In my opinion, Roosevelt Row is one of the best places for urban photography in Phoenix, AZ. It has amazing graffiti that make for vibrant and unique backgrounds. Not only are there huge murals that change from time to time, but a whole house covered in graffiti. Because of its variety of beautiful, urban backgrounds, and also being in the heart of Phoenix with lots of other wonderful architecture and neon signs, I consider it one of my go-to urban locations.

 

What Time Should I Go?

 

Personally, I love going about an hour or two before sunset. There’s lots to explore and I’m happy to bring my own lighting to keep shooting even after sunset. Roosevelt Row is basically a photographer’s playground, to get creative, experiment with backgrounds, and mixing art from so many unknown artists in the world with your own in the digital/film world.

 

Is it Safe?

 

I haven’t been attacked or approached yet, but in the later evening, I’d be hesistant to go down some of the alleyways for some of the graffiti backgrounds. The graffiti house area is also pretty slow, except on the first friday of the month or when there’s an event going on nearby. Do photoshoot there late at night at your own risk! I’d recommend to stay on the busy streets where there’s plenty of visibility and traffic.

 

Here’s a few images from a couple of shoots on or near Roosevelt Row:

 

This image shows the great urban background options around and near roosevelt row as well as some graffiti far in the background.
This image shows part of the graffiti house located on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix, AZ
This image shows another part of the graffiti house on Roosevelt Row, demonstrating the house is covered, even on it's doors, in graffiti.
This image shows another side of the graffiti house located on Roosevelt Row
This image shows the unique creativity one can use at night in combination with passing buses, cars, and lightrails, to create interesting, intricate backgrounds.
This image shows the different neon signs near Roosevelt Row that can be used to create visually stunning backgrounds.
This image shows graffiti available on Roosevelt Row for backgrounds
This image shows a mural we discovered at Roosevelt Row
This image shows rubble near Roosevelt Row which can be make for interesting backgrounds as well.
This image shows the patio of the graffiti house, which even the steps are painted
This image shows how you can use bokeh to remove most of the textures from graffiti and turn it into a colorful canvas background.
This image shows another graffiti mural that has since been painted over
This image shows a neat, colorful hallway in front of the Renaissance Hotel
This image shows an area I really like near Roosevelt Row in front of the Renaissance Hotel

 

Let me know if you end up going and getting shots of your own at Roosevelt Row! Hope this helped you find some great spots around that area. Get more ideas for photoshoot locations from my other blog post, “BEST PORTRAIT SESSION LOCATION GUIDE FOR PHOENIX ARIZONA“.

October 9, 2019

Roosevelt Row – A Wonderland of Graffiti