Photographing at the NC Museum of Art
where to shoot, composition ideas, and more
Hello! If you’re new here, my name is Hunter and I’m a professional portrait photographer currently based in Raleigh, NC. In this post, I’ll share with you why I love photographing at the NCMA and walk you through where I take my clients for stunning, textured backgrounds.
If you’ve ever visited the North Carolina Museum of Art, or NCMA, in Raleigh, NC, you might have noticed quite a few photographers around. Whether professional or hobbyists, photographers (including myself) love shooting at this art museum and here's two major reasons why:
1. Variety
The NCMA is a popular location for photographers to bring their clients for many reasons, but one of the main attractions is the variety of scenery. You can shoot indoors (no flash allowed) and outdoors. Starting from the inside-out, I’ll walk you through each vignette I’ve shot at and why I love each one.
Inside, there are many beautiful sculptures, paintings, and displays to incorporate into your composition. I personally find the museum to be a rather romantic setting and perfect for posing couples. Get creative and embrace the other patrons walking around the museum to capture motion around your subject or consider shooting through sculptures to create a nice bokeh in your foreground. Before you shoot indoors, be sure to read up on the rules regarding flash and wedding photography.
If the museum itself is closed, don’t worry, the NCMA grounds are open until dusk! Circle around the building and check out its beautiful cut-aways and water features. If you get your angles just right, you can really transform the space in camera. Have a look at these photos I took last year. The rocks (? - I’m not sure if it’s petrified wood or what but it looks cool!) are great for your subject to try some seated poses. You can also use these to close a height difference gap if needed. There’s a lot to work with here and we’ve only just begun.
Keep walking around the building and you’ll find this beautiful water feature great for capturing reflections and getting a more dramatic composition.
Moving on from the actual building, there is a gorgeous open field as you start towards the trail area. I love to take couples here for that wide-open landscape vibe. If you’re just starting out with photography, this is a great spot to shoot at. It’s simple yet beautiful and allows you to really focus on posing and lighting. Use the tall grass and paths to frame your subjects and give your photos a little more texture.
If we walk down to the left of the path, we’ll find a few willow trees. I love posing my client a few feet in front of these and use a very wide aperture. This turns those leaves into a beautiful green bokeh behind my subject and adds texture to the photo. You can also direct your subject to stand more inside of the willow tree and use the branches to create a more interesting foreground.
2. It's Free!
As if the beautiful scenery wasn’t enough reason to love shooting at the NCMA, the cherry on top is that entry is free and there are no fees to photograph here. Oh, and parking is free too! Again, there are still rules and restrictions so make sure you read up on that to avoid any surprises.
I hope this post was helpful for those looking to shoot here (whether as the subject or the photographer) and inspired you as well.
Feel free to use my photos as inspiration and tag me if you recreate anything from this post. I love to see everyone’s work.
Thanks for reading!
~Hunter Pham | HJPHAM STUDIOS
