An Art Institute engagement,
during a Chicago thunderstorm.
How Farzana and Zuyi turned their favorite date spot into a gallery of engagement photos, days before their wedding.
It was one of those hot, humid Chicago summer days where the sky can’t decide what it wants to do. Farzana and Zuyi had been talking about doing their engagement session outdoors, somewhere in nature. But as the forecast got worse throughout the week and the humidity climbed, they made a decision that ended up being perfect: let’s do it at the Art Institute of Chicago instead. One of their favorite date spots when they lived in Chicago. A place they had walked through together many times over the years.
It was definitely the right decision.
A place that meant something to them
Some couples come to an engagement session with a location that’s beautiful but generic. Farzana and Zuyi came with somewhere that had a story. They had been on dates walking these halls. They had photos of each other in front of these same paintings from earlier in their relationship. (like the one below) When the bought tickets for their Art Institute engagement session, we weren’t just picking a pretty backdrop, we were revisiting the place where their relationship had actually deepened.
They now live out west, but this was a chance to walk these galleries again, and to do it dressed for the occasion.
Farzana wore traditional South Asian formal wear, honoring her Bangladeshi heritage. Their wedding itself, just a few days later, would blend her Bangladeshi background with Zuyi’s Chinese heritage into a multicultural celebration bringing both families together. The Art Institute engagement session became a beautiful chance to celebrate her side of that story before the wedding day.
It wasn’t just a photo shoot. It was a couple returning to the museum where their relationship had grown up, days before they became husband and wife.
The lobby, the staircase, and the stained glass
We started in the Art Institute’s beautiful main lobby, with its grand staircases leading up to the different galleries. The scale of the space itself is stunning, and the natural light coming in from the windows above gives you flattering, soft coverage that most museum spaces don’t have.
One shot I definitely wanted was in front of the large stained glass artwork. The colors, the geometry, and the light create a stunning backdrop.
Recreating a scene from La Grande Jatte
One of the most memorable images from the day was in front of Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” one of the most iconic paintings in the entire Art Institute collection. Rather than just stand and pose, I asked Farzana and Zuyi sit on the ground below the painting, echoing the scene inside the frame. Two figures sitting together on the grass, mirrored across time and canvas.
The photo would only happen if the couple was up for something a little unusual…like sitting on a museum floor. They saw the vision and were willing to try something outside the standard poses. Love how it turned out!
Georgia O’Keeffe and the Modern Wing
From there we made our way toward the Modern Wing. On the back stairwell leading up to it, there’s a large Georgia O’Keeffe painting that stops you in your tracks. We stopped there for a photo, letting the scale of the artwork frame them.
Once inside the Modern Wing, we took advantage of what I think is one of the best light situations in any Chicago museum: the large floor-to-ceiling windows facing outward. I had Farzana and Zuyi stand on the elevated walkway for a series of portraits with soft, diffused daylight on their faces. Even with storms building outside, the light through those windows was still stunning.
A creative composition on the stairwell
One of my favorite technical shots from the day happened on the stairwell leading down to the first floor. I used a slow shutter speed to intentionally blur the movement of people walking through the frame, while keeping Farzana and Zuyi sharp and still at the center. It creates a sense of the museum moving around them, with the two of them anchoring the scene. Real, but also a little bit dreamy.
The spiral staircase
One of the most iconic locations inside the Art Institute of Chicago for both engagement and wedding photography is the spiral staircase. On a bright day, the room is filled with sunlight streaming in from the large windows and lighting up the curve of the staircase itself.
By this time though, the storms had rolled in. It was suddenly dark outside, even in the middle of the afternoon. But that shift actually worked in our favor: the strong architectural lines of the window juxtaposed against the graceful curve of the staircase always makes for an iconic engagement photo.
Meanwhile, outside, Chicago was getting hit hard.
While we were making beautiful photographs inside, the city outside was in the middle of one of the biggest storms of the summer. Seventy mile per hour winds. Trees knocked down all over Chicago. Power lines pulled out. And yet inside the museum, we could barely tell. It looked like a normal rainstorm through the windows. The Art Institute wasn’t just an indoor engagement session with air conditioning and shelter from the heat. It ended up being genuine shelter from a legitimately dangerous storm.
What makes an Art Institute engagement session work
If you’re considering a Chicago Art Institute engagement session, there are a few things worth knowing.
The museum is genuinely one of the best indoor engagement locations in the city. Between the Impressionist galleries, the Modern Wing, the stained glass, the spiral staircase, and the grand entryways, you have essentially unlimited backdrops in one building. In a single 90-minute session, we moved through five completely different visual environments without ever going outside.
Photography permits and rules. Art Institute engagement and wedding photos are allowed with the purchase of a ticket as long as we are not blocking anyone’s path with large equipment. It’s one of the rare instances where you don’t need a permit.
The light changes as you move through the museum. The Modern Wing is bright and airy. The lobby is grand and open. The upstairs galleries are dimmer and more intimate. The spiral staircase depends entirely on the weather outside. Each space needs slightly different technique, and part of what you’re paying for is the photographer knowing how to handle all of it.
A perfect choice, in every way
When we walked out of the Art Institute at the end of the session, the storms had passed. The 70 mph winds had died down. Trees were down all over the city. Streets were flooded in places. But for the 90 minutes we were inside making photographs, none of that had touched us.
It was the perfect choice for an indoor engagement session. as it reminded Farzana and Zuyi of their shared appreciation for arts and culture. Days later, they would celebrate a multicultural wedding blending both of their families and heritages into one ceremony. You can see more from their multicultural wedding day at the People’s Gas Pavilion in Lincoln Park.
Their engagement session at the Art Institute of Chicago was the perfect prelude to that day. A quiet couple of hours in a place that had shaped them, dressed in tradition, walking past the paintings they had walked past on so many dates before.
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I’m Kenny Nakai, a Chicago wedding photographer who’s been documenting engagement sessions across the city since 2007. Whether it’s a museum you love, a rooftop with a view, or the neighborhood where you first met, I’ll help you plan a session that actually feels like the two of you. Storms optional.
