As a photographer, you view life through your own personal lens. Perfecting your work and discovering your style as you explore life through your camera is crucial to reaching your full potential and becoming the professional photographer you want to be. However, taking the time to explore the work of others will allow you to see different perspectives and styles that you might wish to employ or emulate yourself. But where do you go to explore said work?
Attending a photography exhibition in London is an excellent way to broaden your horizons, discover new work and see how others utilise composition, concepts and lighting. There are plenty of photography exhibitions in London to explore this spring. In this guide, we’ll take a look at 8 unmissable photography exhibitions in London that are happening now or right around the corner:
- The Face Magazine: Culture Shift
- Linder: Danger Came Smiling
- The 80s: Photographing Britain
- Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever
- Nature Study: Ecology and the Contemporary Photobook
- Energy: Sparks from the Collection
- Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos
- SOIL: The World at Our Feet
If you’re ready to explore new themes, lives, and experiences, let’s take a closer look at the stunning photography exhibitions in London listed above.
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1. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift
- Dates: Now until 18 May 2025
- Price: £23 / £25.50 with donation. Free for members
- Location: National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE
- Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2025/face-magazine/
Featuring over 200 photographs by more than 80 photographers—including Sheila Rock, Corinne Day, David Sims, and Elaine Constantine—the exhibition showcases iconic fashion images and portraits that defined an era. From 1980 to 2004, The Face served as "a trail-blazing youth culture and style magazine that has shaped the creative and cultural landscape in Britain and beyond".
Visitors will have the unique opportunity to view many of these images outside the magazine's pages for the first time.
2. Linder: Danger Came Smiling
- Dates: Now until 5 May 2025
- Price: £19 / Free for members
- Location: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX
- Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/linder-danger-came-smiling/
Celebrating 50 years of the pioneering feminist photographer, Linder, this exhibition showcases her diverse artistic output, including her early photomontages from the 1970s punk scene in Manchester, as well as new digital montages debuting in this show.
Central to Linder's work is an exploration of the body and its representation, examining themes of gender, sexuality, and societal norms. Her provocative pieces often juxtapose images from glamour photography with everyday objects, challenging conventional perceptions.
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3. The 80s: Photographing Britain
- Dates: Now until 5 May 2025
- Price: £20 / £5 for Tate Collective / Free for Members
- Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
- Learn More: You can find more information and purchase your tickets at https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/the-80s-photographing-britain
From political unrest and economic upheaval to local subcultures and personal moments, The 80s: Photographing Britain presents a tapestry of British life in the 1980s, presented through the lenses of photographers who captured its social, political, and cultural essence, documenting the everyday experience of those navigating pivotal events in history including race uprisings, strikes, the AIDS crisis and gentrification.
Featuring iconic works by artists like Martin Parr and Vanley Burke, this exhibition explores themes of identity, community, and resilience. Documenting everything from punk and new wave scenes to the Thatcher era’s impact on everyday life, these powerful images reflect a nation in flux.
4. Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever
- Dates: 7 Mar - 15 Jun 2025
- Price: £10 / £7 concession. Advance: £8.50 / £6 concession. Free for members. Admission is free on Fridays after 5pm.
- Location: The Photographer's Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW
- Learn More: You can learn more about this exhibit and book tickets at https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/peter-mitchell-nothing-lasts-forever
Regarded as "one of the most important early colour photographers of the 1970s and 80s", Peter Mitchell is a British photographer whose work predominantly revolves around his connection to Leeds, capturing its people, architecture, and the city's evolution over more than four decades.
This retrospective exhibition delves into proud shopkeepers, quiet backstreets, and enigmatic scarecrows, reflecting Mitchell'a unique and sometimes unconventional view of the city's transformation. The exhibition will feature rarely seen works from Mitchell's personal collection, along with personal memorabilia and found objects.
5. Nature Study: Ecology and the Contemporary Photobook
- Dates: Now until 18 May 2025
- Price: Free to attend.
- Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
- Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/xBBp54LR93/ecology-and-the-contemporary-photobook-2024-25
This exhibition explores how contemporary artists utilise the photobook format to address pressing environmental challenges. It showcases a diverse range of photobooks that vary in subject matter and form, yet all share a common thread of "collaborative practice, curiosity, and reverence for our natural world". The works reflect an ongoing transformation in how humans understand and impact nature.
6. Energy: Sparks from the Collection
- Dates: Now until 18 May 2025
- Price: Free to attend
- Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
- Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibit and book your tickets at https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/energy-sparks-from-the-collection
From hidden technologies to photographic subjects, this exhibition draws attention to "the diverse kinds of energy in photography".
In this way, Energy: Sparks from the Collection will explore the ways that light and energy are memorialised within a still image. Whether it's sunlight passing through a lens, the flash of an artificial lightbulb, or the travelling glow of long-exposure city lights, every photograph needs some kind of energy to bring itself to life.
7. Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos
- Dates: Now until 29 March 2025
- Price: Free to attend
- Location: Autograph Gallery, Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA, UK
- Learn More: You can learn more about the event at https://autograph.org.uk/exhibitions/abi-morocco-photos-spirit-of-lagos
Curated by Lagos Studio Archives and Bindi Vora, this exhibition captures the rich style and spirit of Lagos during the 1970s through the lens of Abi Morocco Photos, a highly-regarded photographic studio in Lagos that offered versatile portraiture to Lagosians from the 1970s to 2006.
Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos is part of the Lagos Studio Archives project, an ongoing cultural preservation project by Karl Ohiri and Riikka Kassinen, which is seeking to preserve the culture and legacy of Nigerian photography.
8. SOIL: The World at Our Feet
- Dates: 09 October 2024 - 23 February 2025
- Price: £18.50 / £15.00 concessions. Children aged 6-11: £10.00. Free for children aged 5 and under.
- Location: Embankment Galleries, South Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
- Learn More: You can learn more about the event at https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/soil
Bringing together works from artists, writers, musicians and scientists from across the world, SOIL: The World at Our Feet pays homage to the remarkable and restorative properties of soil.
Featuring soil-inspired pieces across a range of mediums, this exhibition features a number of photographers including Howard Sooley, France Bourély, Jim Richardson, and Wim van Egmond.
Wrapping up
No matter what type of photographer you want to become, visiting photography exhibitions is an outstanding way to discover new styles, learn how to improve your own art, and find inspiration. And with new collections and photography competitions popping up every month, there's no shortage of exciting works to discover.
Weekdays are generally quieter for most exhibitions, but you can book timeslots in advance online for all of them to guarantee admission. Why not make a day of it with a friend and visit a few in succession, stopping by at some local independent pubs to discuss your thoughts on each exhibition. All in the name of research, of course.
But what do you do when you’re ready to put your skills to the test? Who do you turn to for photoshoot locations? Tutti makes it easy for artists to find the right spaces for their work by connecting them directly with space owners to streamline the search and rental process. If you’ve been looking up, “photography studio London” to no avail, start here with Tutti!
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