Top 10 Photo Studios in Manhattan
So you’ve booked your photographer and now you’re looking for a location to shoot. Luckily Manhattan is full of studios to choose from. But if you’re anything like me, you struggle with decision paralysis when you’re presented with too many options.
Every article I found when searching for “Manhattan Photo Studios” provided me with a list of 5-10 studios yet more than half of them were located in Brooklyn or LIC. I dug through them all and put together a list of studios actually situated within Manhattan, varying in price, location and what’s included.
Love Studios NYC
Overview
Location: Midtown West
Price point: $59-89/ hr
Minimum booking: 3 hours
Size: 550-1000 square ft.
Highlights: Full production, equipment included in studio rental, views of Manhattan
Love Studios, a full-service photo and video rental studio, is a gem for creatives in the heart of New York City. They cater to a wide range of creative needs, from fashion and beauty shoots to editorial spreads and advertising campaigns.
The 6 studios are known for their views of the city, top-notch equipment, exceptional natural lighting, and spacious environments. It's an ideal location for both seasoned professionals and emerging creatives, offering a perfect backdrop to bring your vision to life.
Young Studios
Overview
Location: Garment District
Price point: $59-100/ hr
Minimum booking: 3 hours
Size: 550-1000 square ft.
Highlights: Unobstructed space with natural lighting, affordable pricing
Young Studios NYC offers 5 well-equipped studios for photography and video production needs. The studios feature essential amenities like Mono Bloc Strobes with transmitters and softboxes, C-Stands, V-Flats, Apple boxes, sandbags, and more. Additional conveniences include a Makeup Station, stylist clothing racks, a professional steamer, and a Bluetooth sound system, ensuring a comprehensive setup for seamless shoots. Located in New York's vibrant 8th Avenue, Young Studios provides an ideal environment for both amateur and professional creatives.
Cafe Studio NYC
Overview
Location: Soho
Price point: $130/ hr
Minimum booking: 3 hours
Size: 750 square ft.
Highlights: Focus on content production for creators
Cafe Studio NYC, a boutique daylight studio in SoHo, offers a unique Scandinavian-style space, ideal for lifestyle content creation. Flooded with natural light, its design is perfect for Instagram-ready shoots.
The studio caters to professional lifestyle content production, suitable for press, social media, and branded engagements, with capabilities for both video and still photography. It also functions as an event space for business meetings and showrooms. The studio features 12' ceilings, wooden floors, white walls, and is equipped with v-flats, c-stands, tripods, and other equipment available upon request.
Verci Studio
Overview
Location: Soho
Price point: $200/ hr
Minimum booking: 2 hours
Size: 7000 square ft.
Highlights: Perfect for recording podcasts or content creation
This venue boasts sunlit windows, exposed brick walls, and is ADA-compliant with elevator access. It includes two restrooms, a lobby area, and a kitchen. The space is furnished with tables, chairs, conference rooms, phone booths, music stands, a projector, screen, and versatile seating options, all customizable for your event. Additional rooms are available for event support, along with freight elevator access on request.
The highlight is a full-service production studio featuring a Cyclorama background, ideal for photoshoots, video shoots, and various multimedia productions.
Overview
Location: Chelsea
Price point: $55-100/ hr
Minimum booking: 2 hours on weekends
Size: 300-1000 square ft.
Highlights: No weekday minimums, affordable pricing
Alchemical Studios, located on the border of Chelsea and Greenwich Village, offers versatile photography spaces catering to various creative needs. With studios ranging from 300 to over 1,000 square feet, they accommodate both simple and elaborate shoots.
The studios are known for their bright natural light and are equipped with amenities like V-flats, C-stands, wardrobe racks, full-length mirrors, and more. Additional equipment like Godox and Aputure lights and various softboxes are available for rent.
Mighty Lucky Studio
Overview
Location: Chinatown
Price point: $100/ hr l Half day $500 (5 hours) l Full day $1000 (10 hours)
Minimum booking: 2 hours
Size: 550 square ft.
Highlights: Well-lit, motorized backdrop, warm tones and greenery
Mighty Lucky Studio, located in the heart of Chinatown's arts community, is a photography studio catering to a range of projects from portraiture and beauty to video and still-life photography.
This 550 sq ft space is well-lit, combining natural light with professional lighting setups. It features motorized seamless backdrops, a full vanity area with bulb lighting, blackout curtains, and an elevator for easy equipment handling. Available for rent by the hour or day, the studio also offers an extensive selection of equipment for rent.
Blank Studio
Overview
Location: Soho
Price point: $150-300/hour
Minimum booking: 5 hours
Size: 1800 square ft.
Highlights: Kitchenette, exposed brick wall, loft-style
Blank Studio NYC, owned and operated by sisters Willa and Marni Blank, offers an expansive, adaptable space all nestled in a classic industrial loft. Known for its pristine white canvas and abundant natural light, the studio is equipped with a professional cyclorama wall, making it perfect for photography, film shoots, and events. Their clients span various industries, utilizing the space for fashion photography, marketing campaigns, corporate events, workshops, and more.
Note: There is no elevator access, so keep this in mind if you are unable to climb a flight of stairs or have heavy equipment.
Daylight Studio
Overview
Location: Hudson Yards & Flatiron
Price point: $100-400/ hr
Minimum booking: 4 hours
Size: 300-10,000 square ft.
Highlights: Full production, green screen studio, kitchen studio
Daylight Studio, located in the heart of Manhattan, offers a premium setting for photo and video projects, highlighted by its expansive windows that flood the space with natural light.
The modern studio boasts high ceilings, minimalist decor, and advanced amenities such as state-of-the-art photography lighting and sound systems. They have a couple of unique offerings like a green screen studio for video production and a kitchen studio set up.
Daylight’s studios run pretty large, with the smallest being about 2,000 square feet. I’d recommend this studio to more seasoned clients shooting a full fashion collection or marketing campaign rather than a personal photoshoot.
Pier59 Studios
Overview
Location: Chelsea Piers
Price point: Unknown
Minimum booking: Unknown
Size: 1,650-6,500 square ft.
Highlights: Full production, LED mega wall, natural and artificial lighting
This 110,000-square-foot facility is renowned for being one of the largest photography and multimedia studios globally. Pier59 features eleven spacious, column-free areas, including a large sound stage suitable for various video and commercial projects. These studios are uniquely designed to facilitate both natural and artificial lighting, with retractable walls that provide unmatched flexibility and modularity in layout, accommodating a wide range of production needs.
Pier59 Studios has embraced the future of video production with its new virtual production LED mega wall. This technology combines real-world and digital environments for an immersive experience, marking a new era in multimedia production.
Spring Studios
Overview
Location: Soho
Price point: Unknown
Minimum booking: Unknown
Size: 1,500-4,800 square ft.
Highlights: Full production, natural and artificial lighting
Spring Studios in New York City is renowned for its modern, multi-use studio spaces that cater to a wide array of creative needs. You may recognize their name from past Fashion Week runways and events. This bustling hub of artistic activity is known for its sleek design and state-of-the-art facilities, making it a favorite among photographers and filmmakers.
The studios offer an ideal setting for various photographic styles, from fashion shoots to commercial projects. Renowned for their adaptability and equipped with the latest technology, Spring Studios provides a vibrant and inspiring environment for creatives to bring their visions to life.
Even if you’re a NYC native, photo studios are typically tucked and hidden away so you really have to dig to find them.
I hope this list helps you find the right studio for your next project whether it’s a fun creative shoot or a full-scale campaign. And if you’re on the outskirts of the city, I’ll be rerouting my search over to Brooklyn and Jersey next.
