Despite having fun in New York City the last time I visited, I realised that it wasn’t the city for me. I know that there’s lots to do in NYC, but for some reason, my friends and I always just end up in Koreatown, which, to me, isn’t a great pay off for a two hour bus ride and then having to navigate through the NYC crowds. But living in Philly, I knew I’d find myself in NYC soon enough, despite my misgivings. I decided that to spice up my next visit, I’d dress up like I had somewhere to go–a fabulous New Yorker with a reason, a story, a party, a tea, something. Kat, Stephanie, and Julia were excited about this idea, so we made our day trip to NYC on the first weekend of school, ya know, before the schoolwork kicks in. Just in time to keep up with my 2017 blogging challenge of having a photoshoot a month!

Despite visiting NYC several times before, I think I’ve only ever stayed in Manhattan. With Kat–our resident New Yorker–on hand, we spent our morning exploring the edge of Brooklyn by walking the bridge and heading toward the park.

Throughout this trip, I tried to be very conscious about not simply taking travel/lifestyle documentation-type photos, but trying more to make art and challenging myself visually and creatively (which really just means that I needed to expand from my scope of food photography, which is what I always seem to venture toward! You know what I got my eye on ;)).

Stephanie: Calvin Klein coat, Zara dress, Kate Spade bag

Kat: Madewell coat, YesStyle dress, Adidas sneakers, Madewell bag

Julia: Zara coat, Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Bullhead Denim Co jeans, Cole Haan boots

Me (not pictured): Free People bomber, Forever 21 dress, Dolce Vita boots, Louis Vuitton speedy

I love Brooklyn. There were so many warehouses, brick walls, and alleys. I took some photos against these artsy backdrops, but they didn’t turn out too well, so I’m going to have to come by and try again! I think I started off pretty well with my project of monthly photoshoots. There’s definitely still lots of work to do, but this is good. Portraits are fun. I want to do more of those.

I like traveling with small groups, because it gives the model something else to do while I’m snapping away behind the camera. It’s easier for me to let the other people in the group be charge of engaging each other so that I can catch the #candid and natural moments. But I can’t be reliant on that. I need to direct more.

I’m a huge fan of “candid” shots, but sometimes it’s also fun to do a super posed shot, like the one I got of Stephanie, Kat, and Julia sitting cross-legged on the bench.

I might not be able to travel for each photoshoot. In the future I might have to stay in Philly, or even just on campus. This would really challenge me to give the model more direction, because then there’s not even the distraction of new sights to keep my model preoccupied. But anyways, the way it’s supposed to be is to build a connection between the photographer and the subject, right?

Coming up next on the blog will be outtakes from this photoshoot, so stay tuned for that!

PS: thanksgiving 2016 in nyc, summer 2016 in nyc, thanksgiving 2015 in nyc, fall break 2014 in nyc