Family Photographer in DUMBO, Brooklyn

DUMBO is the most-photographed neighborhood in Brooklyn — and the most often photographed badly, because most people go at noon on a Saturday and share the frame with two hundred tourists.

The secret is timing. DUMBO at sunrise, before the coffee shops open, before the tour buses arrive, before every other photographer shows up with their clients — DUMBO at sunrise is a completely different place. The cobblestones are wet and reflecting. The Manhattan Bridge arch frames Washington Street with the Empire State Building in the distance and not a single other person in the frame. The light comes gold and horizontal from the east.

These are the DUMBO family photos you've been imagining. They require getting up early. They are absolutely worth it.

Washington Street — The Arch Shot

The view down Washington Street under the Manhattan Bridge arch — with the Empire State Building visible in the gap — is one of the most iconic urban photography compositions in the United States. For family sessions, this shot works best in the first 30 minutes of sunrise, before the light goes harsh and before anyone else arrives.

We plan these sessions specifically around this window. Early call time, full session, extraordinary images.

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Bridge Park stretches along the DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights waterfront from the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Avenue. The piers offer varying moods: Pier 1 with its sweeping skyline view and wide lawn, the more intimate sections under the bridges, the playground piers that are genuinely beloved by the families who live nearby.

For family sessions with children who have energy to burn, the Bridge Park's playgrounds and open spaces create conditions where kids can actually be themselves while we photograph. The skyline is always in the background. The sessions feel free rather than posed.

Jane's Carousel

The glass-enclosed carousel at Pier 0 — a 1922 wooden carousel preserved and installed in a Jacques Herzog-designed pavilion — is one of Brooklyn's most beautiful and underused photography locations. For family sessions, the carousel's colors, the reflections in the glass walls, and the architectural quality of the pavilion create images with a timeless, almost magical quality.

Sessions that include the carousel during open hours are available on request.

Booking

DUMBO sunrise sessions are among our most-requested bookings in Brooklyn. Spring and fall weekend dates go fast. If DUMBO is on your list, reach out early.

Email love@yourcherish.com or contact us here →

Also available: DUMBO maternity photography → · Family photographer Park Slope → · Family photographer NYC →