Sometimes moments in life are just serendipitous, and this trip to New York City was undoubtedly one of them. 31,000 steps. 3,600 images taken. 3 portrait sessions. 22 hours. All summed up in one jam packed blog post. ⬇️

If you’ve been around for long, you know that I’m a pretty Type A, planned-ahead, oldest-daughter kind of girl, and last minute trips are NOT up my alley. Halie texted me to let me know that she and her husband Ryan had a last minute 24 stop in NYC, and I randomly blurted out… “Can I come and take your photos?!” I truly love NYC portraits more than anything, so we immediately both got so excited about this and I booked a plane ticket the next morning for a red-eye flight less than 5 days in advance. I had been planning to be out of town that weekend already for a girls trip to Vegas, so I added a day at the beginning in NY, and then headed to Vegas from the city.

This is actually the same red-eye that I’ve taken each time I have arrived in the city, and I love it. I leave Boise around 11 PM, and arrive at Newark at 5:50 AM. Hopping off the plane and starting a day so early leaves me fueled and running on adrenaline (which is perfect for the bustling NYC energy).

I love staying at the Moxy Lower East Side. I have been able to check in early each time I’ve traveled there, and they have the best little cafe inside (that you get a credit to if you book your stay there). This is where I fell in love with almond croissants and they immediately pick me up after my 5 AM arrival. 😉

I hopped off the plane at EWR and grabbed an uber to drop my bags at the Moxy before meeting up with Halie and Ryan in Dumbo! This was the ENTIRE reason for my trip to the city. Ryan actually lived in New York for a few years while he served a church mission, and had some photos of him in these exact locations, so we wanted to start by recreating some of those images WITH Halie!

After spending a few minutes at my favorite spots in Dumbo, we decided to attempt to beat the rain and head across the Brooklyn Bridge for some iconic portraits with the city in the background. Because of the rain and the early timing, there were moments when we truly had the entire bridge to ourselves, which is absolutely unheard of. It was really an incredible moment that I will never forget. As we made it across the second half of the bridge, the rain started pouring… but we popped out our umbrellas and made the best of it. (If you’re looking for rain gear for your camera, here is a link to the cover I use!) NYC portraits are always the best at sunrise, and this session was no exception.

In case you’ve ever been curious about what the Instagram vs reality looks like behind the scenes, here you go. I will carry all your gear and mine, and we will have the BEST time.

After finishing up Halie & Ryan’s portraits, I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and grab some lunch (at 10 AM, of course, because when your day starts at 5, lunch comes early😉). My favorite thing about the Lower East Side Moxy is the location. I have stayed in Midtown Manhattan previously, and while it’s nice to be close to Times Square, I really prefer staying in a less touristy area. The Moxy is basically on the edge of Chinatown and Soho. It’s a quick walk to Prince Street Pizza, which is an absolute must for me, and there is a subway station that’s just a quick walk around the corner as well.

After lunch, I headed up to Midtown to photograph Kenzie & Sam’s sweet family. They are in NYC for dental school, and have started their family there. We really wanted to capture what it’s like to have kids in the city, and I LOVED these images. We photographed at the NY Public Library, and it was the perfect spot. This is right next to Bryant Park-it’s truly in the heart of Midtown.

I was heading up to Central Park for my last portrait session of the day, and I ended up having some extra time, so I decided to walk instead of hopping on the subway. It was lightly raining, but the walk up 6th was magical. Again, I don’t love the touristy parts of NY as much as the everyday areas, but it’s always fun to get to see iconic locations and see a buzzing city.

I absolutely love Central Park and my two favorite spots are Bethesda Terrace and Bow Bridge (the 2 touristy NYC things that I actually do love). These locations are usually only photograph-able at sunrise due to the number of tourists, but the rain ended up working in our favor and allowing us to have the ENTIRE Bow Bridge to ourselves… which again, felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Cora and Matt are actually also living in New York for medical school. Matt is our spring bride, Emma’s, brother, and I loved meeting him and Cora at Emma’s wedding this spring, so it was great to reconnect with them in NY!

After finishing up with Matt and Cora, Halie and Ryan met me back in Central Park for a few portraits at Bow Bridge, which ended up being some of my favorites of the day.

After these portraits, I headed back down to the Moxy to drop off all my rain and camera gear and freshen up for dinner and Moulin Rouge on Broadway, because no trip to NYC is complete without a Broadway Show, and of course dinner at the Stardust after.

I finally made it back to the hotel at 11 PM and then woke up at 3 AM for a flight to Vegas!

I personally prefer to be in the city for 3-5 days at a time, but if you’re looking for a 24 hour itinerary… here would be my suggestions:

Food: Prince Street Pizza, Liberty Bagels, Zuckers Bagels, Cafe D’Avignon, Ellens Stardust Diner

Sightseeing: Walk through Central Park, 9/11 Memorial, Dumbo area/Brooklyn Bridge (this gives an AMAZING view of the city), Rockefeller Center, Broadway, Times Square (I suggest after dark)

I can’t wait to head back to the city for more portraits this spring. Want to view some summer NYC portraits? Ashtynne & Cameron’s summer engagement photos in NYC were an absolute dream!