Photography in London

It's no secret that London is one of the most amazing places for photography. There are a wealth of amazing sights, loads of fantastically illuminated locations and a great variety of subjects. Even today, during the time of the pandemic, when there isn't the luxury of going elsewhere, there are plenty of opportunities for photographers in London. Below, a guest blogger shares several tips and pieces of advice, as well as their favourite destinations for photography in the capital.

Top Attractions for Photography
Greenwich’s Painted Hall, The London Eye, The View from The Shard, Tower Bridge’s Glass Walkway, Westminster Abbey & Thames Sightseeing Cruise 


Variety

To begin with, London has everything for everyone. You can easily jump on the tube and within 10 or 15 minutes end up in a completely different area with a different mood and vibe. For example, if you like graffiti, characters, and that sort of grungy urban feel, you can’t go wrong with Camden Town or Shoreditch Brick Lane. On the other hand, if you prefer cleaner simpler compositions, numerous people dressed in suits and just a very smart type of feel you should go to a business district called Canary Wharf. 

In case you are more into something specific but minimalistic, you may go to Fleet Street, Covent Garden with its markets and foodstuff, Soho Chinatown, and all of the whole western part of London. You may probably spend two weeks there walking around, but still not cover all of it. In terms of photography, there are loads of fantastic opportunities and nice daylight. Generally, during the daytime, you will surely get nice light and atmosphere to catch on your camera. It is also worth to be mentioned that some of these places are not worse to shoot in the night. So, the Chinatown district, mentioned above is also extremely proper for night-time photography because of its lights and specific locations. 

Additionally, if you are the one who is in love with long walks by the river, you definitely can’t beat it. You may start at London Eye and walk towards Tower Bridge, cross it over, and then go back up to the embankment. The view during the route is amazing, especially in the summertime, when you may get very nice sunsets and sunrises from numerous locations. 

To be honest, everything mentioned above barely even scratches the surface with all the different areas and locations to shoot. The point is that when you come here you will certainly have ample choice of ‘to go’ and ‘to shoot’ options which may hardly run out. 

 
Shooting light

There is no doubt that London has some of the nicest light in terms of shooting. That’s why there are so many local and visiting photographers all year long. To be honest, London is a city where it is possible to get amazing light throughout the whole year depending on which time of the day and which season is there. The easiest way to do that is during the period from the beginning of spring till late October. Anywhere from sunrise through to around 11 o’clock you will certainly get an incredible light for shooting. 

In the summer, you will get the best sunrises and sunsets. However, during this season it may get very harsh and hard to shoot around midday. Also, in the summer the Southside of the river gets ample light whereas in the wintertime the Northside is a place to get the best type of light. 

In the winter you may get fantastic light as well; you may stay out all day long because the light never gets harsh and is very convenient for shooting. The only thing is that it just doesn’t last as long and sunsets about 4 P.M. 

 
Attitude to photographers in London

Generally, the attitude of photographers here is very good. The only thing to keep in mind which catches a lot of people off guard is that a lot of public areas in London are not really public, but privately owned. The reason that may be a bit problematic is if you are walking there with pro-looking cameras, the security may come to ask you not to shoot there. The best way to get rid of this issue is just saying that you are a regular tourist and you are doing photos as a hobby. 

In terms of the general public, people are more than aware that photography is a huge hobby for millions of people. So, if you are not pointing your camera in people’s faces directly, you will certainly not have any issues. 

 
Special tips

There are some tips rather useful for photographers not only in London but all over the world. There is an application called ‘PhotoPills’, which will give you the exact location of where the sun will rise, set and the area sun will go through, depending on the area and season. 

Talking about tips for London photographers-beginners, one easy but extremely important piece of advice is ‘always consider the weather'. Actually, the weather in London is not as rubbish as most people think. Nevertheless, this is no reason to underestimate the weather aspect, especially in autumn and wintertime. More specifically, gloves and umbrellas are the most important accessories in such seasons for any of London photographers. 

One more piece of advice for London cameramen related to weather is ‘any time is good to shoot’. There are overcast days when the sky is completely white-wash, but it still may get boring. A little hack, in this case, is to shoot in ‘black and white’ and remove the boring colour out of it and focus on compositions. The same approach goes with rainy days: you may head straight into the west end or by the river because you will have a chance to get a sort of hazy effect on all the buildings and skyscrapers. Also, it looks really nice with people walking with umbrellas. 

Furthermore, when it comes to gear, the tip is to keep as light and small as possible. There is nothing worse than having to walk around with a ton of heavy lenses, a body camera weighing you down, and getting on your nerves. As for lenses, ‘24 to 70’ will definitely cover 90% of London. Especially, if you are coming to London for a couple of days and you want to stay more in the center of London rather than going to various special viewpoints, then ’24 to 70’ is more than enough. 

As it was already mentioned above, there are a lot of people doing photography in London and a lot of such people are not just amateurs. Today there is a great number of opportunities for such people not only to do what they love but also to make good money using their skills. Let us not forget that London is one of the world’s business centers and a vast majority of big businesses need a qualified photographer to promote their commerce. In this way, if you have experience in this area, or you just feel skilful enough, you have a million chances to apply as a photographer and get a well-paid full-time/part-time job. Just have quick a look at any of the well-known job-seeking sources and you will surely find several attractive opportunities. 

 
Summary

To summarize, London is a fantastic city for street & architecture photography, portraits and any general kind of travel photography. There is a huge amount of variety to suit different tastes and different approaches to photography. The best way to get about is by walking or by jumping on the boat. There are ample coffee shops, markets, restaurants, so you will always have somewhere to stop. Moreover, London is a very safe city and people are generally very friendly for such a large city. So as long as you are nice and respectful, people on average will be the same to you in return. Finally, keep an eye out for one-off exhibitions and random art-related events that frequently happen across London.