Photographing happy couples is one of the most rewarding types of shoots, and it’s even more exciting when it’s a surprise proposal! These types of occasions require a great deal of planning, coordination, and perfect timing since the proposal itself often lasts for less than a minute. The groom-to-be wanted to pop the question in front of the iconic Christmas tree that is on display during the winter in the front courtyard of the Lotte New York Palace hotel (which is across the street from St. Patrick’s cathedral). Since it was at night, I had to use a speedlight to compensate for how dark it was, and since I was also trying to ‘hide’ so as not to tip off the bride-to-be I also had to use a zoom lens which tend to be slower than primes. Onlookers applauded and also took photos as his girlfriend said “Yes!”, and it was such a wonderful moment to get to be a part of!
After the proposal was over, we took some candid couples portraits around the courtyard and near the cathedral.

Here are some of my favorite images from this session (click to see un-cropped):

To see more examples of this style of photography, visit my couples and engagement gallery >>

All images in this blog post were shot on a Nikon D750, and individually post-processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Jinnifer Douglass is a full-time freelance photographer based in NYC, shooting both digital and film for individuals and brands such as Google, Door Dash, Make Up For Ever, Squarespace, and more! Specializing in portraits, food, and special events, she works to make every piece of your social and website content ‘Insta-worthy’ with high resolution, full-frame DSLR photography and expert Lightroom editing. Interested in chatting? Leave a comment below, or send an email to hey@jinnewyork.com!