We talked about this session for almost a year. The first time Mom contacted me about coming to New York to photograph her new baby, it almost worked out. And then some things happened and we decided that it wasn’t the right time.

The following year, Mom reached out to me again. This time was better and so I planned my trip to see them. When we discussed where to shoot their session, we decided that they definitely wanted the city to be showcased since they live in Manhattan. Mom also mentioned that their building has a rooftop terrace with views of the city…. Um, photographer dreams come true! I finally got to meet this precious family on a chilly morning last fall at their home in New York City.

We had decided for a sunrise shoot in hopes that the light on the terrace would be amazing. Her baby was an early riser so they would already be up that early anyways. (Truth: I fully understand that life with my household of early birds) Of course, Old Murphy had to tag along for this shoot. The entire weekend I was in New York the weather was blech. It was definitely not the dreamy crisp fall weather that I had on my visit the year before. Since I was only in NYC for a few days we had to choose the best opportunity for weather and just roll with it. The morning of the scheduled session, it was super overcast skies threatening of rain. Ugh. Not ideal but I had resigned myself to shooting inside the entire time if we had too.

I woke up in the still dark morning hours so that I could have coffee, get my mind right and uber the few blocks to their building (because walking in Manhattan before dawn didn’t sound like a great plan to me). Want to know the amazing thing? The miraculous God part of this story? The weather cooperated. Was it warm with perfectly sunny skies? No. But it wasn’t raining or muggy and we got a tiny bit of sun. I call that a win.

After shooting on their AMAZING rooftop terrace, we spent the rest of our time chatting and wandering the streets in their neighborhood. It was so fun to finally meet this family who I had been chatting with for over year. And now, even though they live on the other side of the country, I feel like I have a connection with New York and it makes my heart so happy.

I would love to travel to NYC again this fall. Anyone interested? You could live there or be visiting. Either way, I would love to make it up there for the 3rd year in a row. Interested in more information? Send me an email from the contact form on the bottom of this page so we can start the conversation.

PS: This family has a special story. I share a little bit about it on an Instagram post here)