Best Photoshoot Locations in Charlotte, NC | Houston Ray Photography
As a lifestyle photographer, location is one of the most essential elements when manifesting a cohesive and effective photoshoot that fits the goals of your creative vision and your client's needs.
Luckily, as a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, for nearly a decade, I have an arsenal of locations.
I’m happy to share what I’ve learned regarding what I consider aesthetic backdrops and environments for your photoshoots, their ideal applications, and when and how I think they are best utilized.
Charlotte Convention Center
The secret beauty of this location is not inside the convention center itself but rather the environment surrounding the exterior.
Charlotte sometimes struggles to provide open-ended environments that allow you to shoot at a wider depth of field without the background appearing noisy or distracting.
Thankfully, this location and the surrounding details help provide a photo shoot location perfect for photographers looking to highlight isolated subjects in a bright environment, such as during graduation or headshot sessions.
Tall arching pillars, benches, proximity to a nearby park, and a small body of water offer a taste of refined minimalism and environmental diversity.
Queen City Quarter
Formerly known as the Epicentre, the Queen City Quarter is a unique if somewhat controversial, potential photoshoot location.
An unfortunate combination of an uptick in crime and COVID-19 complications affecting the many previous venues here caused the area to become primarily vacated.
Admittedly, the environment here has a slightly unsettling feeling of a modern “ghost town,” with such an ample space almost entirely devoid of activity, save for a few roaming security guards and a few still-standing businesses serving as a reminder of the bustling activity that once was.
On the bright side, though, this provides plenty of opportunity for apparel and lifestyle photographers looking to utilize an urban space with architectural diversity for their photoshoots.
Cobblestone streets, neon signs, many stairs, lighting varieties, and even a handful of skyline views provide plenty of creative opportunities.
Mint Museum Uptown
One of Mint Museum's locations is in Uptown Charlotte, near the Convention Center, and the other is off Randolph Road.
Although the museum is a great way to spend a few hours viewing American and contemporary art, its exterior is worth utilizing as a location for my apparel and lifestyle photoshoots.
This location is helpful in two ways.
The Bechtler Museum, directly across the street, also offers an incredibly unique architectural design on its exterior.
Its deep orange and rugged pillars and walls contrast heavily with the Mint Museum’s grey and off-white exterior.
The nearby Starbucks, park, and intersection help provide a decent amount of street activity in a city that otherwise doesn’t experience heavy foot traffic outside of rush hour if that’s an element you want to incorporate into your photography.
206 South Church Street Parking
You’re probably wondering why I’m rounding out this short list with a parking deck as a photoshoot location.
Charlotte is notorious, at least in my eyes, for not having as many publicly accessible highrise views for photographers to work with as other cities of a similar size.
This is because many parking decks and properties in general are privately owned, most notably by Bank of America, which owns many of the parking decks I’ve tried to photograph.
More often than not, within minutes of arriving at a parking deck with a camera in hand, security will quickly saunter over and ask me to leave.
Thankfully, this parking deck, directly next to Ink N Ivy, has provided me with a reliable location to showcase a sense of industrial minimalism.
It also has what I consider to be one of Charlotte’s best skyline views, at least when it comes to ones you can utilize in your lifestyle portraits.