Long Island is literally a picture perfect setting for a wedding or engagement photo session. Especially in the warm months.
With miles and miles of beaches, countless parks, arboretums, sunflower fields, historical sites. The list goes on and on. Here are a few of my favorite outdoor (and some indoor) places to do photo shoots here in Long Island.
Jones Beach Field 4
I picked field 4 particularly because of its versatile landscape. You have areas that represent a little bit of everything. Obviously there is the beach, but there’s also areas where there’s gardens, a boardwalk, brick, and even a volleyball and paddle board court. Everything is within walking distance of each other and there’s tons of possibilities. You could even utilize the underpass used to get from the parking lot to the beach in some way.
Islip Grange Park, Sayville
This is the perfect little spot for a historical look to your pictures. Here we have a windmill, a tiny white church, and other misc buildings from the late 1800’s. In addition there’s a huge field with an old time fence that’s easily utilized. I just a did a session here and it’s a photographers field day to say the least.
Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Oakdale
If you’’re looking for flowers galore, a canal, beautiful gardens, more historical buildings and hundred year old low hanging trees for your photo’s look no further than the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Be prepared to walk allot, allot of locations are distributed far along the park, but even sticking to one area can be enough for a great session. Photography permit required for this one.
Long Beach, NY
I love long beach, not only for the boardwalk , or the beach itself but for the rocks. You can’t go wrong when taking pictures in front of these picturesque stones coming out of the water. Venture off to the streets and you could find some great urban areas to take pictures in as well.
Schmidt's Family Farm, Riverhead
Of course, this a great fall setting for a shoot. Not only for the pumpkin patch and corn fields, but for the sunflowers! Utilizing some of the old farm equipment like their truck they use for flower pots can’t hurt a bit either. You can find several gems in this small space especially if you pick the right time of year. Ask the owners permission of course, they may require
Port Jefferson Ferry
This whole village is great for photography, but venture over to the dock area there’s no missing the picture perfect scenery over looking the Long Island sound. If you can catch the town square on a slow day, you could even snap a couple of pictures there in the middle of it.
Argyle Park Babylon
Home sweet home. I use to go for runs and walks at this park all the time. You can stick to the waterfall area or go around the lake for some shots. You could also cross the street to a gazebo. The only down side to this spot is that you have to watch your step sometimes for the goose droppings.
The Montauk Light house
This one speaks for itself. You have the beach, the lighthouse itself, rocks, cliffs and more. There is a ton of history in this old place. Did you know the Montauk Light was the first lighthouse in New York State, and is the fourth-oldest active lighthouse in the United States?
Sands Point Preserve
I haven’t actually shot at this particular location yet, ( I am soon) but that castle! It’s worth the lengthy trip up to the port Washington area just for that. If you’re
looking for a location that screams old European this is it. In addition you have a park, a small pond, and the long island sound right near by. A permit is required for this location.
Cassidy Hill Farm, Medford
I absolutely love this venue! Everywhere you look there’s a different farm animal to take a picture with. For video its great because you could get amazing establishing shots of the horses and pony’s. The inside of the farm is huge, and can be decorated with lights at night. It’s the perfect farmhouse wedding setting. You would definitely need either a permit or permission from the owners to simply take pictures here though.