Christine and Shawn are college sweethearts who got engaged and chose a sunrise engagement session on the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York, photographed by Acromatico. After their first walk across the bridge, the pair warmed up over coffee at One Girl Cookie nearby.
Christine and Shawn met at a party in college and have been together ever since, with five years of adventures behind them including a proposal shoot and earlier engagement photos in India. For this session they wanted something different that screamed New York, so after settling on their location and style everyone agreed on the Brooklyn Bridge, shot at sunrise. It was Acromatico's first sunrise Brooklyn Bridge engagement session and the couple's first time walking on the bridge.
The early start meant freezing knuckles, heels stuck in the boards and nonstop shivering, but the views were worth it. Afterward they warmed up at the One Girl Cookie shop over coffee and a few cozy shots. The carousel was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the session went ahead. Christine and Shawn's traditional Indian wedding, expected to host around 700 people, was still upcoming at the time of this session in May.
“Yes, this place was TOTALLY worth getting up for, freezing our knuckles off, getting heels stuck, shivering nonstop and taking epic engagement photos.”
Good to know
Dumbo, short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, known for its cobblestone streets, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge view framed at the corner of Washington and Water Streets. The Brooklyn Bridge itself spans the East River, connecting Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan, and is open to pedestrians along its elevated walkway.
As this session shows, sunrise is the trick for the Brooklyn Bridge: the light is soft, the foot traffic is thin, and you can actually walk the span without crowds, though it means an early, cold start. One Girl Cookie, the bakery and coffee shop where Christine and Shawn warmed up, sits in the Dumbo area and makes a natural second stop to thaw out and capture a few relaxed indoor frames.
Acromatico is a family-run photography and brand studio founded in 2004, working across South Florida and New York City with a dark fine-art aesthetic. Couples planning a New York engagement session can use this Dumbo session as a guide to timing, location and pacing.
