City Photo Spots: Best Locations in Nashville for Photography

Nashville brims with a whirlwind of activity that makes it a compelling destination for photographers from all over the globe. I often run into freshly arrived shooters eagerly snapping images of this extraordinary and unique place. As I write, Nashville is experiencing rapidly expanding growth. Each day, on average, 100 new people settle in to make Nashville their home, and 13 million tourists take in the fun each year. Below are my top five city photo spots in Nashville.

Downtown — the core honky-tonkin’ tourist area — is a street photographer’s paradise. At almost any given moment, the streets are alive with massive numbers of party buses, bridal parties, and street performers. A walking bridge over the Cumberland River provides spectacular views of downtown. History can be found on the river banks. Picturesque Fort Nashborough, a replica of the original settler’s fort, is located across the street from historic 19th-century warehouse buildings.

Nashville is a great place for all types of photography. Inspiration abounds in its wicked-rich music scene, vibrant art scene, beautiful park system with stunning nature preserves, abundant sports, and seasonal events of all kinds. When you’ve had enough shooting for one day, be ready for the great food and libations.

Lower Broadway

My absolute number one favorite place for photographing is contained in the six square blocks of lower Broadway, which pulsates with colossal energy in the heart of downtown Nashville. This dynamic area hosts thousands of people, dozens of honky-tonks and a serious volume of noise. Rich in the unexpected, you never know what will pop up before your camera. A haphazard multitude of neon signs, cool buildings, and random people all collide here in a rush of activity. Night photography is at its peak on Saturdays from midnight to 3:00am. 

There is so much to see and to photograph. Downtown Nashville is a place where you can walk around one single block all day long and encounter a thousand different people on each turn. In your quest for that shot, you will not be disappointed.

Ryman Auditorium and Live Music

Nashville is aptly known as Music City USA. Live music abounds here, from mega concerts to onstage at little dive-bar clubs. You never know who might appear. Big name music stars frequently drop in at small clubs in East Nashville or perform at low-key events like weekly shows that take place at a rural hardware store. With some persistence, photographers can get press passes to music events. For local photographers the holy grail is getting to shoot on stage at the Ryman Auditorium. There are many music festivals throughout the year that take place across the city. The two biggest are the Americana Awards and the Country Music Awards.

Cheekwood Estate Gardens and Other Parks

Though I am not a nature or landscape photographer, I do enjoy doing street photography in Nashville’s many parks. My favorite green spot to shoot is at the awesome Parthenon building set in newly restored Centennial Park. Another inspiring location for capturing beauty is at the Cheekwood Estate Gardens, a lush oasis of outdoor art and sculpture exhibits set into lavish gardens including a traditional Japanese garden, and featuring year-round events. For an airy, elevated view of the city, head over to Love Circle for sunrise and sunset photos. Historic Fort Negley park is a nice site that features the remnants of the old fort that helped defend the city in the Civil War. For the Civil War buff, there are numerous battlefields, museums, and restored homes to take in. This includes the Hermitage – home to Andrew Jackson – and the gracious Belle Meade Mansion. 

Wilson County State Fair

Held just outside of Nashville, the Wilson County State Fair is the big one in the area. Although, many surrounding counties host charming small town fairs of their own. Most fairs have a parade to kick off their festivities providing visually rich opportunities for shooting people and activities including musicians, midways, farm animals, and all manner of interesting folk. Rodeos and monster truck races provide plenty of action and my personal favorite event to photograph is the demolition derby featuring riding lawnmowers.

The State Capitol

Nashville is home to the State Capitol, so it follows that it can be a hotbed of protests and rallies of all sorts. The past few years have witnessed a global sea change in the documenting of political street action. From journalists to citizens, cameras are omnipresent at any public event — recording everything. My first taste of this was at the Woman’s March in 2017, and I was hooked. In the following years, there were almost weekly opportunities for image making. I keep my ear to the ground ready to head out at a moment’s notice. The work of documenting political theatre resulted in my book, Good Morning America: How Are Ya!.

A note about my personal cameras: I trade off with a Ricoh GR III and the Sony A7C with a 38mm lens. For me, both cameras are well-suited for unobtrusive street shooting.