You’re visiting this page most likely because you’ve decided or are trying to decide if you want to have an engagement session in NYC. Some of you may be on the fence on whether or not you even want an engagement session at all, because you’re a total planner and most of what you’ve seen in your research in terms of engagement sessions is pretty cheesy and forced and feels not at all personal. Which should kind of be the point of a portrait session, right?
You want the photos to actually resemble you.

My style is grounded, fun, and rooted in documenting genuine moments. With a name like City Love Photography, you can imagine that my specialty is capturing the smallest of intimate gestures AND the context of the full cacophony of architecture + built environment that we have here in NYC.

Basically like the most magical date night ever, or your perfect Saturday morning coffee run,
except documented in photos for you to keep forever (and not just on your phone).

1) Keep it real:
In my experience, the key to getting great photos during your engagement session isn’t about looking a certain way,
using over-the-top props, or making a strict plan and sticking to it. Like your wedding itself, my advice for your engagement session is to start
with something you two truly love doing together and let the time unfold as it will.
Whether it’s an activity like walking your dog in Prospect Park,
hanging out together at your local corner bar on Ditmars Blvd,
or getting a little dressed up and going out for those bonkers expensive cocktails at Little Branch because that’s where you had your first date,
starting with something you enjoy makes the session more about documenting you two in your natural state,
rather than imposing outside expectations. That also goes a long way to keeping you both relaxed + happy,
and relaxed + happy people make for awesome photos.

2) Keep it light:
I’ll say it: NYC is a damn good-looking town 24/7. However, in terms of engagement photography,
there are two sweet spots in the day you should know if you want the best engagement photos: right after sunrise and right before sunset.
The second thing that makes awesome photos is excellent light,
so planning your session for a time of day when you are more likely to have great light is really important.
Bonus for morning sessions— if you really do have your heart set on more popular destinations like the High Line,
super early sessions make it more likely you two can have the place alllll to yourselves.

3) Make it a legit date:
Wedding planning can be a challenging process, sometimes in really unexpected ways.
Not to mention that while you are planning, you are also, you know, still living your regularly scheduled life!
Choosing to do an engagement session gives you photos of the two of you in a way that’s more low-key than your wedding portraits could ever be, and it’s also an opportunity for you to take a damn break from the process, reconnect with each other, and be truly present in the moment of this time in your lives.

Look, is there really a bad time of year in New York?
There are literally popular songs written about pretty much every season,
but that being said, it’s good to know what you want visually represented in your photos.

In the fall, NYC is all crunchy leaves and cozy dates for coffee or old-fashioned. This is a great time for walks in the park to catch the foliage.
In Spring, the weather is comfortable and if you time things right, visiting the cherry blossoms in Central Park is an awesome activity.
Summertime can be a bit trickier since the humidity is absurd and you don’t want to look like a drowned pizza rat in your photos,
but you can’t be the long stretches of available light and potentially gorgeous sunsets late into the evenings. My advice for summer is to keep hydrated and make sure to have set air-conditioned spots nearby so you can cool off + freshen up!
Lastly, winter is great for at-home sessions, or if you are feeling adventurous/game to be a little red-nosed and really want to take advantage of the quieter sidewalks, I’m always game to bring a couple of handwarmers and make some beautiful photos happen in the snow :)