Page Three

22. Urban Bridge: The overpasses above the train tracks between North and South Birmingham are a great way to take in a close-up backdrop of the city along with a bridge feel. I prefer the 24th and 22nd Street Bridges.

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23. More Historic Birmingham: Sloss Furnaces. Because it’s just awesome.

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And if you really want to get funky, visit it on a day that’s below freezing.

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24. Wildflower Paths: Ruffner Mountain, Far East entrance (On Ruffner Road, about a mile east of the ballpark entrance.) To get to where these pictures are taken, take the trail toward the pond. It’s about a mile hike, but with little grade change, so it can be done in a relaxing manner (assuming it’s not Alabama Summer.)

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There are also fun places along this path that serve as great photo backdrops – see my post titled 30 Hiking Destinations in Birmingham for more details on how to find them all.

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25. Mountain Peak / Long City Skyline Shot: Park at the ball field (Ruffner Road) entrance of Ruffner Mountain and hike up .6 miles to the City Overlook (You will pass the Cambrian Overlook on the way up – although cool as well, do not be fooled – it is not your final destination.) The hike is, as insinuated, uphill – but totally worth it for the photo shoot.

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150514b Hike to the Top

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This is the Cambrian Overlook, which is looking out over the main quarry.

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26. Quarry/Rock Backgrounds: Again, Ruffner Mountain has some fantastic finds. The Quarry is easier to get to from the ball field entrance than the overlook, and has both paths and rock walls that make great backdrops. See my post titled 30 Hiking Destinations in Birmingham for more details.

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27. Nature Shots in Hoover: Moss Rock Preserve has many easy-to-access (and many harder to access) photo spots. The Boulder Field is a mere .15 miles from the parking lot – it’s a fantastic place to photograph.

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You can snag shots of just nature, or a bit of nature with graffiti thrown in.

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There’s a fantastic twisted tree that’s fun to sit on as well – see my post titled 30 Hiking Destinations in Birmingham for more details.

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28. View Not for the Faint of Heart: This is totally impractical for a family photo shoot, but I assume some of you are here just for the views. The Hike to King’s Chair at Oak Mountain State Park is two miles uphill (and I do mean UP.) But the views are completely worth it – especially at sunrise.

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To get here, park at the North Trailhead and take the blue trail all the way up. The Autumn Views at King’s Chair make it completely worth the hike – even with children.

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29. Nature Backdrops – easy to access: The Cabin area at Oak Mountain State Park is full of beautiful backdrops that are much less well-known than the rest of the park. The small but scenic lake there is just stunning – especially in the fall, but really anytime:

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The nostalgic playground equipment, also at the cabins,

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Fantastic random furnaces on the trails surrounding the cabins,

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And the hidden waterfall, also near the cabins.

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Continue to Page Four….

8 thoughts on “40 Spectacular Spots for Birmingham Photo Shoots

  1. Such a great list, thanks for sharing! We’ve done pictures down on Morris Ave before, but it was harder to keep my (special needs) son’s attention – he kept running off to watch trains. Last time we went to Aldridge gardens and that was much better for him with less people and a lovely setting. We got married at Samford so will do 25th anniversary pics there next year – yay!
    Anyway, now I’m inspired to get my camera out and take my kids to Sloss, or maybe the train museum.

    1. Btw, my son looked at these pics with me, and kept insisting I scroll back to the bridge one. That’s one of his favorite bridges for train watching. ❤️ I may have to order that one for him.

  2. Wow these make me want to come just to get pictures taken! But there’s the small matter of being stuck on a plane all day with 4 children. :P

  3. Such great ideas!! Thank you soooo much for sharing. And thank you for adding tips and FYI’s on them, that’s so helpful and makes the article well worth note taking!!

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