When you think about wedding photos, you might immediately picture golden hour or outdoor portraits. But good light can be found indoors too, and sometimes it can create some of the most interesting photos in your gallery.
This content day at Sunday Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee was the perfect chance to play around with indoor light. Sunday Studios is an older church that was turned into a photography studio, so between the large windows, darker corners, and character of the building, there were so many ways to create without ever going outside.
Don’t Be Afraid of Direct Light
Direct light isn’t something you always have to avoid! During this shoot, the sunlight coming through the windows created some pretty strong light and shadows. Instead of moving away from it, we used it for portraits throughout the studio.
Direct light can add contrast, create interesting shadows, and make a simple indoor space look completely different. Some of my favorite photos from this shoot came from placing the couple right where the sunlight was the strongest. Every wedding day is going to have different lighting, so being able to work with what’s already there is so important.
Look for Windows
Windows are one of the first things I notice when I walk into an indoor space! Depending on the time of day, a window can give us soft light for portraits or stronger sunlight that creates more contrast and shadows. Both can be beautiful!
At Sunday Studios, the windows gave us so much variety throughout the day. We could move around the room and create a completely different look without having to change locations. If your Tennessee wedding venue has big windows or rooms with a lot of natural light, don’t overlook them when you’re thinking about where to take your wedding photos.
Use the Shadows Too
Good wedding photos don’t always have to be bright. The shadows throughout Sunday Studios were just as fun to work with as the brighter areas. They gave us the chance to create silhouettes and darker portraits alongside the lighter photos in the gallery.
Having that mix can make your final wedding gallery feel so much more interesting. This is also why indoor wedding portraits can be such a good option. Instead of needing a huge outdoor space, we can work with the light and shadows that are already happening around us!
Let Your Wedding Details Work With the Light
Your wedding details can also completely change the way indoor light photographs. The jeweled veil from this shoot was one of my favorite examples. When the sunlight came through the windows, it caught all of the little bright details and made the veil stand out even more.
We were able to use it for bridal portraits, close-ups, and photos with the bouquet. It was such a simple detail that gave us so much to work with. If you want a unique veil, colorful flowers, fun accessories, or other details that feel more like you, go for it. Those details can make your photos feel even more personal.
Indoor Wedding Photos Can Be Just as Beautiful
You don’t need perfect weather or a sunset to get wedding photos you love. Indoor spaces can give us beautiful window light, direct sunlight, shadows, interesting architecture, and plenty of opportunities to get creative. Sometimes a room you wouldn’t think twice about becomes one of the best photo locations of the day because of the way the light is coming through.
So if it rains on your wedding day or we find an amazing spot inside your venue, don’t be afraid to take some of your portraits indoors. This content day at Sunday Studios was such a fun reminder of how much we can create with the light that’s already there!
If you’re planning a wedding in Knoxville or East Tennessee and are looking for a photographer who is ready to work with whatever your day gives us, I’d love to hear from you! Click here to contact me!
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