Sure, Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and known for its eye-blindingly pink sunsets, food scene, and warm summers, but what if I told you it was also a photo lover’s oasis? If you’re used to #DoinItForTheGram, the most Instagrammable places in Phoenix should be next on your shot list!
You heard me!
This post has you covered whether you’re looking for the perfect spot to shoot your cactus portraits or need a fabulous urban destination to flaunt on the gram.
I’ll be pulling from my experience as a local to make sure you know about all the best Phoenix photo spots, AND I’m hooking you up with a map on where to find them—you’re welcome ;). So let’s get started; we have quite a bit to cover!
When you’re done reading this post, I recommend checking out some of my other AZ blogs:
- Most Instagrammable places in Scottsdale
- Best Day Trips from Scottsdale, AZ
- Most Instagrammable Places in Sedona, AZ
- How to Spend a Weekend in Scottsdale
Let’s begin!
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Camera Gear I Use
If you’re a content creator, want to make money as a content creator, or just a photo lover, you might want to check out the camera gear I use below! Just about all of my pictures were taken with this equipment:
- Canon 5D Mark IV (>>click here)—My absolute favorite camera! If you’re looking for a mirrorless option, you can snag a Canon EOS R (mirrorless version).
- Canon 24-70 f/2.8 (>>check availability)—My go-to lens thats great for portraits and landscapes!
For editing, there’s tons of aesthetic photo editing apps you can use too!
Map of Instagram Spots
Below you’ll find a map of Instagram spots near Phoenix. We’ll be covering the deets on all of these.
You can click here to view a live version of the map!
List of Instagrammable Places in Phoenix, Arizona
- Phoenix City Hall
- Roosevelt Row Arts District
- Civic Space Park
- Japanese Friendship Garden
- Historic Apartment Building
- Historic Home & Lawn
- Westward Ho
- Heritage Square Park
- W. Portland St.
- Washington Street and Central Ave
- Bridge Over Central Avenue
- Downtown Phoenix Parking Garages
- Lola Coffee
- The Farm South Mountain
- Whitfill Nursery
- Granada Park
- South Mountain Park & Preserve
- Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge
- Mill Ave Bridge
- Elvis Chapel
- Salt River Tubing Exit
- Usery Mountain Regional Park
We’ll be breaking down the details on each of these spots like when to take the best pictures, and any fees associated with visiting them.
Below, you’ll notice that I broke up the Instagram spots into categories.
I did this to help you plan your photoshoots! When you’re in a specific area of Phoenix or are looking for a location with a certain “vibe,” you can pull up this blog for inspo :).
Let’s dive in!
Downtown Phoenix Photo Spots
Downtown Phoenix is FULL of hidden gems.
Some spots don’t necessarily have a name since they’ve been discovered on a whim.
Whether or not you go to a specific Downtown Phoenix photo spot on this list, you’ll indeed find hidden photo gems of your own just by driving around.
Not to mention, Downtown Phoenix is an awesome day trip from Scottsdale, so if you’re visiting, take a drive this way, will ya?
#1 W. Portland St.
- Location Description: Palm-tree lined street
- Best Light: Morning to Evening
- Coordinates: 33.45969, -112.078
- Fees: None
The famous palm tree-lined road is one of the best Downtown Phoenix photo spots. Portland St. will make you feel like you’re in LA!
You can park near Lola Coffee to get here, but parking is limited, so plan accordingly. Photograph this road at just about any angle, but my favorite photos came from pointing the camera slightly upwards to feature the palm trees.
Sunset is a great time to go here if you want a pink sky and palms in your pics!
#2 Japanese Friendship Garden
- Location Description: Lush garden inspired by Japanese culture
- Best Light: Morning
- Coordinates: 33.46095, -112.07657
- Fees: $12
The Japanese Friendship Garden is located in Downtown Phoenix near Portland Street. It features 3.5 acres of tea gardens and a tea house.
With its lush plants and small bridge walkways, it’s undoubtedly an underrated and GORGEOUS location for Instagram photos.
#3 Washington Street and Central Ave
- Location Description: Photogenic crossroads
- Best Light: Mid-Day
- Coordinates: 33.4482, -112.07383
- Fees: Possible street parking fees
This is 100% a city lover’s Instagrammable place in Phoenix. Of course, you need to be careful with the light rail, but the Washington Street and Central Ave crosswalk is a gem for your urban photos!
Late afternoon light or sunset offers the best light.
Next Read: Taking these pics to become an influencer? Read this blog: 12 Steps to Becoming an Instagram Influencer
#4 Phoenix City Hall
- Location Description: Photogenic city hall building with large steps
- Best Light: Morning
- Coordinates: 33.44872, -112.07732
- Fees: Possible street parking fees
Ready for some urban vibes or want a location to shoot some ridiculously sized dresses? Head over to Phoenix City Hall.
The Hall’s large stairs and tile exterior make it one of the most aesthetic places in Phoenix!
Come to City Hall for some fantastic editorial-type photos! The light here is best mid-morning or late afternoon—midday offers pretty harsh light.
#5 Roosevelt Row Arts District
- Location Description: Downtown street with art shows and photogenic buildings
- Best Light: Mid-Day
- Coordinates: 33.45825, -112.0691
- Fees: Possible street parking fees
If you like murals and wall art, this is the photo destination for you! There are countless murals in downtown Phoenix, especially in the Roosevelt Row Arts District.
One notable mural by Brian Boner features hundreds of birds in flight on the side of monOrchid. There’s also historic buildings in the area that are VERY photogenic!
Next Read: You might like this blog—how to beat the Instagram algorithm.
#6 Civic Space Park
- Location Description: City park with large art display
- Best Light: Mid-Day
- Coordinates: 33.45335, -112.07465
- Fees: Possible street parking fees
Want some incredible night photos? Come to the Civic Space Park in Downtown Phoenix and strike a pose in front of the “Her Secret is Patience” sculpture by Janet Echelman.
It’s a giant structure made out of fishnet that looks almost iridescent when its lights shine!
#7 Historic Apartment Building
- Location Description: Historic apartment building with photogenic exterior
- Best Light: Mid-Day
- Coordinates: 33.45851, -112.07728
- Fees: None
Right across the street from Lola Coffee sits a historic apartment building that doesn’t look like it belongs in Downtown Phoenix.
On Google Maps, it’s called “SB Real Holdings.”
But, with its brick exterior and adorable windows, this building is an excellent location to strike a pose for your Phoenix city pictures.
#8 Historic Home & Lawn
- Location Description: Historic home with an open lawn area
- Best Light: Mid-Day
- Coordinates: 33.45854, -112.07678
- Fees: None
A historic Phoenix home sits to the left of the apartment building across from Lola.
Its front lawn features giant palms and a grassy area that makes you feel like you’re in the Caribbean or Cali.
In other words, it’s the perfect photo destination for pictures that look like you’re visiting a beach.
No one will know the difference, right? Cali, who?
If you’re doing a bunch of photoshoots in a day, this can be an excellent place for midday pictures or Instagram Stories!
#9 Westward Ho
- Location Description: Historic hotel in Phoenix
- Best Light: Anytime
- Coordinates: 33.45505, -112.07422
- Fees: None
Unlike most Instagrammable places in Phoenix, the Westward Ho used to be a boujee hotel for presidents and celebrities.
Now it’s affordable housing, but nonetheless it’s still a gorgeous place for Instagram photos!
#10 Heritage Square Park
- Location Description: Park area featuring historic buildings in Phoenix
- Best Light: Morning or late afternoon
- Coordinates: 33.45, -112.06578
- Fees: None
Heritage Square Park is great for city pics! It features historic Downtown Phoenix buildings like the Rosson House, a Victorian Museum.
Its elegant and chic vibes are the perfect scene for Instagram portraits or engagement photos.
#11 Bridge Over Central Avenue
- Location Description: City bridge featuring gorgeous city views of Downtown PHX
- Best Light: Evening
- Coordinates: 33.42854, -112.07376
- Fees: None
The Bridge Over Central Avenue in Downtown Phoenix is one of the unique photography locations in Phoenix!
At sunset, the surrounding buildings start to glow, and the entire environment looks absolutely magical in urban photos.
This is an excellent Instagrammable place for fashion portraits or urban engagement photos!
#12 Downtown Phoenix Parking Garages
- Location Description: Scenic parking garages that feature views of skyscrapers
- Best Light: Anytime
- Coordinates: All around Downtown PHX
- Fees: None
I mean, what would a list of Instagrammable places be without mentioning a parking garage?
Some of the best Downtown Phoenix photo spots are parking garages. They take you between the skyscrapers.
You can’t go wrong with most of them, but the Central Ave parking garages have some better views!
Instagram Worthy Restaurants in Phoenix
Are you a foodie in need of an Instagram fix? Check out these Instagrammable restaurants in Phoenix.
#13 Lola Coffee
- Location Description: Cute coffee shop featuring a yellow entrance and brick patio area
- Best Light: Anytime
- Coordinates: 33.4588, -112.0774
- Fees: Should buy something
Lola Coffee is located in Downtown Phoenix and is famous for its yellow exterior and brick patio. The entire sidewalk area is full of cute building entrances that are highly photogenic.
Take pictures inside of Lola or outside near the yellow entryway!
#14 The Farm South Mountain
- Location Description: Farm with a cute cafe and beautiful outdoor seating area
- Best Light: Morning to Evening
- Coordinates: 33.39092, -112.01527
- Fees: Should buy something
The Farm at South Mountain is located in Phoenix, Arizona.
It’s a cute cafe serving sandwiches and desserts, but its outdoor area is where it REALLY shines.
The outdoor area of the farm features picnic tables and tree-lined walkways that, when full of lush greenery, is one of the more scenic places in the area!
More Aesthetic Places in Phoenix
Oh don’t worry, we’re not done yet. Here are a couple more aesthetic places in Phoenix that just so happen to be some of the best photography spots in Phoenix for all you grammers out there!
#15 Whitfill Nursery
- Location Description: Lush nursery with beautifully enclosed greenhouses
- Best Light: Anytime
- Coordinates: 33.39295, -112.024
- Fees: None
Like planty things or just planty photos? Head to the large greenhouse in Whitfill Nursery.
The greenhouse is FULL of plants, as it should be, and makes for some gorgeous jungle-vibe Instagram pictures.
#16 Granada Park
- Location Description: Large public park with mountain views and trees
- Best Light: Morning or Sunset
- Coordinates: 33.53257, -112.03632
- Fees: None
Granada Park is one of the more underrated Instagrammable places in Phoenix!
In the morning, you can capture Piestewa Peak in the background of your images as it glows from the rising sun.
This is the perfect photo spot for a picnic photoshoot.
OR you can opt for something that requires some open space and props.
There’s plenty of room to set up your photos! Sunset is a fantastic time to shoot Granada Park too, but expect there to be more crowds.
#17 South Mountain Park and Preserve
- Location Description: An entire mountain area with epic vistas for sunset
- Best Light: Sunset or Sunrise
- Coordinates: 33.35357, -112.07432
- Fees: None
South Mountain Park and Preserve gives you wild west vibes all day. Visit this location during sunset for your cowboy-inspired photos!
Scorpion Gulch is a popular photo destination here among many of the other scenic drives and mountain trails.
Photography Locations Around Phoenix
As you’ve probably noticed from looking at our most Instagrammable places in Phoenix map OR just a map of the Phoenix Metro Area, all of the different Phoenix subsets sit relatively close together.
I’m talking about Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, etc.
Therefore, I thought it would be worthwhile for you to know about these locations as well!
And don’t forget, I have a whole blog dedicated to the most Instagrammable places in Scottsdale you can check out too.
#18 Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge
- Location Description: Large pedestrian bridge with a modern structure
- Best Light: Sunrise or Sunset
- Coordinates: 33.43362, -111.94859
- Fees: None
Right outside the Tempe Center for the Arts sits the Pedestrian Bridge and it makes for beautiful sunset photos with an urban vibe.
When you’re done shooting here, you can head over to Tempe Center for the Arts for bonus photos!
#19 Mill Ave Bridge
- Location Description: Large bridge going over a lake, lined with string lights
- Best Light: Evening
- Coordinates: 33.43345, -111.94113
- Fees: None
The Mill Ave Bridge is just across from the Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge.
This one is special because the globe lights lining the bridge are turned on at night, making for some DREAMY Instagram pictures!
#20 Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel
- Location Description: Old chapel in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains
- Best Light: Golden Hour
- Coordinates: 33.44754, -111.50158
- Fees: None
The Superstition Mountain Museum is located near Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains.
The museum features a little white chapel, called the Elvis Chapel, that used to be used for movie sets, among other things.
Now it’s a popular destination for Instagram photos!
#21 Salt River Tubing Exit
- Location Description: Desert oasis complete with a “beach” and desert flora, popular for portraits
- Best Light: Sunrise or Sunset
- Coordinates: 33.55366, -111.62183
- Fees: None
The Salt River is one of the most Instagrammable places in Phoenix—technically located in Mesa. No one can deny its beauty when it looks like a desert oasis.
It is a trendy photoshoot destination for wedding photographers and family portraits, so you’ll have to plan your shoots accordingly.
The Coon Bluff Recreation Area has photogenic walkways and “beach” areas for photos!
#22 Usery Mountain Regional Park
- Location Description: Desert regional park near Mesa, Arizona featuring mountain views
- Best Light: Sunset
- Coordinates: 33.47917, -111.61947
- Fees: $7
Usery Mountain Regional Park is located near Mesa, Arizona.
It’s known for its vast mountain scene and open desert, perfect for outdoor photos.
Next Steps for Your Photo Mission
And there you have it! That completes this list of the most Instagrammable places in Phoenix, Arizona.
Hopefully you can see how diverse the city is!
My final word of advice to you would be to check the weather.
Sometimes a lingering storm and gloomy day can make these places look dull—all the gorgeous details disappear with the lack of light.
Next up, I suggest reading one of my other AZ blogs:
- Most Instagrammable places in Scottsdale
- Phoenix to Sedona to Grand Canyon
- Best Day Trips from Scottsdale, AZ
- Most Instagrammable Places in Sedona, AZ
- How to Spend a Weekend in Scottsdale
Happy exploring 🙂
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