Unique engagement photo locations and ideas in New York and Connecticut

 

Engagement sessions are awesome because they give you an opportunity to incorporate your personalities and interests, and really capture what you’re all about. Typically these types of shoots are more flexible than your wedding portrait session. We have more time, things are a bit calmer, and there’s nothing to distract you like there is on your wedding day. And no, they definitely don’t have to be cheesy. I’ll be writing a post soon about the benefits of doing an engagement shoot, but for now I thought it would be fun to share some inspiration for couples looking for cool ideas and locations in Connecticut and NYC for their engagement shoots.

 

This one is pretty easy. All it entails is you staying in your PJs and doing whatever you guys usually like to in the mornings. Nap, make pancakes, whatever. This is something I always thought would be fun, especially if you like being quiet at home together on the weekends sometimes like my husband and I do.

 

What about a Comic-Con or a Renaissance Faire engagement shoot? You get to dress up and there are always interesting people around.

 

I always thought it would be fun to do a session walking through Chinatown or Little Italy in New York. I love shooting in the city, and if you’re foodies or just like wandering, this could be perfect for you.

 

 Call me crazy but I think the Staten Island Ferry would be kind of cool for a spring or summer shoot. You could bring a little picnic and just hang out and enjoy the views. Wind-in-the-hair is also great for dynamic images.

 
 
 

There are lots of offbeat locations and funky museums in New York and Connecticut (we’d just have to check and make sure they allow photography). If you like history or science we could go to the Museum of Natural History, the Met, or even one of these weird museums. And theres always the Bronx Zoo!

 

 

 How about we shoot in a lake? We could bring a canoe and shoot some seriously beautiful, artistic sunset or sunrise photos swimming in the water.

 

Although I sadly can’t go on the spinny rides like I did as a kid, I still love amusement parks. Playland in Rye, NY and Coney Island in Brooklyn are two old school options (seriously, the rides at Playland are rickety).

 

 

You know what else would be cool? Setting up a campsite with a fire at sunset and shooting you guys making s’mores. There’s a plethora of camping spots in New York and Connecticut. You could even rent a cabin and make a weekend of it, and I’ll sleep in a sleeping bag next to you (Jk. unless you want to invite me…)

 

I love hiking and you can’t beat a really cool view. There are sooo many places in Connecticut and New York with great hikes so it seems almost silly to try and list them, but off the top of my head in Connecticut there is Sleeping Giant, Devil’s Den Nature Preserve, Lover’s Leap State Park, and Castle Craig, just to start.

 

How about shooting in your neighborhood and stopping in at your favorite places? This would be super personal because we’d be documenting a snippet of your life and home.