Photo Tours Of The Sights Of London
London is up there with some of the most photogenic cities in the world. With its bridges, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace amongst its key places of interest, there are lots of opportunities to capture some shots of some truly iconic sights on a visit to the city.
One way to get access to the best photo opportunities for London’s main tourist attractions is to take an organised photo tour. These tours take in some of the highlights of the city and many also throw in some tuition with a professional photographer to help you sharpen up your skills and get even more from your photos in London and elsewhere.
Tourist tuition
For the keen amateur photographer, there’s the chance to couple your break in London with the chance to learn about your camera, style and technique and brush up your skills.
London Photography Tours offer a range of tours that give you the chance to explore different aspects of your creativity and learn more about the art and science of taking photographs. With tours that cover the South Bank’s thriving urban arts scene, the essential London attractions and trips around the most historic sites in London, the guides take small groups and offer tuition on essentials of photography as you go. Taking around four hours, it’s a great way to get a different perspective on some of the sights you may have already seen from another angle.
iPhoneography
You don’t have to be a budding David Bailey to enjoy a tour that’s focused on finding photogenic angles on some of London’s most impressive sights. Photo Walks of London welcome all-comers with all kinds of phones, including those who prefer to use their smart phone to capture the moment rather than lug heavy photographic equipment.
Fans of the smart phone app Instagram will find themselves right at home in London, and group Instagrammers London have collated photographs from around the city posted using the app into an exhibition to show uniquely personal perspectives on the capital. Post your photos on Instagram and you could find yourself part of a collection that people across the world are talking about.
Photographs of the unexpected
While most of the photo tours on offer in London will take in the highlights of the city’s main attractions, there are a few that take you off the beaten track and introduce you to some of the more unusual of London’s sights and give you the chance to photograph things you’re unlikely to stumble across if left to your own devices.
The oddly named Hairy Goat Tour Company offer a tour of some of the more photogenic parts of London that aren’t on the majority of tourist maps. Rather than taking in the usual St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, Hairy Goat will take you to some small churches and church yards that have a unique quality that make for interesting photographs.
You’ll also get the chance to see some of London’s rapidly diminishing mews properties, where small private lanes lead to enclosed streets with houses more at home in a country village than the centre of the country’s capital. While the exact locations taken in on the tour aren’t revealed – it is, after all, a mystery tour – you can be sure to get the chance to see parts of London that even most Londoners haven’t experienced.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an aspiring photographer looking for an opportunity to practice new skills while getting great pictures or just someone who wants the chance to capture your experience in the city to share with others, there’s a whole range of photographic tours that will inspire and guide you. If you’re going out with all your kit or just popping your iPhone in your pocket, there’s something that will appeal to every level of skill and interest.
Featured images:
Image License: Creative Commons image source
Written by Nathan Griffiths who recommends a trip on The London Helicopter
