NYC Photo Spots

Early this year my little brother asked me to follow him and his fiance around to three different cities and snag some engagement photos for them. We did Las Vegas, Seattle and NYC. Check out my post on Las Vegas HERE, but today I’m talking about NYC. It was the middle of winter, and I had been on a Hawaiian holiday just days before, so you can bet I was layered up in every wool sweater I owned. I was hoping for at least snow to bring some beauty to the bare trees of Central Park, but instead we received rain and clouds, sigh. So conditions were not ideal, but at least the stunning architecture never changes. Being that I am constantly learning and growing, I look back on these photos and see so much I would change and do better if I could go back. But I’m grateful for the learning experience.

Today I’m going to share a few photo spots I researched and loved. I hadn’t been to the city in years, so I spent a lot of time googling to find ideal spots, and messaged just one photographer couple whose photos I enjoy: BOM Photography. They were so kind and helpful in several ways, answering all of my questions and more. And their photography is inspiring to me, I recommend following them on social media. So some of the photo spot ideas came from them, some from personal research, some were just random shots we got along the way. Check them out below, hopefully they are helpful for your next Big Apple trip:

1. Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park: you get the best views of both the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge from right in front of the carousel. But because of the angle you’re at, you’ll get a better shot with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. I took this first shot standing directly in front of the carousel, and the second shot was taken along the pathway towards Main Street Park.

2. Subways: Okay, these were just random shots. I can’t remember if they requested subway shots or not, but I saw them acting cute, pulled out the camera (it’s okay, I was “hired” to be a creeper), and they modeled for me. I don’t often do black and white photos, but with the neon orange seats and mish mash of colors, these came out quite nice in b&w.

3. Bow Bridge Central Park: there are so many good spots in Central Park. This one was perfect for use because it was less dead trees, more architecture. It’s a great spot melding the skyline, water, and nature all into one, just time it well or be patient because it’s quite a popular spot in the warmer months.

4. Brooklyn Bridge: we found ourselves in the dumbo area often, so we entered from that side (corner of Prospect St. and Washington St.). Grab some Shake Shack while you’re here 😉

Other mentions:

5. Manhattan Bridge: if you place yourself (again in the dumbo area) at the corner of Washington St and Water St. then you will find yourself in a popular photo spot with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background.

6. Central Park Bethesda: this is a fun area where you can play with light, and get decent photos whether it’s golden hour or not.

7. York Street (dumbo again) has some colorful murals underneath the subway; the rainbow wall is especially popular.

I suppose you can’t really go wrong in NYC, it’s always photogenic no matter the place or weather. But being based in Brooklyn, these were spots that were ideal for us. Hope you found it helpful for your next NYC trip.