List of Parking Rooftop for Photos in Minneapolis & St Paul

Some rooftop parking lot can be the perfect location for an engagement session or even a ceremony.

Indeed, best photographers would know that all rooftops won’t work and some condition, such as the direction of the cityscape, the sun position and the weather would directly impact the result of your pictures.

I have listed below some parking rooftop that I have scouted a few years ago in 2017.
Here are the pro and cons of having your pictures taken in a rooftop, and here is an example of engagement session on a rooftop in St Paul.

Now, given a lot of couples asked me, I have gathered pictures to show you the options.
But first, let’s see what are the quality of a good parking rooftop, and what you should take in consideration for your pics.

Table of Contents

Quality of a good parking rooftop

It offers a nice view on the cityscape.
Thus it is located nor too far, nor too close to the city, and the view is not obstructed. It can be located in the center of the city if the building is tall enough.
It’s surrounded by other photogenic buildings (not too far, and not to close either).
Brick and stone buildings are perfect, but glass-wall buildings would work great too, adding a touch a blue.
The last level is at the perfect high regarding the adjacent buildings.
The role of the adjacent buildings is to create a sensation of depth and thus to induce dynamism in the image.
Think of a forest canopy. The view should not be above all the other buildings, and not but obstructed by a massive wall just in front.
It is empty.
That sound pretty obvious. Most parking is empty during the weekend and thus are perfect for us. If they are used for the event, then we should avoid them.

Take the sun position in consideration

After choosing the parking lot offering the best view, the major element to take in consideration is the sun.
Let’s simplify, the best for the photographer is to have:

The sun in front of him (so behind the building).
Thus the photographer can play with sun rays diffraction)
the sun in his back.
In that manner, the couple and the background are both well lightened.

In consequence, some rooftop would be better for morning, some would be better the the sun set.