NYC Couple Session — Andre Blom Photography x Hanru Marais Photography
In spite of rain, flooding and a dress that didn’t arrive on time, everything was perfect — Honestly, the improv and bumps simply match the high energy and inspiration NYC has to offer.
Rachel and Lucas were wrapping up their New York chapter in the most memorable way, an elopement. A move to Dallas was coming, and before they left they wanted something that honestly captured what this city had been for them. Not a skyline shot or a tourist moment — something that actually felt like who they are. Style-forward, expressive, intentional. When the weather closed in and the dress didn’t show, Rachel found a last-minute replacement that ended up being perfection. Throughout the whole process, they kept the focus on each other and the actual celebration of the moment – Not only do they look stunning as couple, but they are some of the most genuine and kind people I’ve met.
That ease translated directly into the work. Genuinely kind people with a natural connection that makes a photographer’s job straightforward. This is when real creative collaboration takes place.
Grand Central Terminal
With the outdoor locations gone, we moved into Grand Central — the intensity and statement that Grand Central evokes is such an incredible atmosphere. The main concourse has its own gravity: the scale of the architecture, the upper windows, the constant movement of thousands of people all going somewhere. It’s cinematic without any help. What the rain took away in natural outdoor light, the space returned in atmosphere and structure.
We worked through the chaos methodically — the main hall, the quieter corridors, the details that most people walk past without noticing. For a portion of the session I shot on a 14mm, which is not a lens most photographers would reach for during a portrait session. In a space like Grand Central, it was the right call. At 14mm the architecture doesn’t disappear behind the subjects — it wraps around them, becomes part of the story. The terminal’s scale becomes visible in the frame. It’s not a lens that flatters in the conventional sense, and that’s precisely why it works here: it demands that the subjects own the frame rather than simply fill it. Rachel and Lucas did exactly that.
It’s something I find myself thinking about often — the tendency in wedding and couples photography to default to the same focal lengths, the same compositions, the same safe approach across every shoot. There’s comfort in that consistency, but there’s a ceiling too. The images that tend to last are usually the ones made with some willingness to work outside what’s expected. Grand Central in the rain with a 14mm and a last-minute dress was exactly that kind of session.
Shooting with Hanru Marais
This session was a collaboration with Hanru Marais, a photographer based in South Africa whose eye I’ve long respected. Hanru joined me for this session, as I was going to assist him the next day with a wedding at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. There’s a particular ease that comes with shooting alongside someone who shares your visual instincts and, inspires it — It’s only natural for us South Africans to meet up on the other side of the world and instantly connect! If you haven’t yet, go look as his brilliant work HERE.
NYC Sessions & Elopements
New York is a city I find myself drawn to regularly — for collaborations, personal work, and sessions like this one. I keep a close eye on my NYC schedule and periodically open availability for couple sessions and elopements when I’m in the city. If you’re planning something in New York, or want to use a trip as an opportunity to create something worth keeping, reach out and let’s see if the timing works.
Andre Blom Photography — East Coast wedding and elopement photographer based in Charlotte, NC. Available for NYC sessions, elopements, and destination weddings worldwide.
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