Natasha and I met up recently for a spring London lifestyle photo shoot, split between Covent Garden and central London. We had a couple of goals for this – some fresh personal branding images, and an update for her commercial modelling portfolio. Natasha has recently graduated, again (wooooo!), and she’s ready to level up her side gig, so it was time for some images to match.
We knew we wanted to start around Covent Garden, and then get a few classic London landmarks in toward the end. This kind of shoot can be exhausting without a clear plan, so I spent ages on Google Maps creating several different walkable routes I saved to my phone (complete with reference images and gps notes, because I am a professional thankyouverymuch). It was an asset, absolutely the right move. They maps are so good I’m thinking about selling them lol! But as always, my favourite images came from places we just stumbled across along the way.
My philosophy is, apparently, the same for all shoots; have a plan, but leave room for magic.
How to get wardrobe variety in your shoot without carrying lots of bags around
A shoot on the go can make wardrobe changes difficult, especially if we’re in really busy areas. If you want to do several looks, it’s best to have a friend or assistant come along. They can hold bags, fetch snacks, and do behind the scenes content (which we all so desperately need anyway lol!). There’s really no substitute for this, it’s super helpful.
If we don’t have a third person, we have to be smarter about our strategy. In those cases, I bring the bare minimum of equipment, because I’ll be carrying everything for both of us. Rather than full outfit changes, create variety through layers and accessories. Start with an easy base, something like a neutral dress and cute but comfortable shoes. Then consider things like a jumper, a jacket, sunglasses, hats, a change of shoes, etc. Little additions and subtractions paired with a new location, and you’ve got a completely different look.
Natasha did a vibrant pink dress and cute matching sneakers. For variety, she brought a trench coat, heels, and we added oversized sunglasses. You’ll see how these led to distinct vibes that don’t feel like they were shot on the same day, let along 10 minutes after each other.
If you’re thinking about doing something similar, do not ignore the advice on comfortable shoes. It’s a lot of walking, even with a solid plan. You don’t see your feet in most images anyway, and it’s easier to spend two minutes swapping out shoes than to hobble around with fresh blisters.
Shooting in central London: pros, cons, and one big cheat cons
Shooting in super central spots like Westminster can be tricky and stressful. It’s always swarmed with crowds. The upside is you have anonymity (you’re just one of hundreds of tourists taking photos, no one cares about you AT ALL), and you get the location as a killer backdrop, but everything else is a downside if you ask me – noise, heat, people bumping into you, lines, trying to not get pick-pocketed, no control over the lighting, etc. Natasha and I saw one of the tour buses bump into one of the tuc-tuc things, and then the tuc-tuc guy got out and was physically putting himself in front of the bus, shouting and banging on the windshield trying to get the driver to stop. It was a whole thing, and after all that he didn’t even stop, which is a jerk move but I’m just glad the guy didn’t get run over. Anyway, the point is, be mentally prepared for the chaos. Get in, get out.
My one big hack is….Photoshop. It’s impossible to shoot around the tourists. We can’t control the weather, and sometimes we can’t even shoot at the optimal time for lighting. I prefer to get it right in camera, but it’s often impossible here. A little post-production magic saves the day.
Ready to book your own spring London lifestyle shoot?
Let’s do it! If you’re dreaming of a spring London lifestyle photo shoot of your own, whether it’s for personal branding, a commercial modeling portfolio update, of just because you can, I’d love to help.
I shoot in London regularly and have a few favourite locations that work beautifully on camera (no need to fight the tourists if crowds stress you out). You can get in touch here to get the ball rollling, or just say hi and ask a few questions.
Rebel & Romance sessions are open to everyone, even if you’ve never done anything like this before, and even if you want to keep all your clothes on. If you’d like some inspo straight away, you’re welcome to look through our Pinterest board for this shoot and start making your own.
xx / Stormy
