Susan Stripling

Susan Stripling Susan Stripling takes pictures at weddings. And she likes it. (*PLEASE* don't message me through Facebook. Kindly email me instead! Thanks!)

Wedding, portrait, and theatre photographer.

After twenty years of photographing weddings, I’ve noticed something.The things couples spend the most time worrying abo...
06/23/2026

After twenty years of photographing weddings, I’ve noticed something.

The things couples spend the most time worrying about before the wedding are almost never the things they remember afterward.

Things I have never heard anyone say after their wedding:

• “I wish we had spent more time choosing napkins.”

• “The seating chart should have consumed even more of my emotional energy.”

• “That one pimple completely ruined the experience.”

• “The weather was 73 degrees instead of 75.”

• “Everything was perfect and therefore memorable.”

What people do remember:

Who was there.

Who made them laugh.

Who made them cry.

The people who traveled to celebrate with them.

The moments they didn’t see coming.

How it all felt.

The rest, as Nell Crain would say, is just confetti.

When I made this photograph, I was very proud of myself.Look at that reflection!Look at that symmetry!Look at me being a...
06/20/2026

When I made this photograph, I was very proud of myself.

Look at that reflection!

Look at that symmetry!

Look at me being all clever!

More than a decade later, I still like all of those things.

But they're not the reason I love this image.

They're talking.
..That's it.

That's the whole reason.

I don't know what they were saying. I don't remember the conversation. I couldn't tell you what happened immediately before or after.

What I do know is that when I look at this photograph now, I remember exactly what it felt like to be lying there belly-down on the Plaza floor while two people took a quiet minute together in the middle of a very busy day and tourists stepped over my back.

Twenty years of photographing weddings has taught me that the photographs people love most aren't always the ones I expect.

Sometimes they're just the ones that feel true.

(But for real, look at that clever reflection!)

I went to Coralpalooza with the thinking I was volunteering for a weekend and doing some cool diving.I left realizing t...
06/18/2026

I went to Coralpalooza with the thinking I was volunteering for a weekend and doing some cool diving.

I left realizing there are people dedicating their lives to keeping an entire ecosystem alive. And those people are AMAZING.

The reef doesn't need more people talking about how much they love the ocean.
It needs people willing to show up and do the work. I'm grateful I got to spend two days doing a tiny part of it.

I feel like if nature is part of your life, you owe it to that nature to care for it.

I'll be back next year for sure.

All images PowerShot G7X in a Sea Frogs housing.

Things I expected at this Guastavino's wedding:* Great architecture* Great light* Great peopleThings I did not expect:* ...
06/17/2026

Things I expected at this Guastavino's wedding:

* Great architecture
* Great light
* Great people

Things I did not expect:

* The Knicks becoming the main character during the afterparty

I just blogged this wedding, and honestly, the basketball intermission was only one of the highlights.

Link in bio if you'd like to see more. And you should, it was a GOOD GOOD DAY.

(Go Knicks! Sportsball phrase! I don't know, I just watched basketball for like the first time on Saturday.)

Venue:
Gown:
Planner: Maxine Kabol
Sports game winner:

"We're so awkward in front of the camera."Almost every couple says this before their engagement session (in fact, many o...
06/16/2026

"We're so awkward in front of the camera."

Almost every couple says this before their engagement session (in fact, many of the people in this very post). So if it's you, good. You're normal.

But y'all, here's the thing. Where we shoot has a lot to do with how comfortable you feel. Some of the prettiest spots in New York are also packed with tourists, runners, dog walkers, and seventeen thousand strangers who get very invested the second a camera appears.

Other places give you room to breathe.

A few of my favorites for couples who would rather not be the center of attention:

- Fort Tryon Park
- Wave Hill
- Roosevelt Island
- Your very own neighborhood
- Bethesda Terrace after dark
- Central Park Mall at sunrise
- Quiet SoHo side streets in early light

If you're not sure what feels right to you or where you'll feel the most like yourself, just ask. My inbox is open, and I've lived in NYC for almost twenty years. Finding locations is one of my favorite hobbies, too!

05/08/2026

YEARS ago, I photographed a grandmother asleep in a chair while her granddaughter painted her nails.

Several years later, I came back to shoot that granddaughter's wedding. Grandma was gone. The photograph was hanging on the wall.

I just wrote a long essay about how that photograph was made and what I think wedding photography actually is, versus what wedding Instagram keeps telling us it is.

Link in the comments if you want to read it.

Absolutely loving being able to share my lighting setups and behind the scenes details with my besties at Flashpoint Lig...
05/05/2026

Absolutely loving being able to share my lighting setups and behind the scenes details with my besties at Flashpoint Lighting and Adorama. This will be an ongoing series so feel free to follow along!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DX9iifpDhx8/

2013-2026, Chloe.Oh girl, how do we say goodbye to you? You who loved so effortlessly and fully, you of the full-body f...
04/28/2026

2013-2026, Chloe.

Oh girl, how do we say goodbye to you? You who loved so effortlessly and fully, you of the full-body flops and disgusting breath, you of the endless small-spoon naps and marching in the kitchen and one sliding tripod leg on wooden floors. You, my best friend of over a decade, confidant, nap partner, happiest pup to ever stick her head out of a car window. It was an honor to care for you in these last months.

I’m not religious, but when you left us yesterday I felt the essence that is YOU rise up in the air and swirl away. I like to think you’re everywhere now, in every large field meant for running, on every soft surface, and fast asleep in all good patches of light. The hole left in our hearts and lives is immeasurable, but you are without pain and will never suffer. I am so glad we could do that for you, even though saying goodbye was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Little buddy, always and forever. You are my heart and soul even if you’re not here physically. We will always miss you.

If you’re reading this and you have a dog, a cat, a bunny, or any creature you love, hug them. Hug them hard. And if you’ve lost your heart, please send up a cosmic message that Chloe is with them now and would really, really like some yak cheese and a cuddle battle.

This spring has really punched me in the face, sometimes literally. I had a tooth pulled. My beloved dog is navigating...
04/16/2026

This spring has really punched me in the face, sometimes literally. I had a tooth pulled. My beloved dog is navigating heart failure. I got covid, then the flu.

Sometimes it’s hard to look on the bright side of life, but there have also been gorgeous moments. Visiting my kid at college, road-tripping with my other kid. Bad horror movies at night with my partner. This season of the Pitt. Roo the foster cat on the internet that I’m obsessed with (). I started writing a novel after years of brainstorming but not starting. I started wearing colors other than black on a daily basis. Joy and stress, side by side. Isn’t that the way?

Anyhow, no matter how bad my day is a walk can always help. So here is a social media post about happy people walking on happy days. Here’s to more happy days in all of our futures.

Address

380 W 38th Street Unit 1501
New York, NY
10018

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Friday 8am - 8pm
Saturday 8am - 8pm
Sunday 8am - 8pm

Telephone

+19172098425

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Susan Stripling posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Susan Stripling:

Shortcuts

Share

Category