I think everyone would agree with me when I say New York City is one of the dreamiest photo destinations ever! At every time of the day and every time of the year, a photo session is instantly made timeless surrounded by any given location in and around NYC. In addition to my local clients, since I’ve moved to the NYC area, I receive countless inquiries throughout the year from both international and domestic travelers inquiring for surprise NYC proposal photography, cherry blossom family portraits in Central Park, or the elegant engagement session at Grand Central Station. For fun and to inspire my future sessions, I’ve decided to highlight a few of my favorite photo spots *so far* around Manhattan.

DISCLAIMER: I’m focusing on Manhattan to simply help narrow the list, but there are many other magical locations within Manhattan, but also within each borough of the city. The locations I am choosing around Manhattan categorize as some of my favorites because of the ease getting to, from, and around them for shooting. I think highlighting some fav’s within other boroughs will be a blog post for another day 🙂

BETHESDA TERRACE & BOW BRIDGE

When I think about classic and romantic Central Park, I think of the Bethesda Terrace and Bow Bridge areas. One of the first ever photo sessions I did in NYC was an engagement session in 2016. I was actually living in Boston at the time and traveled down for the session. I didn’t know NYC well at all, but did a lot of research and found so much inspiration from Tiffany’s Ad’s that were taken on the Bow Bridge, Betheseda Terrace, and the Mall in Central Park. To this day, I never get tired of shooting here and feel this area of Central Park to be the pinnacle of classy, timeless, romantic NYC!

FORT TRYON PARK

Fort Tryon Park is located on the way upper west side of Manhattan, so depending on where exactly you live within the city or which borough, it can be a little off the beaten path. However, it is an absolutely gorgeous photo spot year-round! I’ve had the pleasure of photographing at the Fort Tryon Park all four seasons and every time I think it’s my favorite all over again! And seriously, the arches in the snow?? So whimsical!

GAPSTOW BRIDGE

I mean, need I say more than to share these photos? Central Park was designed to be a little oasis within the city. From various areas of the park, you would never guess that you are in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. From the Gapstow Bridge however, you get a majestic view of both skyline and park. The entire area is gorgeous at any season. (As is all of Central Park, of course. Frederick Law Olmstead was truly a landscaping genius. If you haven’t listened to the Stuff You Should Know podcast about Central Park, you absolutely should!)

GRAND CENTRAL STATION

Grand Central Station is all things elegant, vintage, iconic New York City. It is a perfect spot for stunning architecture and is surrounded by beautiful street views and of course, taxi’s! Which leads me to my next location suggestion…

PICK A CORNER, ANY CORNER!

Is it even a NYC shoot if you don’t get a taxi or two in the background? Almost any corner within the city will give you either a fun city view, or the iconic taxi!