Seven Tips You Should Know For Your Engagement Session in New York
Compared to the suburban, laid back sprawl of Los Angeles I grew up with, New York is a high octane city that runs on a blend of caffeine and adrenaline, where everyone’s got a place to be and a story to tell.
It's also one of the most iconic cities in the world, and unsurprisingly, popular locations my couples request are also popular locations for everyone else to photograph at as well.
As a TL:DR, anytime you're planning for a photoshoot in a potentially active and popular location, you should always
- Plan for things to take longer than you expect, and
- Plan out the photographs that are most important to you
If you take nothing else from this article, starting a conversation with your photographer with these two ideas in mind will help you get the most out of your session, and set you up to get the most amazing photos possible during your time. Additionally, at the end of this article are some tips that can apply in almost any location, although it's focused on NYC.
For location specific info, I'm going to talk about the three places I get asked about the most:
- Central Park
- DUMBO
- The Brooklyn Bridge
If you have questions about any of the information you see here, feel free to contact me through the form below and ask! I'd love to learn more about what you have in mind and help you plan the perfect session.
Location Specific Ideas for Photoshoots in NYC
1. Central Park
One of the most common places I photograph at in Central Park is the Bethesda Terrace. It's got those arches, and it's also relatively painless to get to by public transit. It's also one of the most popular areas. I suggest going here on an off-hour as much as possible, whether that be sunset / dusk on a weekday, or (if you're really ambitious), at sunrise. You also have the option of all the footpaths that lead away from the fountain, and other locations that I like to explore with my couples that are relatively nearby include the Bow Bridge or the Mall in Central Park .
My best piece of advice for Central Park is to keep moving as much as possible, so that you get as many different environments, and also increase your chances of finding a clear area where there aren't too many people. On the other side of the Bow Bridge are plenty of additional views of the Lake, as well as paths that wind through the park, and are often not as busy with foot traffic.
Tips for Central Park:
- Bring a comfortable pair of shoes you can slip in and out of, and then just put your heels on for the pictures
- Saturdays and Sundays are going to be really busy in the park - see if you can do a weekday sunset shoot instead
2. DUMBO
Just a short subway ride away from Manhattan, DUMBO is actually one of my favorite areas to explore and photograph with clients. It's got a lot of different textures and buildings, not to mention the views you can get of Manhattan on the other side of the East River.
The most popular place to Instagram in DUMBO is Washington Street, and that fact is certainly reflected in the lines of people waiting to get their shot. For example, for this image of Carson & John in DUMBO, I had to stand closer to them, and use their bodies to block the people in the background who were also taking a photograph. And that's after 10 minutes of us waiting and me very loudly asking people to move out of my photograph. So basically, just be aware that if you want a photograph here, you'll definitely want to come at an off-peak time, and even then pray for good luck.
My hidden secret about DUMBO is a rooftop nearby, from which you can see both bridges and Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park , and it makes for a stellar view.
Tips for DUMBO:
- Bring practical shoes - there's a rocky beach by the water that you can use for some really pretty pictures
- The area looks really different before and after sunset - if you have time, schedule your session right through the transition of light and you can get radically different images in the exact same spot
3. The Brooklyn Bridge
Did you ever play the game Frogger as a kid? That's what it sometimes feels like photographing on the Brooklyn Bridge. There are people jogging the bridge, biking the bridge, and even just walking the bridge, so you have a lot of moving things to watch out for as you do your shoot here.
I like the bridge because all the leading lines creates some very dramatic compositions, but otherwise I actually often recommend to my couples not spending a huge amount of time on the bridge. There's a few reasons for this. First, is that it's a long walk to get into the middle of the bridge, where the most photogenic areas are. Second, once you're there, it's hard to get a photograph that balances the bridge as well as the view of the city you get from the bridge. That means you end up with a lot of images of you on a bridge, but there aren't many other options for backgrounds and environments. Lastly, if you come in the middle of the day, the lack of shaded areas means that the sun may be coming from directly overhead, casting deep, unflattering shadows on your face.
My best piece of advice for sessions on the Brooklyn Bridge is to be really specific about which shots you want, plan it out keeping the sun in mind, and then spend the bulk of your session at another location nearby, like DUMBO or City Hall Park (depends on which side of the bridge you're on). That way you get the key shots you were really hoping for on the bridge, and you get to spend more time out of the sun and in other areas of the city as well.
Tips for the Brooklyn Bridge:
- Be careful of your heels. The slats on the bridge have spaces between them, so bring an alternate pair of shoes just in case your heels end up being too dangerous to walk in. Great pictures aren't worth twisting your ankle for.
- Sunrise is pretty much your only option if you want wide angle photographs with no people in them unfortunately.
- Watch out for cyclists. They ride really fast on the bridge.
psst! Thanks for making it this far. I hope that means either my rambling style of writing has kept you hooked, or that you are finding this information useful. Before you jump into the rest of the article, drop me a quick email or text message and let's talk about what you're planning for your own wedding!
Things Applicable to Almost Any Location in NYC
1. Photobombs will happen, and that's ok.
There's only so much you can do to get a clean background. Even if you have a particularly unabashed photographer who isn't afraid to politely ask people to move out of your frame (ahem), with 8.6 million people living in the city, it's almost inevitable that some people will get in your picture. If you remember the scene from "When Harry Met Sally", and he drops her off at Washington Square Park in broad daylight and it's just the two of them... you tell me when the last time you saw that park empty and devoid of people. I'll wait.
Now, that being said, that doesn't mean you can't get creative with your angles and try and make it look like it's just the two of you going for a stroll in Central Park! For example. for this photograph of Wendy & Andreas, we wanted a more cinematic, romantic "how you kissed me under the lamppost" feeling, and so we waited until dusk in the park when there were fewer people, and I stopped traffic for a little bit while we waited for the sidewalk to clear of cyclists.
2. Golden Hour is More like Golden Minute
A lot of people know about "Golden Hour", and know it's a great time of day for photographs. However, in New York, because there are so many buildings, and golden hour conveniently coincides with rush hour, your time will slip faster than you might think.
In this shot with Kiera & Naim, we knew in advance that we wanted a shot of the sun setting behind them, with the leading lines of the street laid out behind them. That being said, we only had a very short window to get the shot, so we had to scope out the location earlier in the shoot, plan around the light, and then come back at the right time for the shot. Ultimately we made it happen, but it's a great example of how when there's important photographs you want and are envisioning, you can work with your photographer to make sure we get them in time.
3. Bring an emergency kit!
New York is hot, cold, humid, windy, and rainy, often on the exact same day. I don't have any specific examples here, but there are countless times where some tissues stashed in a pocket at the beginning of the shoot become very useful later on when foreheads get shiny from walking around. It's also easy to forget to bring layers, as what might normally be fine for a brisk walk from the train to your apartment, may not be sufficient for a slower paced stroll during a photoshoot.
Things that are a great idea to keep in your purse, or in a small backpack you bring to the shoot:
- tissues or blotting paper
- some makeup or hairspray to touch your look up throughout the shoot
- a Tide Pen in case that makeup gets on your clothing
- a snack and/or bottle of water
- if you're wearing heels, something like these heel caps might be useful so that you don't get stuck in the grass
- a change of clothes / shoes
4.At the end of the day, don't forget to have fun
I hope you find the above tips useful when planning your session. If there's one thing I hope you takeaway from this article, it's that communicating with your photographer will pay dividends, as they'll be able to help plan out your shoot to get the best results. Next, I'm going to jump into a few location specific things, focusing on Central Park, DUMBO, and the Brooklyn Bridge. All the above tips still apply (especially in regards to crowds and traffic), but I'll share some of my experiences of what I've found to be particularly useful in regards to these locations.
In closing
I hope this is helpful for you as you go about planning your wedding or engagement session! Ultimately, don't be discouraged by any of the things you've read here - the photo session should be about you and the story you're hoping to tell with your pictures, and photography is all about adapting to the situation regardless of the conditions. You may have heard me rant a little bit about crowds and people photobombing my pictures, but some of the my favorite compositions have actually incorporated them, and made them a part of the shot.
If you're currently planning a session or a wedding, don't hesitate to reach out and contact me!