LACMA &
Urban Light
The most photographed corner in Los Angeles, and how to shoot it so it does not look like everyone else’s
Two hundred street lampson a public plaza.
Urban Light — Chris Burden’s 2008 installation of more than two hundred restored cast-iron street lamps — stands at the Wilshire Boulevard entrance to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It has become the single most recognisable backdrop in the city, and it is the reason most couples come here.
It is worth being clear about what LACMA is and is not. It is a museum, not a wedding venue in the ordinary sense. Couples use it for elopements, ceremonies at the plaza, engagement sessions and post-ceremony portraits rather than for a seated reception. The lamps are lit from dusk until dawn, which makes the two best windows here the ones most people miss.
The museum welcomes personal photography in its galleries but asks for no flash, no tripods and no selfie sticks. For anything professional or commercial, contact LACMA directly before the day — their public FAQ does not cover it, and assumptions are not worth the risk on a wedding morning.
Everyone photographs the lamps.Not everyone photographs them well.
Go early or go late
The plaza is busy from mid-morning to closing. Sunrise gives you the lamps to yourselves; the half hour after the lamps come on at dusk gives you their light with the sky still holding colour. Both are worth setting an alarm for.
Shoot through the grid, not at it
The columns make a lattice. Standing inside it and shooting along a diagonal turns a flat backdrop into depth — foreground lamps soft, couple sharp, the rest receding.
Blue hour is the frame
Once the lamps are on and the sky is still deep blue rather than black, the two light sources balance. Wait twenty minutes past sunset and you have a completely different photograph.
Work with the crowd, not against it
There will be other people. Long lenses compress them out, low angles hide them behind the lamp bases, and a slow shutter turns passers-by into motion rather than clutter.
The rest of the campus
The lamps are not the only thing here. The museum’s courtyards, walkways and the surrounding Miracle Mile architecture give you clean, modern backgrounds a few steps away when the plaza is full.
Keep it quick
This is a public plaza. We plan a tight shot list so the session is fifteen focused minutes rather than an hour of standing around, which is better for the pictures and better for everyone else using the space.
Photographed at LACMA on the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles.
An elopement,shot here and in West Hollywood.
We photographed an elopement that used LACMA for portraits and The London West Hollywood for the rest of the day — a pairing that works well, because the museum gives you an unmistakably Los Angeles backdrop without needing to hold a hundred guests.
Before you plan around it.
Can you get married at LACMA?
Couples use the plaza and campus for elopements, small ceremonies, engagement sessions and portraits rather than for a full seated reception. If you want a ceremony on site, contact the museum’s events team directly about what is possible on your date.
Do we need a permit to photograph at Urban Light?
LACMA’s public FAQ covers personal photography in the galleries — no flash, no tripods, no selfie sticks — but does not address professional or commercial shoots. Contact the museum before the day rather than assuming.
When are the lamps lit?
Urban Light is switched on each day at dusk and off at dawn, so the lit version is available every evening and every early morning.
What is the best time of day to shoot here?
Sunrise for an empty plaza, or the twenty to thirty minutes after the lamps come on at dusk, when the lamps and the sky balance. Midday is the hardest — harsh light and the largest crowds.
How long does a session at LACMA take?
Fifteen to thirty focused minutes is usually enough for the lamps themselves. Add time if you want to work the wider campus and the Miracle Mile streets around it.
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Lulan Studio has photographed more than 2,300 weddings and holds 382 five-star reviews. Send us your date and we will tell you the best window to shoot the lamps.