Window Light: The Key To The Perfect Getting Ready Space

This is a topic that most brides might not think about initially when planning their wedding: the getting ready space.  They might know the location, their family’s home, an Airbnb, a hotel room.  But what I’ve found in my years of photographing weddings is that there’s one major thing that can make or break a getting ready space…..and that is LIGHT.

Having a window, even if it’s just one window, makes a world of a difference for your getting ready images.  We have photographed in a wide variety of getting ready spaces and I wanted to share with you our best tips for choosing and preparing your getting ready space.

Window Light

As I mentioned above, window light is key.  The more windows you have, the better.  When you’re looking to book a hotel or airbnb, keep in mind that we will be using the light from the window(s) for those classic earring and dress zipping shots.  If you can, ask the hotel for a corner room. Those sometimes have two windows and that is a huge plus! Even if you only have one window, we can still create beautiful images.  It helps to keep the area near the window clear of clutter, to avoid distractions in your images.  The images below were taken in hotel rooms with just one window.  Additionally, these were cloudy days and you can still see how much window light helps!!

Getting Ready in a Home

If you are getting ready in a home, be it your family’s or a house you rented, we will most likely use the brightest room to get ready in.  One of the first things I do when arriving on a wedding day, after saying hello of course, is finding a spot for those getting ready photos. This might be a bedroom, living room or even a foyer. My main goal is to find a space that is well lit and can accommodate the bride and her mother or bridesmaids as they help her get ready.  Here are some examples below of various spaces I’ve used in houses.

Bonus: Outdoors Spaces

As a photographer, I get super excited if the getting ready location has a great outdoor space. We have use balconies at hotels as well as porches on homes and the front steps of churches.  The light outdoors is significantly brighter and makes for light, dreamy images with even skin tones.  Win win! We love homes with big front porches, especially since the porch is a great spot for outdoor photos if it’s raining!

We hope this helps you get an idea what makes for a great getting ready space! Basically it’s light and simplicity of background. Our goal is to create stunning, well lit images that are void of clutter so that the focus is on you!! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below or by shooting me an email.