Best Central Park Photography Spots
Central Park, in the heart of New York City, is an iconic location for photos of all kinds! I’ve photographed weddings, engagement sessions and even family photos here. It is almost unbelievable that there is an 800 acre park in the concrete jungle of NYC but it is true! Central Park is really large and there is definitely strategy involved in getting the photos you have always dreamed of. From knowing the best time to shoot, to figuring out the best places to shoot and how to get to them you will definitely need a plan before you go. This blog post will help whether you are a photographer looking to schedule a shoot there for the first time, a mom looking to get some great photos of your family on your first trip to the big apple or even if you are a tourist or local looking for the best instagram spots in the park, I’ve got you covered there too!
When to Go: Your Guide to Taking Photos in Central Park
Before we talk about where to go once you’re inside Central Park, we must first talk about when to go. The first time I ever photographed a client session in the park was for family photos and I scheduled it, like I always do in NYC, two hours before sunset. Well, let me tell you, this was a huge mistake. Central Park is one of the most iconic locations in the entire world, and in the late afternoon, on a beautiful fall weekend, it was crowded, let me tell you! The crowds not only make it difficult to get great shots, but it can also be difficult to locate your clients if you have never met them before and don’t know what they look like. So, please take my advice, and schedule your session at sunrise. I know that sounds extreme but I promise you it is completely worth it. Trust me when I say sunrise is the best time of day to shoot in one of the most iconic parks in the world.
Since the sunrise changes depending on the time of year, I find that October is a really great time to schedule sunrise Central Park Sessions. In October in NYC, the sun rises around 7 AM making it a good time to meet your clients for photos. During the summer months, the sun rises much earlier and personally, I find 5:30 AM too early to schedule photos!
Pro Tip: If your clients are having hair and make up done, make sure they arrive to the session on time! If they are late, the park will be crowded and the light will be less flattering. It is so important to educate your clients about this before your session!
How to Go : Traveling into the City From New Jersey
Since I have to travel into New York City from New Jersey, I schedule all of my Central Park sessions on Sunday mornings at sunrise. I schedule them on Sunday mornings because I drive into the city and while getting in on either Saturday or Sunday morning is pretty easy, getting out of the city after our session is significantly more congested traffic wise on Saturday mornings than on Sundays.
You can of course, also take the train into Penn Station or Grand Central Station, depending on where you are coming from, and if I am shooting in the afternoon or evening, I will usually take the train. However, in the early morning, I find it is just easier to drive in.
Parking in New York City
Generally speaking, parking always stresses me out anyway and parking in Manhattan is no joke. For this reason, I always plan out exactly where I am going to park and put the address into my GPS in advance. Personally, coming from New Jersey, I prefer to park on the West Side, rather than the east side because that means less driving through the city for me. I would rather walk across the park than drive all over town. The good thing is that parking is actually pretty easy on Sunday mornings so if you arrive with enough time to drive around and look for a spot you will most likely find one! After I park in a very expensive parking garage, I always see spots right on Central Park West when I am walking over to the park. Typically, I park in the garage called 80 Central Park West which is located at 15 W 68th St. This is a super short walk across the street and into the park.
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10 Best Central Park Photo Spots for Engagement Pictures
Now that we are finally in the park it is time to talk about where to go! Central Park is famously portrayed in some of my favorite movies like Home Alone 2 and tv shows like Gossip Girl and so many other classics! I always think its fun to go to some of the spots we’ve been seeing on our screens for years and writing our own stories there, but there are tons of other great spots to visit too. These are the best photo spots in the park in my opinion so let’s get into my list of the best places to shoot.
I will list them out here for easy reference and go into more detail and share photo examples below
- Bethesda Fountain
- Bethesda Terrace
- Bethesda Arcade
- Loeb Boathouse
- Bow Bridge
- Central Park Mall
- View of El Dorado
- Gothic Bridge
- Jackie O Reservoir
- NYC Street Views
- Central Park South
1. Bethesda Fountain
I always tell my clients to meet me between Bethesda Fountain and the Bethesda Terrace. This works well because it is one of the largest fountains in the world and extremely popular spot for tourists. This makes it a great starting point because by the end of our session, the crowds will already be starting to come out. For this reason, I recommend starting with the spots you are most excited about, getting your amazing photos and then moving on to the next one quickly!
Related Read: Dumbo & Brooklyn Bridge Engagement Photos
2. Bethesda Terrace
Bethesda Terrace refers to the beautiful arches and stairs you often see in Central Park photos. You may recognize this location from Gossip Girl. It truly is art meeting architecture and there are so many poses and places to position your clients for photos here. I recommend using a wider lens (24 or 35) to full capture the scope of this beautiful structure. Tara and Michael totally brought it during their central park engagement session and I am so excited to photograph their wedding at Trump National Golf Course in Westchester this fall!
Pro Tip- If you are looking for a bathroom, they are located halfway up the stairs of the terrace!
3. Bethesda Arcade
The arcade is beautiful and iconic and a great place for your engagement photos. I’ve also seen really beautiful wedding photos done here. It’s extremely tricky because it is dark inside the arcade and bright outside. You will have to bump up your ISO or use flash to get the shot inside here. It also is a little orange, so making the photo black and white is a beautiful option or this classic location. This would also be a beautiful location for a night portrait. It also gets very busy here, which is why I recommend starting in this area before moving to other locations.
4. Loeb Boathouse
Related Read: Beautiful Fall Prospect Park Boathouse Wedding
The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park is so beautiful and another one of my favorite locations for photos. It is also nice and close to Bethesda Fountain which makes transitioning between photo locations super seamless. A fun shot that I’ve seen many photographers do is to rent a row boat and get shots of their clients in the boat. The problem I’ve run into is because we are there so early, the boat rentals were not open yet! But that shot is definitely on my list. If you are looking to rent a rowboat, they open at 10 AM. It is $15 per hour with a $20 deposit and you must pay cash. Still, standing on the landing near the fountain and getting the boathouse in the background is a gorgeous photo opportunity. I am so excited to photograph this sweet couple’s wedding at this very location next year! Shooting a wedding at the Central Park Boathouse has always been a dream of mine and I am so excited!
5. Bow Bridge
Bow Bridge, in my opinion, is one of the best spots for those super romantic couples photos. This is another spot you will want to hit early in your session, which is easy to do as it is just a short walk from the fountain. You may have to take turn with other photographers who will likely be there at sunrise just like you! But I promise you it will be worth it.
There are a number of different angles you can capture from this one location and it helps to know what angles you are looking for before you go in. These are just a few of my favorites.
6. Central Park Mall
This is where you will find street performers, vendors and all kinds of things unique to New York City. It can get crowded as you see here, so be sure to go early or be ready to photoshop out the people in the background. For this photo, I actually did photoshop out the crowds behind them when I delivered it to the family, however I’m leaving them here because I like how it expresses the hustle and bustle of New York’s Central Park Mall. Between the top of Bethesda Terrace and The Mall is where you can expect to see the Horse and Carriage Tours which always make for an amazing photo opportunity in my opinion!
7. View of The El Dorado
This has become quite a popular shot to get for photographers. Located at 300 Central Park West, there are many locations in the park where you can get views of these beautiful buildings. The Art Deco style makes this a true NYC Landmark and a great photo opportunity from the park. I stood on a rock to get this photo, but you can also place your couple on the rock and shoot with the building and city skyline behind them. This also makes for a nice establishing shot in the couple’s gallery or for your blog post which helps to set the scene and tell a better story with your photos.
8. Gothic Bridge AKA Bridge #28
Technically, this bridge doesn’t really have a name, but a number. It is listed as Bridge Number 28, however, it is affectionally known as “The Gothic” Bridge” due to its, well, gothic design. This lesser known bridge, located on the north side of the reservoir, reminds me a bit of Bow Bridge, however it goes over the running track and not the lake. It has a gothic design that is really beautiful though and definitely worth checking out. I like it because it is less crowded than the better known Bow Bridge. I personally like this location in the spring because it is near by the reservoir and lots of cherry blossom trees! This bridge is located on the upper east side near 94th so you may want to make this a part of a separate trip as it is quite a walk from Bethesda! The photo you see above was actually taken mid day. I believe it was a cloudy day so we got good lighting, but the location was not prone to crowds so we were able to get this really beautiful shot.
9. Cherry Blossoms Near the Reservoir & Running Path
Central Park is also a beautiful place to go if you are looking to photograph during cherry blossom season! For this session we met by the reservoir on the upper east side by the running path. That way we are also able to get some shots at the Gothic Bridge too.
Kristin had her hair and make up done the morning of her session. Just make sure you talk to your beauty team before your appointment and make sure you have enough time to get into the city, park and to your location before the sun gets too high in the sky and the park gets too crowded to get the shots we need!
The Reservoir, officially named the Jacqueline Kennedy Onnasis Reservoir is a great spot for photos by the water, but Pro Tip- Look out for all the runners who will likely also be out early with you!
Related Read: Cherry Blossom Central Park Engagement Photos
10. NYC Streets
Related Read: Best New York Wedding Locations
Another fun shot is to take your clients out of the park and onto the bustling streets of Manhattan. I would wait to do this toward the end of your session or even after you are done in the park. Walk out by the streets of NYC and get some shots of your couple crossing the street with some yellow cabs in the background.
11. Central Park South
Central Park South on the upper east side near Fifth Avenue and The Plaza Hotel is a less touristy option than Bethesda and Bow Bridge. I find that many of my couples who already live in the city prefer this part of the park!
More Iconic NYC and Central Park Photo Locations
Other iconic locations on my list to shoot for my next central park session are:
The Belvedere Castle
Conservatory Gardens
Carousel
Gapstow Bridge
Wollman Skating Rink
In the winter this is an ice rink, however, I believe they are now doing roller skating in the warmer months!
Also on my NYC photography spot list are Top of the Rock, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library.
Related Read: Hoboken Engagement Photos with Stunning Views of Manhattan
Central Park Photography Tips
A few final things to note. Central Park looks beautiful all year round! The majority of these photos I’m sharing today were taken in the fall (October- with the exception of the cherry blossom shots) because that’s the best time of year for me to get there before 8 AM and have good lighting. But if you are staying in the city, you have more flexibility than I do! But Central Park is also beautiful in the spring, summer and even winter. A really fun idea for winter would be to do an ice skating engagement session at Wollman Rink. So, I hope you enjoy taking pictures in Central Park and all of it’s photogenic glory. Personally, I love the juxtaposition between the parklike setting and the urban cityscape skyline. There is no way you will be able to get to all of these locations in one session or even a full day. So hopefully this helps you plan out your trip and makes you want to come back for more.
A Big Thank You
Thank you so much for reading today! I hope you loved this post about the best central park photography spots from this Jersey Girl. As always, let me know if you have questions because I am happy to help! Leave a comment or shoot me an email.
I would also love to know what types of posts you would like to see next. What can I help you with? Let me know what else you would like to read here.
