Photographers in South Bank

Concrete and colour

The Southbank Centre and the National Theatre are two of London's most recognisable brutalist buildings: board-marked concrete, stacked terraces and stairways that make strong, graphic frames. The skate space in the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft and the Leake Street Arches under Waterloo station add layers of graffiti that change week to week.

The river

From the Golden Jubilee Bridges and Waterloo Bridge you can look west to Parliament and east to St Paul's and the City. The light over the river at sunset is the famous view from Waterloo Bridge. At blue hour the bridges, the London Eye and the north bank's buildings light up and reflect on the water, which is when the South Bank looks its most cinematic.

Shade and backlight

Under Waterloo Bridge, along the undercroft and in the arches you have soft, directional light all day. It suits portraits and couples who dislike squinting into the sun.

Seasons

Summer evenings stretch past 9pm with outdoor bars and festival life. In winter, the riverside is dark by late afternoon, which means blue hour comes early and makes after-work sessions easy. A seasonal market often runs along the river in the run-up to Christmas.

Tube and rail: Waterloo (mainline, Jubilee, Northern and Bakerloo lines) is a few minutes from the Southbank Centre. Embankment is just across the Golden Jubilee Bridges, and Southwark, Blackfriars and London Bridge serve the eastern end near Tate Modern and Borough Market.

By river: the London Eye (Waterloo) Pier and Bankside Pier have river bus services, which link easily with Westminster, Tower Bridge and Greenwich.

On foot: the riverside path runs continuously and step-free from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge, so a session can follow the river without any transport at all.

Driving: parking near the river is very limited and expensive. Come by public transport.

Crowds: the stretch between the London Eye and Tate Modern is busy almost all day at weekends and throughout summer. Weekday mornings and evenings after dark are the easiest times to work.

Permission: several stretches of the riverside and the buildings on it are privately managed, including the Southbank Centre and the National Theatre, and each sets its own rules for professional photography. Your photographer will confirm what applies.

Events: festivals, outdoor performances and seasonal markets take over parts of the riverside through the year. Check the Southbank Centre's listings for your date.

Rain: the undercroft, Leake Street Arches and the space under Waterloo Bridge give cover without leaving the area.

Evenings: blue hour suits this area more than almost anywhere in London. In winter it falls early, so an after-work session is easy to arrange.

South Bank sessions use our standard starting prices: from £250 for couple photoshoots and proposals, from £200 for solo portraits and from £300 for personal branding. Evening and blue-hour sessions need no special pricing, but a longer route that runs to Tower Bridge may need extra time, from £100 per hour.