Top photography exhibitions in London
Look at life through the lens and find the best new photography exhibitions around London
There's so much more to London art than just painting or sculpture – lose yourself in all kinds of new worlds by tracking down the best photography exhibitions in London.
From sweeping landscape scenes to powerful portraits captured by daring individuals, photography in London offers a full-exposure of thought-provoking, visually captivating art. Look away from the Instagram feed for just a minute and go explore.
RECOMMENDED: Check our complete guide to photography in London
Top photography exhibitions in London
Sergey Ponomarev: A Lens On Syria
Russian photographer Sergey Ponomarev has been documenting the conflict in Syria since 2013. Initially on commission from the New York Times, he was one of only a few photographers allowed into the areas of the country under the control of President Assad’s government.
You Are Looking at Something That Never Occurred
The 14 artists in this show all work in photography – but with all sorts of chicanery going on behind the scenes. Whether it's Jeff Wall's artfully staged tableaux or Thomas Ruff's pixellated .jpegs, none of the images on display here should be taken at face value.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The prestigious nature photography exhibition returns this October. Now in its fifty-second year, the renowned and celebrated annual wildlife photography competition and exhibition returns to the Natural History Museum with images of the most extraordinary species on the planet, captured by professional and amateur photographers.
Ten amazing archive photos of London by Roger Mayne
Why did a young photographer spend five years obsessively photographing a single street in west London, visiting it 27 times and taking 1,400 photos?
Next up: the best art shows in London
The 40 best photos of London ever taken
London, you’re beautiful, you’re wild, you're angry, you're delicious. How do you sum up a city that changes its look as often as its underwear and always has plenty to say? That’s the challenge we set ourselves.
Best wedding photographer of the year 2016
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Top 10? Where's the last 2 then?
Amazing there is so much to see!
Also, no Kate Moss photos at the Photographers 2015 exhibitions.
@greta b Yeah I wondered where those photographs were too! Thought I'd somehow missed them.
The Photographer's Gallery is not in SoHo: it's a few meters off Oxford Street, at the end, near the Circus. Not SoHo.
@greta b Soho is bordered by Oxford Street and Regent Street. The Photographer's Gallery is well within those boundaries.
I look forward each year to the World Press Photography Competition award winners exhibition which is at the South Bank, Royal Festival Hall in November. This is one of the photographic highlights of the year for me.
The press photos are haunting, tremendously powerful and remind us of the relative safety we live in. Some are just too sad to contemplate for long and you are forced to shift your gaze or turn away for a moment.
The western Press seem to be so unconnected however to these traumatic events. You feel their Photographers take some snaps and just walk away, which they do.
I think I only read of one instance where a press Photographer tried to do something about the situation and set about helping the family who had been caught up in the crossfire. Presumably there are others, but these are the exceptions.
It reminds me of western international clothing chains doing virtually nothing about the collapsing factories in Bangladesh, where their sub-contractors lost 1,100 people. The unsafe practices & ridiculous, laughable 'salaries' carry on and genetically identical people to you and me, my family in the UK/EU and the developing world, continue to die and work for little or no salary.
What do you think, or feel ?!
I recommend watching the documentary McCullin about a British photographer. This man also mentions the "snap & run" culture of many photographers, but spent his own life staying in areas of crisis for days and weeks, trying to tell the truth with his photography.
Please list the current exhibition showing in the Black Cultural Archives in Windrush Square, Brixton - Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience, 1950s – 1990s http://bcaheritage.org.uk/programme/exhibitions/staying-power/
It will also be shown in the V&A from mid-February 2015.
@N L Thanks for sharing this ! :-)
I would like some of my London street photography to be exhibited too
http://mirchevphotography.com/london-street-photography/
@Nikolay L Beautiful shots, I would like to see more people in your photos and controversy ! :-)
World Press Photography Competition 2013, Royal Festival Hall , Southbank Two uncles carry their dead nephews in their arms, followed by an army of angry villagers, desperate for justice. A dead body of a suspected collaborator is dragged through the streets of Gaza City. The corpse of a Sudan Armed Forces soldier floats in an oily pond after a clash with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Looking at these harrowing photos it can be hard to believe that they are images of real life. And even harder to think there is someone one the other side of the camera, risking their life at times, taking the shot. The competition contains a combination of portraits, character studies, daily life, news and nature. But the majority seem to fall in the contemporary issues category, demonstrating conflicts of war, drugs, gangs and death. The exhibition comes with a warning for a reason. How the judges narrowed over 100,000 photos into this 55 exhibition amazes me, but it is clear why they are chosen. Though there are some strange additions, like the Danish photographer’s depiction of his family life on holiday in Italy, falling into the Daily Life category. His naked wife sits on the toilet yawning while a toddler rifles through the bin next to her. Another child is asleep in the next room. I’m not sure I’d be happy if I was her. The gallery has two separate sections which left it feeling slightly disjointed and would be easy to miss one whole part of the exhibition entirely. However, each photo is well annotated with just enough description of the event to draw the viewer into the scene without boring them. If you are of a nervous disposition, are already feeling depressed or emotional and have diminished faith in humanity- I would not visit. It is not an uplifting or ‘fun’ exhibition- but it will make you appreciate your own safe bubble of life. And make you want to buy a decent camera.
http://www.timeout.com/london/museums/sebastiao-salgado-genesis Da ich ja immer gerne Fotos ansehe.....
@Paul Genesis was a truly amazing exhibition, but I was disappointed at the lack of comments or descriptive anecdotes next to the photos by Sebastiao Salgado. It wasn't as good as his exhibition at the Barbican !