An NYC engagement photo session is the one time in your entire relationship with your photographer where nobody is watching the clock. No ceremony starting in twenty minutes. No reception to get to. No family waiting for portraits. Just the two of you, a location that means something, and time to figure out what it actually feels like to be photographed together.
Many, many of the weddings I have photographed included an engagement session first. By the time the wedding day arrived, those couples already knew what this felt like. That is worth more than people realize.
What an engagement session actually is
It is a dress rehearsal. Not for the clothes, for everything else.
You learn how to stand together naturally. You learn what to do with your hands. You learn that the awkward first ten minutes always give way to something real, and that the best images come after you have forgotten I am there.
Twenty-five years in, I can tell you the couples who do a session before their wedding are noticeably more relaxed on the day itself. They have been through it once. They know what to expect. It shows.
The first ten minutes
Everyone is nervous. No matter how much we have talked it through beforehand, nobody knows what to expect, and people look at me after every single frame to see whether they did it right. And that’s okay!
Then it stops. One of the things I am genuinely good at is making people comfortable with me very quickly, and once that happens the session turns into a conversation. It becomes something we are making together rather than me saying hey, you two go stand over there and I will take your picture.
At the end, almost everyone says a version of the same three things. That was so much fun. An hour went by so fast. That was so much easier than we thought it would be.
Your wedding does not have to be here. Neither do you.
A lot of my engagement sessions have nothing to do with a New York wedding.
Some couples live somewhere else and are getting married somewhere else, and they come here specifically to have these photographs made. New York is the backdrop they want, and the wedding is a separate thing happening in a separate place.
Some couples live here and are getting married elsewhere. This is their city, it is where the relationship happened, and they want the engagement photographs to be of home even though the wedding will not be.
And some are visiting for a weekend, or getting married here from out of town, or always wanted to see the city the way a New Yorker sees it.
All of that works. We figure out where you are staying, what you love, what you want the images to feel like, and we build the session around that. I know this city well enough to find you something extraordinary within walking distance of wherever you are.
You do not need to have a neighborhood in mind. I do. More on sessions for visiting couples here.
We can go anywhere
No venue contract. No permit requirements beyond what a specific location asks for. No timeline dictated by a caterer.
We can start in DUMBO and end up in the West Village. We can stay in one neighborhood for two hours if the light is right. We can improvise. That flexibility is what makes an engagement session different from a wedding day. The day belongs entirely to the two of you and we go wherever the light and the mood take us.
Your neighborhood is better than the landmark
Shooting in the places people actually live is my favorite part of this.
A lot of couples assume you have to go somewhere iconic. But why would you go to Central Park if you never actually go to Central Park? It is a beautiful place and it means nothing to you.
Let us go to the coffee shop you go to. Let us sit outside your favorite restaurant. Let us walk down your street. Let us go to your PATH station. Those photographs will look like your life, and in ten years that is what you will want to look at.
If a landmark does mean something to you, we will go. Plenty do. But do not pick one because you think you are supposed to.
NYC engagement photo locations I actually use
Manhattan
Bethesda Terrace and the rest of Central Park and the city’s other parks. Fort Tryon Park up at the top of the island. Carl Schurz Park on the east side. Little Island. The Beekman Hotel.
Also the parts of the city people do not think to ask for. Subway stations. Ordinary streets. Cafes. Your own apartment, which is more interesting than it sounds and more personal than any park.
If you want the full map, I have a guide organized by neighborhood and one for the locations I come back to most.
Brooklyn
Williamsburg. Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. The waterfront.
Outside the city
Liberty State Park in Jersey City, which gives you the entire skyline from across the water. Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers. Longwood Gardens and Terrain in Doylestownoutside Philadelphia. Winterthur in Delaware. The National Gallery of Art in Washington.
If you have a place in mind that is not on this list, tell me. Some of the best sessions I have shot were somewhere I would never have picked myself, because the couple picked it.
What to expect
Plan for an hour or two.
Wear something that feels like you. Not a costume, not something you would never wear again, just a version of yourselves that is slightly elevated. Bring a second outfit if you want variety. Wear comfortable shoes because we will walk. I have written more on what to wear if you want the longer version.
The first ten minutes will feel slightly awkward. That is normal and I promise it passes. By the end you will be annoyed that we have to stop.
Weather is not a reason to cancel (unless we can reschedule, then let’s 100% reschedule!)
I had a couple in from Texas for one weekend and it poured the entire time. We went ahead anyway. They rented a vintage taxi, we got clear umbrellas, we shot under the arches at Bethesda Terrace, and we made it work.
If you are only in New York for a few days, the forecast does not get a vote. Rain gives you wet streets that hold light, reflections, umbrellas, and rooms you would not otherwise have thought to go into.
Timing
Fall is my favorite, October especially. The light goes warm and golden and the city looks extraordinary. Spring gives you cherry blossoms. Summer works in the early morning or the evening. Winter with snow is genuinely something if you are willing to embrace it.
Within a day, the ninety minutes before sunset is the window most couples want. I have a guide to sunset locations and one on when in your engagement to schedule the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an engagement session if I am already booking you for my wedding?
You do not need one, but I would encourage it. The difference between couples who have done a session with me and couples who have not is visible in the wedding day images. One group is comfortable. The other is still figuring it out when the ceremony starts. Longer answer here.
How long does an engagement session take?
Ninety minutes to two hours. Long enough to settle in and cover more than one location without feeling rushed. More here.
What are the best NYC engagement photo locations?
Wherever means something to you. DUMBO for bridges and cobblestones. Central Park for classic. The West Village for intimate. The High Line for architectural. If you are visiting and do not know the city, tell me what you want the images to feel like and I will find the location.
Do we need a permit?
Usually not. Most public streets and many parks do not require one for a personal session. Some locations do. I have a list of locations that never require a permit, and I handle the research for anywhere else we go.
What should we wear?
Colors that work together without matching. Fabrics that move. Something slightly elevated from your everyday but not so formal it feels like a costume. Comfortable shoes. Full guide here.
We do not live in New York. Can we still do a session?
Yes, and many of my couples do not. I will help figure out locations based on where you are staying. You do not need to know New York. I do.
We are not getting married in New York. Does that matter?
Not at all. Plenty of my engagement sessions are for couples whose weddings are somewhere else entirely, either because they live here and are marrying elsewhere, or because they want New York in the photographs regardless of where the wedding is. The session stands on its own.
Can we bring our dog?
Yes. I have a whole guide to locations that work with pets.
Do you photograph proposals?
Yes. That is a different job than an engagement session and it has its own logistics. I have written about how to hire a proposal photographer and where to propose in NYC.
Do you shoot engagement sessions outside New York?
Yes. Philadelphia, Delaware, Washington, the Hudson Valley, and wherever else you want to be.
What does an engagement session cost?
It depends on length and location, and sessions are included in my larger wedding collections. Reach out and I will put together a number for what you are planning.
If you are planning a session
Tell me where you live, or where you are staying, and what you want it to feel like. Get in touch.
