NYC shooting locations for headshots/full length?

[khl]

I'm just getting into fashion photography and I'm working with a model

TFP. I'm looking for ideas of where to shoot in NYC, both indoor and

outdoor. Obviously Central Park is always a good start, but it's

weather dependent. The model would also need a place to change

outfits. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

 

Kris

[steven_barall]

As far as places for the model to change, you are going to have to use bathrooms, most likely in restaurants and coffee places like Starbucks. Hotel lobbies have public bathrooms as do department stores.

 

Indoor shooting anywhere here is mostly impossible because you will need permission. Think "security". Nobody takes chances here anymore when it comes to security.

 

There are many outdoor places that will also require permits and if you are too close to a courthouse or school or police station the police will chase you away. It's illegal to take photos on the subway system or on bridges. The Parks department is pretty laid back especially if you don't have a lot of people with you.

 

In a busy place like Times Square you can blend in but if you get in the way of the flow of traffic the police will run you off. They won't bust your chops, they will just tell you to move on. If anyone stops you tell them that you are a student someplace.

 

Good luck.

[bobatkins]

<em>"... It's illegal to take photos on the subway system or on bridges..."</em>

<p>

No it's not.

<p>

As long as you don't use flash (or a tripod), you can shoot indoors in most of the major museums as long as you keep everything low-key and "amateur" looking. If you look like a tourist taking snapshots, nobody will bother you. If you look like a fashion photographer and draw attention to yourself, they'll ask you to leave.

[miles_feigenbaum___dallas_]

Good ole New Yawk!!!

[jtdnyc]

Consider any rooftops you have access to. Plenty of light, interesting backgrounds, relative privacy, discreet changing areas (i.e., stairwells) usually available.

 

Last weekend I saw a Korean wedding party being photographed, somewhat incongruously, on a lawn outside the Holocaust Museum at Battery Park.

 

Years ago, before the redevelopment of the Lower West Side waterfront, fashion photographers on pro shoots would simply drive their cars onto a decaying pier and shoot the models near the tip of the pier. The model would change in the car. Can't do it on the Lower West Side anymore, but there are probably derelict piers elsewhere where it might still be possible.

[steven_barall]

Well yes, it is illegal to photograhp on bridges and the subway system. The point is that if you beahve yourself and don't get in the way you will probably not get bothered. If the cops do stop you just be very polite and apologize and they aren't going to hassle you.

 

Good places: Central Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Bridge (on or near), the Walkway on the Williamsburg Bridge, The Staten Island Ferry, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade which gives great views the of Manhattan skyline, The small pier at the foot of Fulton Street in Brooklyn, there are good industrial areas in Red Hook Brooklyn, On or near the George Washington Bridge, On a Venetian style Gondola ride on the lake in Central Park, or just on a row boat, the Narrow, winding streets in China Town or Mulberry Street in Little Italy around Mullbery and Grand or Hester, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza, The elevated number 7 train through Queens, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (major police factor), on the Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan and that's it off the top of my head. Email me if you need more info.

[steven_barall]

oh, also The brand new Columbus Circle and inside the Time Warner Center on the secind or third floor with Columbus Circle in the background and also the Lincoln Center fountain.

[bobatkins]

<em>"Well yes, it is illegal to photograhp on bridges and the subway system"</em>

<p>

Excuse me for sayings so, but that's pure crap. Point me to any such regulations. Even full out commercial photography is OK with a permit, solo "snapshot" work without lighting and a crew doesn't need a permit.<p>

In fact a ban that had been proposed on subway photography without a permit was actually officially droped this month, so not only is subway photography not prohibited, it never has been and there's no current plan to make it so. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/22/AR2005052200220.html"><b>LINK</b></a>

 

<p>

There have been some signs on some bridges that photography of the bridges was prohibited, but I'm not sure that was ever an offical offense and I'm not aware of any cases where anyone taking photographs on a bridge has ever been bothered. I've shot most of the NYC bridges from the water, and so far I still haven't been slapped in handcuffs.

<p>

The trick is to look like tourist, not a terrorist and not to draw attantion to yourself by acting like a self obsessed "fashion photographer".

<p>

I've shot everywhere in NYC including a whole bunch of places where photography IS prohibited and I've never had a problem. A couple of days ago I was shooting with a small tripod in an area where tripods were prohibited. The building attendant was quite nice about it and we reached a compromise (I could use the tripod without the legs extended on top of a wall - all he was concerned about was me getting in other people's way or them tripping over the tripod).

[rich_taylor____mequon__wi]

A lot of the best locations have been mentioned. I'd like to add The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park. I have no idea what is required for permission, but it offers some beautiful backgrounds and textures.

[brandomness]

If your model is willing, try Time Square late at night; I'd suggest midnight or post-midnight on a Thursday, when the traffic is not too bad. The artificial lighting does wonders and can make for good fashion oppurtunities. I've been able to take pictures of models smack dab in the center of the street.