Central Park is such an iconic spot for engagement pictures in Manhattan, or NYC in general, so I knew I had to shoot there during my visit.


I was surprised to see so many trees still full of colorful leaves in the middle of November when they're pretty much completely gone by that time in Chicago (for reference, this shoot was November 2018...but I'm just now blogging it...more on that later). I was visiting NYC for my very first time (!!!) to see not only the city, but a good friend who went to Juilliard at the time and has since graduated. When I travel to new places, I always love to do a shoot or two in that city not only to see new parts of it and learnt eh must-see spots from locals, but also capture some of those places that you think of the second you hear that city's name. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Redwoods in San Francisco, Joshua Tree Park in SoCal, and the Brooklyn Bridge + Central Park in NYC.


There's certainly no shortage of locations to take engagement pictures or wedding pictures in NYC, and I have a list on my phone already of a bunch of cute little cafes, gorgeous parks, and somewhere hidden gems to photograph when I go back next. I'll be in NJ for a wedding next spring, actually the exact date I was supposed to go this spring which got cancelled due to Covid, and definitely plan on spending some time in NYC and hopefully getting in some magical cherry blossom sessions!

man in brown leather jacket holding hands with woman in red jacket under Pinebank Arch at Central Park in the fall
woman with red hair and red jacket hugging brown hair man in brown leather jacket at sunrise in Central Park in the fall

I connected with Brittany and Nick over Facebook when I had posted a model call, and they came throuuuuughhhhh! They were ready to wake up at 6am, meet super early to catch some of sunrise and get to Central Park before the crowd, and show up in nothing short of some bomb fall outfits 😍 As you know know by now, I'm a huge fan of color, so Brittany's red coat and matching red hair was the perfect fall-themed pop of color.


Similar coats linked here, here and here.

woman in cranberry jacket leaning against Pinebank Arch in Central Park in November with fiance in brown leather coat
brown hair man kissing red hair woman in red coat under yellow trees in Central Park in the fall at sunrise

We walked all over Central Park for these sunrise engagement pictures.


From Pinebank Arch through The Mall and over to Bethesda Terrace, these engagement pictures in Central Park had so much variety full of gorgeous reds, oranges, yellows, and a little hint of green to keep it fresh. We managed to avoid most crowds by starting our shoot super early, which is key! That's also how I got these engagement pictures at Brooklyn Bridge without anyone else in them.

man in brown jacket and woman in white sweater kissing and hugging at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park for engagement
man and woman sitting kissing at Bethesda Terrace and Fountain in Central Park in the fall
young woman hugging man and kicking feet up at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park for engagement pictures
brown hair man holding woman with red hair in matching red coat, smiling at sunrise in Central Park
woman's hand with an engagement ring touching her arm in a white knitted sweater
woman in red jacket flips her long red hair under yellow tree at sunrise in Central Park while fiance hugs her
woman with red hair in white sweater looks at man in brown leather jacket with brown hair in Central Park at sunrise

And my favorite picture of the bunch...

brown hair man holding woman with red hair in matching red coat, smiling at sunrise in Central Park

Back when I shot these in November 2018, I didn't feel confident in the whole session and just wasn't feeling the editing style. In the past year and half, I've definitely refined my style a bit more and found the right balance of color and contrast while still feeling light and bright, all while learning new ways to make sure my couples feel comfortable with me before we even meet up + having a TON of fun and natural "poses" to go through during a session. Give a girl a ton of free time in quarantine and she'll go back and edit 2-year-old engagement pictures and finally blog them...yup. It makes me so happy to see all the colors in this session now!


I feel like we are always hardest on ourselves, whether it's art, fitness goals, goals at work, etc. But looking back at work from nearly 2 years ago and realizing that it's actually not that bad...it's actually comparable to my current work...it's a good thing to see. That's not to say I haven't grown, because like I mentioned above, I'm always learning new things on how to serve my couples better--but my camera skills weren't so bad.

brown hair man holding woman with red hair in matching red coat, smiling at sunrise in Central Park
engaged man and woman sitting by the pond at Central Park for fall engagement pictures
woman with red hair and lipstick looking at her shoulder, softly smiling in front of orange tree in Central Park
man and woman sit in front of water at Central Park for fall sunrise engagement pictures
engaged man and woman sitting by the pond at Central Park for fall engagement pictures

Of course, we ended this gorgeous sunrise engagement session in Central Park on the stairs at Bethesda Terrace.


Nothing is more romantic than a movie-style dip in the middle of the giant staircase at Bethesda Terrace, so I made sure it happened, even with a little help from Photoshop to make sure the now growing crowd was gone for this picture. I know the crowd is part of the charm of living in a big city, but sometimes it's nice to have it feel (and look) like you're the only two there.

man and woman hugging and dipping in the middle of stairs at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park for sunrise engagement

Craving more NYC? Check out this Brooklyn Bridge Sunrise Session.


Or wanna book your own engagement pictures in Central Park? Reach out here to see my availability!


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