Outside Photos at The Art Institute

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of my favorite places to do engagement sessions in Chicago and this session with Karolina + John is a clear indication of why. We did this session in the beginning of April, where Chicago is notoriously rainy during that time. This may put some people off from doing the session, especially with a portion of the session being outside of the Art Institute – but Karolina + John killed it and we created the most beautiful moments in the misty weather. It even made me think of my favorite state, Washington, because of how rainy, foggy, and misty it was outside.

I don’t often take photos outside of the building, but this day called for it and these two were such a dream to hang out with and enjoy this misty, foggy weather. After this session I will definitely think about shooting outside more often, especially for couples who would like a view of the city in the background (in rain or shine).

Inside The Museum

After taking some photos outside in the gloominess, we headed inside to the entrance area of the museum. This is an amazing place to capture engagement photos since the whole building is so incredibly well lit, with a lot of it being natural light from the skylight in the grand staircase area!

You could also consider this part of the museum to be “muted” since it is all a beige tone; I personally love this about this space because it has the ability to focus on the couple, allowing them to truly stand out in the best way. Even while wearing white and black, the focus is on the two of you. So while a lot of my photos are taken where the artwork is, this is a favorite spot in the museum as well for the reason that there is no “distraction” due to the simplicity of the space. The architecture of the building is one of the most beautiful in the Chicago area as well. Like a lot of the historical buildings in the area though, it is also a classical architectural style, which I think it absolutely gorgeous.

The Art Exhibits

Now, for one of my favorite spots to capture sessions for all of my couples: the art exhibits. All of the stunning artwork is spaced out so perfectly to where the photos never turn out overwhelming, but rather add some colorful touches alongside the couple.

Karolina and John truly killed this session; their love radiated off of them creating the most romantic vibes. They have been one of my favorite couples that I have had the pleasure of shooting with since their photos gave the perfect mixture of incorporating space, a little PDA, and the vibe as if they were just off on a date to the museum. Being a fly on the wall is truly what I strive to be, giving very minimal amounts of posing instructions and allowing the couple to act like themselves.

After visiting the Art Institute so many times, I can say with absolute certainty that a session here in front of the beautiful architecture and artwork will turn out to be the most stunning engagement photos.

The Stained Glass + Staircase

After we went to take photos in the art exhibits in front of all of the historical artwork, we moved to another area in the museum where the massive stained glass window and the beautiful staircases are. This spot in the museum is a great place to capture the couples in romantic and subtle steamy moments, which is what we did!

We also took a few moments to take some individual photos of Karolina and John, which I highly recommend doing for your engagement photos if you haven’t thought about it! With such stunning and thoughtful formal-wear that they wore to this session, I thought capturing their outfits was irresistible.

As you go further up the staircases in The Art Institute, there is a large window that you can walk in front of and capture the city in the background. So we went up the stairs to capture those photos and also got a few adorable spinning moments in front of the white curtain. This session truly was to die for and I love that we were able to spend all of this time in one location, taking full advantage of all of the areas that the museum has to offer.

Wrapping it Up

I could say this a million times: Karolina and John were a dream for me to capture their engagement session for. The outfits, the very clear chemistry, the beautiful choice of location, and honestly everything was perfection. Getting to know them over the engagement photo planning process was amazing and I am incredibly grateful to have captured these very important photos in the next step of their lives.

If you would like to read about other sessions I have done at The Art Institute of Chicago and view more galleries, consider following my Instagram and checking out my previous blog post on Mia + Elliot‘s session!