New York City is one of the world’s outstanding urban photography destinations. It’s a concrete jungle loaded with iconic buildings, landmarks, skylines and architecture that leaves photographers like us in awe. We’ve spent a lot of time walking around NYC with our cameras over the years, but that same excitable buzz hits us every time we go back.
In this guide we show you our 20 favorite NYC photo spots including tourist classics, hidden gems and Instagram favorites.
Our Experience
Landscape photography has been a major passion of ours since we started traveling the world in 2018. Framing mountains, lakes, beaches, canyons, countrysides sunrises and sunsets is what we love to do. But when we moved to New York City at the end of 2020 and spent months exploring the city from dawn to dusk in sun, rain and snow, we fell head over heels for a completely new genre: urban photography.
We used our Sony A7 III and Sony A7 IV cameras with 24-105mm and 16-35mm lenses to capture all the photos you’ll see in this guide. Our goal here is to help you take home the most amazing photos from your trip to NYC, so let’s start by getting you in the right places. Stay tuned until the end of the guide for our top tips and a map showing all of our favorite New York photo spots. Read more about us.
BROWSE: Our travel photography gallery
1. Central Park
Central Park isn’t just a place to go for a run or to walk your dog, it’s also one of the most photogenic places in New York City. We love how it transforms through each season with cherry blossoms, lush green leaves, fall foliage colors and brilliant white snow.
Bethesda Terrace
The stunning tiled ceiling in Bethesda Terrace Arcade is one of our top recommendations for serious photographers visiting NYC. It took us a few mornings arriving before sunrise to get a photo with nobody else in it, so you might have to be patient.
Bethesda Fountain
After you get the perfect photo of the Arcade, do a 180-degree turn and you’ll be looking straight through a line of columns at Bethesda Fountain. It’s one of the most famous Instagram spots in NYC, and we saw plenty of engagement shoots and proposals here.
The Mall
Take the steps out of Bethesda Terrace and you’ll be walking down The Mall, which you’ve no doubt seen in various movies. It’s always busy, so try playing around with statues, trees or benches like we did to create different perspectives.
Bow Bridge
We think Bow Bridge is among the most attractive photo spots in NYC, and it was even more magical when we had our first bona fide Central Park snow day.
John Lennon Memorial
Strawberry Fields is a poignant place to visit in Central Park. We love the kaleidoscopic effect we created with the word imagine by exposing for 2s and slowly zooming out during the exposure. You might need a ND filter if it’s a bright day.
READ: Our winter snow day in Central Park
2. Brooklyn Bridge
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge is another classic NYC photo spot you simply can’t miss. It’s the one place we gravitate to the most when we visit because there are so many great places to take photos on both sides of the East River.
Brooklyn Bridge Sunrise
We love the photo we got walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. It took around 10 minutes until we had a clear shot with nobody on the bridge ahead of us, and it worked perfectly with the sun’s position.
- Half way across to Brooklyn
Brooklyn Bridge Sunset
If you want to get the full experience, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. It’s always packed full of people taking photos for Instagram and videos for TikTok or YouTube. Use the bridge to create cool frames like we did.
- Closer to the Manhattan side
Brooklyn Bridge At Night
We love walking across the bridge at night. It’s calm, quiet and has awesome views over the Lower Manhattan skyline. Our biggest frustration is getting blur-free photos. Even when we use a tripod to keep the ISO down, the bridge vibrates when cars pass underneath.
- Closer to Manhattan side
Pier 17 Sunrise
As a bit of a bonus, we wanted to share our favorite NYC sunrise location called Pier 17 near Seaport. With coffees and winter coats we watched a vibrant and serene sunrise illuminate the buildings along Manhattan’s East River shoreline. Fantastic!
3. Observation Decks
What’s your first thought when you read the words “photos of New York”? Ours is a sprawling skyscraper heavy skyline as seen from above. We think the 5 observation decks in NYC offer some of the very best urban photography perspectives in the world, so you should do at least one when you visit.
Top Of The Rock
The old but gold Top of the Rock is a fantastic observation deck because you can see all of Midtown and Lower Manhattan, as well as Central Park on the opposite side. We love the open top level with no glass or perspex for clear photos.
READ: How to visit Top of the Rock
Summit One Vanderbilt
For us, Summit One Vanderbilt is more about exhibits and mirror rooms than it is a traditional observation deck with city views. It’s basically set up for Instagram photos and TikTok videos. We enjoyed it, but the skyline views weren’t as impressive.
READ: How to visit Summit One Vanderbilt
Empire State Building
We think views from the Empire State are awesome in all directions because it’s located centrally within Manhattan. But you can’t see the Empire State from the Empire State, so your skyline photo isn’t going to be complete.
READ: How to visit Empire State Building
Edge Hudson Yards
We really like Edge at Hudson Yards because it’s an outdoor observation deck with plenty of fantastic photography opportunities. But there’s always a line for the corner as you can see in our photo above.
READ: How to visit Edge Hudson Yards
One World Observatory
We went up One World Observatory on a cloudy and rainy day so it wasn’t ideal. But even if it was clear, we much prefer the NYC skyline views from Midtown than from here in Lower Manhattan. Our favorite photo was from the base of One World Trade Center looking up into the sky.
READ: How to visit One World Observatory
4. Statue Of Liberty
You can’t go to New York City for the first time and not take home photos of the Statue of Liberty. It’s a rite of passage and par for the course. Now, Lady Liberty might be huge, but you need to be pretty close to Liberty Island to get good photos.
Liberty Island
We took the photo above at 24mm to replicate the real view of human eyes. So what you see above is what you’ll see when you take a ferry to Liberty Island. Remember, the ferry is moving and undulating so you need a higher shutter speed to freeze the frame and avoid blur.
Lady Liberty
And here’s what you can do with a telephoto lens. We went all the way into 105mm with our lens to get close up details of her robe, tablet and torch. It’s good fun finding different angles and using different focal lengths to capture unique images of Lady Liberty.
READ: How to visit the Statue of Liberty
5. Lower Manhattan Skyline
For us, the Lower Manhattan skyline is about as dramatic as it gets in New York City, and especially at night when the skyscrapers light up. We love the Midtown skyline but it’s hard to get good vantage points. Whereas Lower Manhattan views from across the East River in Brooklyn are superb.
Brooklyn Bridge Park
The easiest and most obvious place to see Lower Manhattan light up at night is from Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s right next to Dumbo ferry stop and just 10 minutes walk from Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian access on Washington and Prospect.
Old Pier 1
We like to think Old Pier 1 is a bit of a hidden gem and a real goldmine for pro photographers. We shot this scene in so many different ways but we love this one with snow on the rocks on a cold winters day.
Helicopter Tour
If you’re really desperate to take home unique photos of Manhattan, you should consider booking a helicopter tour over NYC. We went with Heli NY and it was awesome, but it was expensive and it was hard to get the photos we had in mind. They don’t exactly hover on a side and put the window down so you can get your photo, if you know what we mean!
READ: Our helicopter tour over NYC
6. Grand Central Terminal
If there’s one NYC photo spot you know you can’t miss, it’s Grand Central. The clock, the vast and ornate hall, the bridge outside, it’s all as photogenic as you’ve been led to believe.
Grand Central Clock
We love the four sided clock above the information desk inside Grand Central Terminal. And we thought what better way to get the photo than with the enormous American flag flying proudly behind.
Temporary Exhibits
Okay you won’t be able to get this awesome Vanderbilt Hall photo because it was a temporary exhibit inside Grand Central when we lived in NYC in 2021. But the point is, don’t forget to check Vanderbilt Hall to see if there’s anything cool going on.
- First right after entering via 42nd Street
Yellow Taxis
It’s a shame those great old yellow cabs aren’t around in New York anymore. But the next best thing is a modern take on that same classic photo. And we found this taxi rank right outside the 42nd Street entrance to Grand Central.
7. Chrysler Building
We think the Chrysler Building might just be the single most photogenic building in New York City. So if you have a thing for buildings, you’re going to love the 1930’s art deco skyscraper on 42nd and Lexington.
We’re not sure exactly where we found this viewpoint of the Chrysler Building, but we think it was around the back of Grand Central somewhere. We thought it was cool to use typical NYC construction side-by-side with the famous building.
8. Manhattanhenge
Each year at the end of May and half way through July, the sun sets perfectly on the horizon at the end of Manhattan’s street grids. The best way to see it is to head as far east in Manhattan as you can and look west towards New Jersey.
We took this photo from Tudor City Bridge on 42nd Street, one of the most popular Manhattanhenge photo spots because the frame includes the Chrysler Building and Summit One. But as you can see it wasn’t on one of the 2 days of the year with the sunset.
9. Times Square
You don’t need us to introduce you to Times Square. It’s the vibrant, fun, intriguing, unique, tacky and over the top place you’ve seen a million times on TV. It’s not our favorite place to visit in New York, but it’s worth walking through to grab a few photos of the chaos.
45th Street Crossing
Living in NY during covid was mostly awful but it had some benefits, like being able to walk around Times Square at 6:00am with not a single car or person in sight. This crosswalk at 45th on Broadway is the half way point.
Father Duffy Square
We always tell people we meet about this photo of us in Times Square with nobody else in sight. It’ll be teeming with people when you visit, but we set our tripod up near the red steps backing onto 47th Street at dawn and had the whole place to ourselves.
10. Vessel
One thing we really like about New York City is its unique and creative buildings. And they don’t come much better than the copper-steel honeycomb-shaped Vessel located in Hudson Yards.
It actually took a bit of working out to get this photo. We wanted a symmetrical front-on view of the structure, but the area below Vessel was packed full with tourists, there wasn’t enough room to get the frame and the background didn’t work. But we got there in the end!
Need help planning your visit to NYC?
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View NYC Guidebook11. High Line
Walking The High Line is one of our favorite things to do when we meet friends or family in NYC. It’s easy, flat, free and photogenic, so what’s not to like?
Skybridges
One reason we like The High Line so much is because it showcases superb NYC skybridge views. There aren’t many skybridges left, and the viewpoints don’t come much better than along The High Line, so don’t miss it.
Railway Tracks
The High Line is an elevated pedestrian walkway above the streets of New York that follows an old railway line. We used the photo above to show you the view along the railway tracks with Edge observation deck in the background.
- Not far from Hudson Yards
12. SoHo
We think the best way to take home amazing photos of New York is to simply walk around its diverse collection of neighborhoods. And the glitzy celebrity hub of SoHo (south of Houston Street) is one of our favorites.
A lot of places in Manhattan look similar, but there are some pockets where you’ll see outstanding architecture or features that really define a neighborhood. For us, the cobbled streets and colorful buildings around SoHo are among the best examples.
13. Oculus
We had to triple take the first time we saw Oculus from the outside. The brilliant white dove-shaped structure is so wacky and baffling that it looks entirely out of place, but in the best possible way.
Exterior
From the outside we’re thinking okay this is a fun building, let’s walk around it and see how we can get the best perspective to show how much it contrasts with its surroundings. But we love it, why should everything match? And wait until you see the inside next…
Interior
Definitely one of the biggest eye openers we had in New York was walking inside Oculus. You can bet your bottom dollar we didn’t expect to see a great cavernous bright white hall. This is one for the must-visit pile if you enjoy architecture.
14. Dumbo
We’d put Dumbo in Brooklyn near the top of our favorite photo spots in NYC because it has the best bridge views in the city. And not just Brooklyn Bridge, but also the Manhattan Bridge.
Manhattan Bridge View
What a view. The Manhattan Bridge View in Dumbo is arguably the top NYC Instagram photo spot. We tried three sunrises here and every time we had to fight our way through scores of swirling dresses and tripods. It’s not fun, but it’s an iconic shot so you shouldn’t miss it.
Pebble Beach
A few steps from the Manhattan Bridge View is Pebble Beach, where we used a telephoto lens to capture this photo of Jane’s Carousel, the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan at night.
Time Out Market
Before you leave Dumbo, head up to the top floor of Time Out Market, grab a delicious meal and beer inside (we got the BBQ), then find a spot in the corner to take this great photo of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan.
15. Chinatown
You’ll find amazing food, vibrant decorations and a host of great photo spots as you walk through Chinatown in NYC. If you go out at night, don’t forget your tripod and head for Doyers Street.
Doyers Street
We enjoy a good bit of wall art (Bushwick in Williamsburg has plenty of it), so this worked for us at the top of Doyers Street just before we sat down for dinner.
Hole In The Fence
Brooklyn Bridge hogs all the attention, but you can also walk across the Manhattan Bridge for more amazing views. It’s not as nice, but do it during the day for great photos including this one of Chinatown through a hole in the fence.
16. Flatiron
Landmarks don’t come much more iconic than triangular shaped Flatiron in New York. It’s a fantastic photo spot but the building has been covered in scaffolding every time we’ve been in the city since 2020.
We tried to liven up the photo by using flowers, a bus and the golden clock in our foreground, but it’s just not going to work until that scaffolding comes down.
17. Financial District
Don’t dismiss the Financial District as a boring and cold place to visit. There’s actually quite a lot going on and you’ll find a few popular photo spots that will be busier than expected.
Wall Street
Wall Street is an attractive part of Downtown Manhattan with cobbles and clean sidewalks. But turn around towards Broadway for a great shot of Trinity Church (from National Treasure) through Wall Street’s narrow buildings.
Fearless Girl
Right outside the New York Stock Exchange you’ll notice crowds and tour groups bunched around a 4-foot tall bronze statue of the Fearless Girl with a defiant look on her face looking up at the NYSE as if to say “I’m coming for you”.
Charging Bull
This one of the Charging Bull is a bit more of a tourist favorite but it’s worth a quick stop as you pass through Lower Manhattan. Don’t forget to look around the bull’s back side for a surprise that’s said to bring good luck.
READ: What you can’t miss in Lower Manhattan
18. Rockefeller Center
The entire area around the Rockefeller Center is touristy but definitely worth visiting. It might not be the first place you think you’ll need your camera or phone at the ready, but there’s a handful of photo spots you shouldn’t miss.
Rockefeller Center
Top of the Rock is at the top of Rockefeller Center, but what does the building look like from below? Well, turn into The Channel Gardens from Fifth Avenue and find a great spot to set up your tripod looking up at the night sky.
Atlas
Next to the Rockefeller Center you can stand below a statue of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders. We wouldn’t say it’s unmissable, but if you’re in the area it’s another cool photo to add to your growing list.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
On the opposite side of the road you’ll see St. Patricks Cathedral, which contrasts sharply against the surrounding city buildings at night. We used our wide angle lens to get more in the frame.
Radio City
Right as you leave the exit from Top of the Rock you’ll see the legendary Radio City lit up at night. It’s such an iconic music venue and it’s an easy NYC night photo so don’t miss out.
19. Steam Pipes
Some of the more unique photos we took in New York City were of various orange and white steam pipes scattered around the streets. They move regularly throughout Manhattan, so you’ll just have to stumble across them.
We turned down the saturation and increased the vibrance on this photo to highlight this steam pipe we saw when walking down Broad Street in Lower Manhattan.
20. NYC Subway
Have you taken photos in London’s Underground, Paris’ Metro or Singapore’s MRT? Us too, it’s something you just have to do. And here, it’s the famous New York subway.
Subway Entrance
There’s nothing special about this photo, it’s just a nice and simple shot of an empty subway entrance at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. But sometimes the simple photos are the most effective.
Subway Train
We wanted to capture a fun subway photo, so we handheld a 0.5s exposure of a moving train and it just about held steady for the photo above. There’s so many ways you can get great photos in the subway.
NYC Photo Spots Map
Click or touch the map below to activate.
Zoom in and out, move around and click on any of the dark blue icons to see which photography location it represents. Alternatively, you can click the arrow in the top left to open a column on the left side and specifically find any of the NYC photo spots you’re interested in.
Note: The column lists photo spots in the same order you read them throughout this guide.
New York City Photography Tips
NYC is a goldmine for unique photo locations, which makes it’s perfect for beginners and professionals alike to experiment and find new perspectives. Here are our top photography tips for your visit:
- Get out early if you want people-free photos
- Use crowds for effect if it’s busy
- Choose your sunset spots wisely
- Stay out at night and use a tripod
- Walk instead of taking the subway
- Always look up and over your shoulder
- Carry different lenses for options
More From New York
- Things you can’t miss in NYC
- New York City 4 days itinerary
- Best places to stay in NYC
- Visit New York in the winter
- NYC attraction passes comparison
- The best museums in NYC
- The 5 NYC observation decks
Want more NYC information? Head over to our New York City Travel Guide for help with planning your first visit.
We hope this guide on our favorite photo spots helps with planning your visit to New York City!
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.
Great post!! You don’t have a similar one for Paris by any chance ??
Thank you, Deirdre. Unfortunately we don’t have one for Paris just yet, but we certainly intend to do something similar the next time we are in the city. If you’re going soon, we hope you have a wonderful time!
Thank you so much for this valuable post!
I am so excited to get to NYC in the next April 1st to 10th.
As soon as I get there, I will grab a new Fuji-XE4 and a monopod, and start to seek this shots!
You’re welcome, Anderson! Sounds like an amazing trip you have planned – we hope you find all the best photography locations in NYC!