows is a 112 acre Cobb County park and nature preserve located across from The Avenue West Cobb, on the corner of Dallas Highway and Old Hamilton Road. From wildflower fields, wildlife hiking trails, and sweeping green meadows (hence the name), to Civil War era buildings, community food gardens, and Cherokee medicine-herb plots, Green Meadows offers visitors an immersive walk into nature as well as through history. The multitude of different scenic views available at Green Meadows makes this location one of my favorites for outdoor milestone and family photography sessions. There are so many different, unique landscapes within the park itself that you would never know all of the photos were taken at the same place! Although the park is open to the public, and visitors are encouraged to utilize the many different resources and visiting locations at Green Meadows Preserve, photographers do have to have a permit to be allowed to take professional photos there.

One of the first times that I had ever shot there, I had actually been chastised by a member of the park’s volunteers, Jim Bearden! I was shooting a family session in a field of goldenrods when Jim Bearden, “the bird guy,” as he is known, came over to tell me that I was damaging the flowers! I assured him that I had no intention of getting close enough to the plants that any would be damaged and he reluctantly left. After the session, I made sure to locate Mr. Bearden and we had a conversation about the park, conservation, and his duties there at Green Meadows. As it turns out, Jim is a member of the Friends of Green Meadows, a non-profit organization whose members volunteer to clean the park’s facilities, care for all of the different species of plants and wildlife found there, and manage the park’s amenities, websites and events. Jim described all of the different aspects that make Green Meadows special, such as his own guided walk and talk tours which take you down the bluebird trail and detail the way in which the park has successfully fledged over 1,000 baby bluebirds.

Learning about the multiple different scenic nature trails, the public access community gardens, original period houses, and all of the other amazing services that the park offers to our community, I quickly found myself deeply grateful for all of the compassionate environmentalists who work so diligently to create and upkeep such an important and easily accessible resource to knowledge and nature. I have always vowed to leave any of my session locations exactly as I had found them, if not cleaner. Now,  I also regularly make donations to the Friends of Green Meadows Preserve in order to help ensure that this ecosystem can be properly taken care of and continue to be a valuable resource in our community. If you would also like to aid in the support of or become a volunteer for Green Meadows Preserve, click the link here. If you’re interested in booking a session with Liz by Design photography at Green Meadows Preserve, book here!