Fast Turnaround
Outdoor sittings on Highbury Fields, with the Northwood studio held in reserve for a wet afternoon.
Portrait Photographer in Islington
Natural, flattering portrait photography in Islington, guided with gentle direction so you look like yourself at your best.
★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 500+ reviews
Studio in Northwood HA6, we travel to you · weddings from £750 · free consultation
For Islington
Relaxed portrait sessions in Islington
A sitting runs about an hour and opens with the dull part: which way the light is coming from and which way you will face, worked out on the ground rather than guessed in advance.
We photograph, turn the camera round two or three times so you can see where this is going, and cut the result to an edited set delivered on a private link. Skin loses anything temporary and keeps everything else. Files come sized for print as well as for a screen.
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What we offer
Portrait photography in Islington
Personal Branding
One person, one hour, one background settled before we start, and you see the frames as we go.
Model Portfolios
Couples and single sitters alike. The plan shifts with the light rather than with the head count.
Twenty-five years behind the lens
Twenty-five years behind the lens
We keep direction simple and clear, telling you exactly where to look and how to stand, so nothing feels awkward. We are patient with children and older sitters alike, and shape the pace of the session around whoever is in front of us.
Two people can be photographed together and separately within one visit, which suits couples wanting a single frame for the wall and one each for work. Couples, siblings and small groups can be added to an individual sitting, and mixing solo frames with paired ones costs nothing beyond a little extra time.
Recent work
From our recent portrait sessions
Good to know
Portrait Photographer in Islington, FAQs
Yes, on the same booking as a single portrait. Two people need space either side of them, so in Islington the sensible ground is Highbury Fields, where nothing crowds a two-person frame from either side, rather than a pavement outside a shop. Wear tones from the same family without matching outright. If one of you is a good deal taller, say so when you book, because a large height gap is easier seated than standing.
Allow ninety minutes from meeting to finishing. Most people reach us on foot from Angel or Highbury and Islington station, so we agree a meeting point at the edge of Highbury Fields and start there rather than hunting for each other. Photography is roughly half of that. Adding a second background on the streets near Upper Street costs another twenty minutes, mostly walking.
Yes, though always lightly and naturally. For every portrait we make in Islington or the studio, we tidy passing distractions like a stray hair or a blemish, while leaving your skin, lines and character as they are. The goal is a flattering, true-to-life image that still looks like you.
Wear shoes you can cross grass in, because Highbury Fields is the usual ground and turf holds damp long after the pavements in Islington have dried out. Bring one extra top in a different tone, which costs nothing and doubles the set. Eat beforehand. Arrive with a few minutes spare rather than at a run, since a face that has hurried photographs hot for a while.
Most of the awkwardness in a borough as busy as Islington is about being watched by strangers rather than about the camera. So we begin with our backs to the footfall, on the quieter side of Highbury Fields instead of beside Upper Street, and the first few minutes are spent walking and talking rather than standing still. By the time we work near people, you have stopped registering them.
Serving Islington
A portrait photographer near Islington
Clients come to us from all over London, including Islington (Greater London). It sits close to Camden and Hackney, which we cover too. We can photograph at the studio or on location in Islington, whichever suits you best.
A fashionable inner north London borough centred on Upper Street and Angel, with a lively mix of shops, theatres and restaurants. Served by Angel station on the Northern line and Highbury and Islington station on the Victoria line and London Overground. For relaxed outdoor photographs around Islington, we like Highbury Fields, and The Emirates Stadium is a well-known local backdrop.
More in Islington
More photography services in Islington
The same studio, experience and personal care apply to every service we offer in Islington. Explore the rest: We also cover portrait photography across London, including Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, Barking and Dagenham, Lambeth, Barnet and the City of London.
Highbury Fields gives an Islington sitting grass and sky and very little else, and that absence is the thing to plan around. There is no water to bounce light back up into a face and no slope to change the angle it arrives at, so the sky does nearly all of it and the ground does the remainder. Grass is a weak reflector and a coloured one. Put somebody in the middle of open turf at midday and the fill coming back under the chin is green, faint, and far darker than the light landing on the forehead, which is why summer noon here delivers heavy eye sockets and an odd skin tone in the same frame. Paved ground behaves nothing like it. Stone returns light without a colour of its own, so moving four paces onto a path can be worth more than any change of pose. Winter suits ground this exposed, and not for the reason people expect. A low sun crossing a flat open field arrives sideways for most of a short day, and sideways is the direction that gives a face shape, whereas in June only the two ends of the day are usable at all. The borough's alternative is the street. The borough's shops, theatres and restaurants light themselves from within, and after dark that light is warm, coloured, and pointed the wrong way, coming from behind a head rather than onto it. It makes a background, not a light source. Dress for whichever you pick: mid tones hold their edge on turf, plain unpatterned cloth in front of a lit frontage.
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Guides
Portrait guides for Islington clients
Helpful reading from our journal as you plan your portrait session in Islington.
How it works
We come to you in Islington
For Islington we work on location. That is usually the better answer for weddings, events, branding and team photography, since we arrive at your venue or office with everything needed. You are welcome at the studio in Northwood if you would rather.
Based in London
Book your Islington shoot
Tell us what you'd like to capture in Islington and we'll send availability, ideas and pricing.