7 iconic New York Photo Spots to photograph during your next Trip
New York is a remarkable place for photographers. I could have spent hours photographing the diverse architecture during my last trip which I planned around some of New York’s most iconic photo spots. And so you don’t have to spend hours finding them, I reveal them in this blog post.
Table of Contents
- Radio City Music Hall
- 9/11 Memorial
- Iconic Manhattan Bridge View
- Manhattan Skyline View
- Bow Bridge in the Central Park
- Empire State Building
- Statue of Liberty as seen from Ellis Island
Radio City Music Hall
The facade of the Radio City Music Hall is definitely one of the best places to take photos in New York City during the day and the night. What I liked most here are the vintage style neon lights that will look great from many different angles. This legendary New York institution is known for its facade, which transforms into a great photo spot during both the day and the night. The vintage-style neon lights at the facade are a true highlight and a must visit photo spot.
Radio City Music Call in New York City
If you want to fit the entire facade into the frame, it’s probably a good idea to take the photo from the opposite side of the street. But you can also get a great photo by just looking up and using a wide lens. For the photo above, I used a Moment Wide attachable lens. To learn more, head to the Moment attachable Wide lens for iPhone review I've published earlier in my blog.
To compose the photo, I used the rule of thirds in a creative way: the line of the roof starts in the upper-left corner and goes all the way through the upper third of the photo, and would meet the edge of the frame at the upper two line of the grid.
9/11 Memorial
I’ve had a bit of mixed feelings, calling this an iconic photo spot in New York. But I decided to share the photo of the memorial as a way of keeping the memory of the 9-11 tragedy alive. Mainly as a reminder to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.
9-11 Memorial
Iconic Manhattan Bridge View
The iconic view of the Manhattan Bridge view is easily accessible. You’ll find it in Brooklyn. I recommend visiting it after strolling across the Brooklyn Bridge, during which you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the New York City skyline. At the end of the Brooklyn Bridge (if you started in Manhattan), there is a pedestrian ramp on the right-hand side. Proceed down the ramp and keep walking until you reach the intersection of Washington Street and Front Street. By looking left, you’ll see the iconic Manhattan Bridge View.
The iconic Manhattan Bridge View
There are three things to mind at this iconic photo spot. First, all the selfie-takers will run into your photo (and sometimes even into you). Second, mind how the bridge perfectly aligns with the street and intersection of Washington and Water Street from which I took the photo.
Third, look how the Empire State Building in the distance aligns perfectly with the center of the pillar of the bridge. So in this photo you’ll see two of the three essential photo composition techniques: The facades of the buildings form a frame for the bridge, and the pillar is a frame within a frame for the Empire State Building. Moreover, the facades also form a series of leading lines in the photo pointing to the main subject, the bridge.
To get the buildings and the bride perfectly straight, you may want to check my post aboutperspective corrections apps for iPhone to ensure the bridge and the buildings are upright.
Once you’re done here, grab yourself a snack and something to drink at the store to your right and continue towards the sea for one more iconic photo spot - and before you go there, be sure to read about how to take a long exposure with iPhone. You want to use this knowledge there.
Manhattan Skyline View from Dumbo, Brooklyn
So, have you downloaded Slow Shutter Cam App and read the blog post I mentioned in the previous chapter? Good, now let’s take a moving clouds photo of the Manhattan Skyline!
A long exposure of the New York Skyline as seen from Dumbo
For this photo, I chose an exposure time of 56 seconds. The result is a beautifully flattened sea and blurry, moving clouds. To capture a 56-second-long exposure, you’ll definitely need a tripod, e.g. the Rollei #1 carbon traveler tripod, I reviewed in the blog.
From a compositional view, this photo is another good example of using the rule of thirds in a creative way. I placed the main subjects, which are the bridge and the skyline, in the lower third of the photo, creating a lot of negative space in the upper two thirds for the moving clouds.
So the best time to visit this photo spot is during a slightly cloudy day. But I believe that it will also look great in the evening or at night.
Bow Bridge aka Marriage Bridge in Central Park
The bow bridge was opened in 1862 and is widely considered as a masterpiece of Victorian design. This bridge is definitely one of the most iconic and well-known Instagrammable photo spots in the Central Park and even probably in New York City.
Firstly, it’s a movie location. It appears in Spiderman 3 (2007), uptown Girls (2003), Enchanted (2007) and it even briefly appears in Highlander (1986). Secondly, because it’s allegedly a place where the most proposals in the Central Park take place.
Bow Bridge aka Marriage Bridge in the Central Park
The contrast of the white bridge and the green surroundings make it a great spot to photograph in New York.
The best time to visit this Instagram spot is early Morning during Weekdays - unless you want to capture proposals. Then the best time is probably on weekends during spring time when everything blossoms.
Empire State Building
Empire State Building. By using this photo, I’d just wanted to highlight the framing composition technique I recommend using. Find a spot with a good view towards the Empire State Building and use the surrounding buildings for framing it.
The Empire State Building captured using an architectural frame
For the Empire State Building, there is no best time to photograph it. It’s a great photo spot 24h a day, 365 days a year.
Statue of Liberty as seen from Ellis Island
I’ll tell you a little secret: Since I discovered a dozen handwritten letters from a distant ancestor, I started to research and build my family tree. So I just had to go to Ellis Island and visit the Immigration Museum to learn about the immigration process back then. That was so informative, and guess what: I was even able to solve a family mystery there.
When I left Ellis Island on the ferry boat, the sun was just perfect for this, getting a photo of the Statue of Liberty with the New York Skyline in the background. I don’t know if I’d call this an iconic photo spot in New York City because I’ve never seen a similar photo. But anyway, it’s a great photo spot to try.
Statue of Liberty as seen from Ellis Island
One more thing I did in Lightroom Mobile was to give the water a slightly blue tone using selective adjustments. To learn how to achieve that, please look at my blog post about how to change the color of water in Lightroom mobile.
One more tip for Ellis Island: If you’d always wanted to explore a lost place, check out the hard hat tour of the abandoned Ellis Island hospital. Yes, it’s a guided tour, but you’ll see many great places to take photos.
Summary: Three things to remember to take great photos in New York
The architecture and the diverse buildings and facades you’ll find in New York are almost a guarantee for great photos. Just look around.
Because of the architecture, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to practice one or more of the essential photo composition techniques; e.g. by looking for leading lines or architectural frames.
New York City is also a great place to experiment with and for taking long exposure photos to flatten the sea or to try and capture moving clouds. To learn more about long exposure photography with iPhone and which apps you can use, please visit my blog post about how to take a long exposure photo with iPhone.
