As a London lifestyle photographer, I’ve defined for my clients who’ve asked that lifestyle photography is about capturing authentic, unposed moments that tell a story. Unlike traditional headshot photography, which often relies on staged settings and formal poses like headshots, lifestyle photography embraces the spontaneity of real-life interactions. It focuses on activity and interaction versus static expressions.

Lifestyle photography was something I fell into while growing my career in Vancouver, Canada. Taking elements from candid event photography, posed portrait photography, styled fashion photography, and journalistic documentary photography, lifestyle photography is a broad style rooted in many genres and has limitless applications in commercial advertising.

When I directed fashion photography shoots before finding lifestyle photography, I found that the images that stood out to me most were the frames I’d capture in between poses and directions. They were candid moments looking off, smiling, and showing real organic expression. In the end, these became the most valuable images desired by clients.

As my portfolio matured to highlight these candid scenes more often with underlying narratives and emotions, this became what my clients had come to me exclusively for, and I had to adapt, and frankly figure out what lifestyle photography meant.

In commercial advertising, lifestyle photography creates an invisible impact on your everyday life whether you realize it or not. It defines the stories you remember, the products you’re influenced to buy, the causes you’re moved to support, and the psychological connection you’ve made with something that empowers you to share it with others.

Female firefighter captain wearing red fire helmet with 3 firefighters London, UK, commercial advertising lifestyle photography campaign — Firefighters responding to a call for an EV firetruck commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign for Rosenbauer: the Austrian emergency equipment manufacturer.

1. What Is Lifestyle Photography? An Introduction to a Growing Niche in London

Lifestyle photography is more than just capturing moments; it’s about telling a story. Whether you’re documenting a day in the life or highlighting a brand’s unique identity (however that may manifest), this style of photography focuses on authenticity. In London, the demand for lifestyle photography is growing, influenced by a need for relatable, real-world imagery that resonates with diverse audiences.

My journey in lifestyle photography began in Canada, coming from a background in posed fashion and portrait photography that led to more informal documentary-style lifestyle portraits for commercial advertising. Now, as I establish myself in London, I’m seeing similar trends emerge here, making this an exciting time to be a part of the industry.

When Instagram and other social media platforms gained traction in the mid-2010s, creating an idealized version of yourself to showcase to the world was expected and validated by likes. Staged scenes, “overnight success”, designer products, and polished-feeling images featuring an unobtainable body image (that lacked diversity) were sought after.

However, with the accessibility of mobile retouching apps and editing tools, AI, iPhone camera quality, affordable travel, and replica designer goods, the “idealized self” profiles are over-saturated. Overly polished and posed content, which was once considered a scarcity, is now accessible to anyone.

Because of that, we see Reels and TikToks with no makeup on and one long take gain the most popularity, showing the mistakes as they’re made. We see a demand for film photography because of its imperfections and texture that iPhone photos cannot recreate. We even see a rise in the early 2000s digital cameras and camcorders surging in popularity to get the grainy digital look that’s counter to the polish of modern cameras.

While these trends and shifts in perspective pertain to the individual, it is the individual that agencies, brands, and businesses need to not only speak to but be relatable to.

This shift from polished to real is what is defining commercial lifestyle photography in 2024.

Two firefighters pull windshield off car rescue London, UK, commercial advertising lifestyle photography campaign — Firefighters pulling off the windshield of a car to perform a rescue operation for an EV firetruck commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign for Rosenbauer: the Austrian emergency equipment manufacturer.

Lifestyle photography once referred to simply documenting one’s lifestyle, as phony and idealized as it may have been. Today, it is about telling authentic and relatable stories. Lifestyle photography finds its home amongst documentary photography styles because of the journalistic storytelling that makes documentary work trustworthy and real.

It is important to note, though, that staged scenes found in commercial lifestyle photography should not be confused with journalism, as overt manipulation does not follow journalistic codes of conduct.

2. Bringing Authenticity to Life: How Lifestyle Photography Differentiates Itself

One of the defining characteristics of lifestyle photography is its commitment to authenticity. Unlike traditional studio shoots, lifestyle photography thrives on capturing real emotions and interactions. London’s brands are increasingly seeking this genuine approach, as it allows them to connect more deeply with their audiences. As someone who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, I’ve seen firsthand how authenticity can make or break a campaign. In lifestyle photography, it’s not about perfection; it’s about presenting life as it is, in a way that feels relatable and true.

The word authenticity is a cliché, based on how many times I’ve already written it here and because what defines authenticity in commercial lifestyle photography in London is a moving goalpost.

When we accept that authentic, organic, genuine lifestyle photography can be staged and it’s okay to curate a scene, we can observe this genre for what it is and the objective characteristics that make it effective.

What does this look like? It can be as simple as capturing a real moment, with a model smiling while looking off-camera. This often manifests in active prompts rather than poses.

Instead of looking right at the camera while in front of a laptop, it’s writing a recipe for their favourite breakfast. Instead of two models smiling at each other and nodding, they’re describing how they plan for a vacation. Prompts that take the subjects out of the scene and into something familiar without too much thinking makes it not only easy to crack a genuine smile but also create the sense of comfort found in an unstaged setting.

When I photographed a political consulting company that helped lead Barrack Obama’s 2012 campaign alongside TikTok’s fight to remain active in the United States, one of their leaders gave me his favourite prompt: “How do you describe your job to someone sitting next to you on an airplane, if they ask?”

Of course, a great prompt for someone with an interesting story, but this is a great example of lightening the mood to catch people off guard.

Overall, lifestyle photography is often photographed of people who aren’t models. To me, this has been my speciality in photography. To learn more about I prepare non-models for photoshoots for what to wear alongside other posing prompts, I recommend reading my article How to Pose People Who Aren’t Models for Headshot and Portrait Photography.

Businesspeople people smiling boardroom meeting skyscraper office view wealth management financial services family office London, UK, commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign — Commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign for a family office wealth management investment corporation in London, UK.

Lastly, the other aspects that differentiate lifestyle photography are the physical objects found around them. The props in lifestyle photography complete the story and prevent viewers from thinking “why was this photo taken?”. For coaches and consultants, for example, their books, preparation materials, laptops, workshop presentations, and other tools of the trade sets the scene.

Polticial consulting company meeting in boardroom three business people discussion in London, UK, commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign — U.S.-based political consulting company commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign in London, UK.

While written out, these techniques seem shallow, but to the unknowing viewer of a commercial advertising campaign, it creates an image with depth and emotion they can relate to.

3. Current 2024 Trends in Lifestyle Photography: What London’s Brands Are Looking For

In 2024, the trend towards authenticity and banishing idealism is cemented, with London’s brands looking for images that reflect real life. This is especially seen in several objective camera techniques, casting approaches, applications, and motion imagery.

Whether it’s a commercial campaign for a major company or a photo shoot for a local business, the focus remains on capturing genuine moments that show a tasteful amount of imperfection. This is where lifestyle photography excels. As I’ve learned through my experience and it’s easy for anyone to observe in London, brands are moving away from overly polished images in favor of those that show a more personal, approachable side.

Some of the most popular editorial and commercial lifestyle photography approaches in London in 2024, in no particular order, include:

Diverse Models

Growing up in such a multicultural city as Vancouver and now finding a home in London, diversity of all skin tones was never a question when it came to representing my environment in photography. Marketing and lifestyle photography on a global scale, however, has taken too long to catch up. Diversity in skin colour and natural hair types – that isn’t all ironed straight – is a refreshing reality in creative direction prompts.

On the other side of the camera, this has been especially true of photographers. White male photographers have been given privilege in the creative space for much of history. The perspectives brought by photographers of all races, religions, gender identities, and sexualities offer introspective concepts that those who’ve never experienced what they’ve overcome could understand.

To ignore diversity in 2024, whether in your model casting or on your creative team, means you’ll be missing the big picture – and it will be clear to your audience.

Embracing All Body Shapes

The hourglass figure is a thing of the past. Curves on men, women, and every gender identity are an expected and much-appreciated addition to every group model casting. This speaks to the journey every person has in life through age and the insecurities that come with it. Make your brand and message a place of comfort and not self-consciousness.

Moreover, shooting only skinny people gets boring. Use your work and concepts to create a voice for others. When you make your work a platform, you speak to the roots of lifestyle photography and define what authenticity is.

Motion Blur

Now transitioning away from big picture movements in lifestyle photography, techniques like motion blur are objective approaches that add visual interest and lean into imperfection. It’s a great way to add motion and movement to an otherwise still image.

Experiment with long shutter speeds; create light trails with ambient, coloured lights in your scenes; and use flash to freeze your subject combined with rear or first curtain syncs to allow a flow of motion blur to draw your viewer’s eyes into them.

Male skateboarder blurry motion blur panning action photo wearing sweatshirt jumper editorial commercial fashion photography lifestyle advertising campaign London, UK — Fall/winter commercial fashion and lifestyle photography advertising campaign, featuring motion blur as their hero image, for an active wear brand in London, UK.

On-Camera Flash

Flashes mounted on the camera or built-in have been in trend for the last few years. They create dynamic contrast and make colours pop with a sharp shadow behind the subject. As opposed to off-camera flashes and lighting (which I often prefer because of the control it provides), off-camera flash is easy to keep in your bag and creates high-quality shots anywhere with minimal gear.

These are preferred in many shoots because they create the feeling of less polish and production: as if it were a vintage flash camera.

That said, off-camera flash will always have its place in creating subtle effects that elevate your work and the quality of images in a natural way. If you’re interested in learning more, check out my article How (and Why) to Use an Off-Camera Softbox Flash or Strobe in Photography.

Diffusion Filters

While they’ve existed for a long time, diffusion filters enable you to take the edge and harshness off of the incredibly sharp, high-resolution sensors of modern cameras. Check out Tiffen’s video comparing their entire lineup of diffusion filters for controlled cinematic effects.

Unconventional Cameras

As mentioned previously, a trend has been utilizing early 2000s digital cameras. The low-quality, pixelated, and grainy look contrasts the high quality of today’s phones and makes these images stand out from the pack.

My Canon Powershot point-and-shoot camera, which I got when I was 12 years old and learned photography on, is getting shipped to London by my parents and I’m excited to relive my first shots (with a memory card in it that I’m sure I’ve never cleared).

While film has emerged as a popular choice in recent years with film prices to show for it, the rise in early digital cameras is new to 2024 specifically.

Stop Motion

With the rise of Reels and TikTok, it may be difficult for still photographers to break into video without an innate interest in it. Stop motion, on the other hand, makes it easy to maintain the creative process of still photography while creating a motion deliverable.

By setting a high shutter speed and constant light (or strobe, if it’s fast enough), you can create a dynamic series of frames. Or, stitch together a highlight reel from a traditional shoot. Then, you can even use Photoshop’s stop-motion animation tools to stitch them together to create a stop-motion video file. Yes, it comes with stop-motion animation tools that you may not have realized!

Hands, Hands, Hands

Especially the case in commercial lifestyle photography with products, humanize your frames by adding a set of hands interacting with them. Hands in a product frame have long been a technique, especially with food photography too, but the choices around who’s hand you’re using now tell and story and create a relatable feel.

If you combine this with stop-motion imagery and juxtapositioned frames of your models authentically enjoying your product, you’ve now created a multi-image commercial advertising campaign that you’ll see commonly lining long London tube stations.

Colour: Desaturated or Maxed Out

In a commercial world filled with high dynamic range, contrasting the norm with low-saturated, moody imagery (such as black and white, or saturations brought down below 20%), or on the other hand, bright, vibrant colours lit up by on-camera flash, it a popular way in 2024 to stand out against the crowd.

SMILING!

Lastly, and my favourite, is smiles. Ads from years and decades past took themselves too seriously. Even in high fashion today, we see the cold smolder expression as the high-status modeling face. However, like many lifestyle photography trends of 2024 that are set to go against the grain, organic smiles create a far more relatable appeal. We strive for connection and relationships in London which has grown increasingly isolated post-COVID, and filling the needs of love, identity, and happiness is what smiles are all about.

In commercial fashion photography, smiling models are seen as related to affordable brands (pay attention to this when viewing ads). This is especially true with campaign models. On the contrary, notice the influencers and celebrity spokespeople who wear these brands. The paparazzi-style images that luxury fashion brands use to highlight celebrities wearing their brands, like Gucci for example, have images of them smiling! They contrast the cold smolder of runway models with the relateable smiles of familiar icons to still signal that their brand is relatable to the aspirational shopper looking to increase their happiness. Get those smiles!

4. The Process Behind Lifestyle Photography: From Concept to Creation

Creating impactful lifestyle photography requires careful planning and a deep understanding of the brand’s story. When I work with clients, I start by understanding their vision and how they want to be perceived. This is always done with a goal-setting discovery call, or ideally meeting in person, to wholly understand the emphasis behind certain decisions or priorities on how a brand should be perceived.

Whether it’s a large commercial campaign or a personal branding session, every detail is considered—from the location to the wardrobe to the lighting. The goal is to create images that feel spontaneous and natural, even though they are carefully orchestrated. This balance is key to producing photos that resonate with audiences.

How to find the balance between where I feel a shoot can be powerful alongside the priorities of the clients and creative teams all comes down to the moodboard. This is the most important element. The cliché of “pictures speak a thousand words” could never be more true. Visualizing and cataloging all reference images, mockups, storyboards, and the order of operations are essential to curating a powerful shoot that’s executed on time.

Spring/Summer Commercial Fashion Photography Lifestyle Advertising Campaign Mood Board London, UK

For this real-life example of a mood board we used for an active-wear’s spring/summer collection photographed in the studio, reference images were colour-coded by model to create an effective checklist shot list for their lifestyle advertising campaign.

When the moodboard is agreed, a shot list is a must. Without a shot list, what criteria are you comparing your shoot against to know if it is successful?

Our shot list is matched with respective location scouting, wardrobe styling, matching reference images, and overall storyboarding to keep us on track and know when to move to the next shot. However, shot lists are always a guideline. While hitting the baseline criteria is the goal, leaving room to document organic moments as they arise is the essence of lifestyle photography. Budgeting enough time to run over when getting authentic experiences ensures neither your nor the subjects are distracted by the clock and remain present while shooting.

When it comes to working with subjects, especially if they aren’t models, spending time without the camera present, ideally on a separate day than the shoot day altogether, is how I get my organic feeling images.

This is a technique I took from Annie Leibovitz’s book “At Work”, from subjects including Queen Elizabeth II to U.S. Presidents to music icons, she spends a day ahead of time getting to know that individual and building comfortability. The following day, during the shoot, sometimes it can be as short as fifteen minutes. That familiarity is already built to capture portrait and lifestyle photography organically in its element.

In much of commercial lifestyle photography in London when you’re not a photography icon like Leibovitz, you may only have that shoot day to meet in person. That’s why I push to have a video call, at the minimum, with subjects ahead of shooting to build that comfortability and has always resulted in streamlined shoots with my favourite images as there’s never the awkward warming up period.

Four models, two male two female, wearing matching sweatshirt jumpers in London, UK, photo studio for editorial commercial fashion photography lifestyle advertising campaign — Completed lifestyle advertising campaign images for our client's commercial fashion photography campaign featuring their spring/summer collection jumper sweatshirts in London, UK.

5. Niches Within Lifestyle Photography: Finding Your Path in the Industry

With the fingers of lifestyle photography being dipped in the pies of so many other styles, this also means it has limitless applications. While we see a growing demand in the commercial advertising photography space for lifestyle images, these high-production shoots aren’t the end-all, be-all of the style.

For photographers who enjoy the process of creating candid-feeling images, these are the niches within commercial lifestyle photography in London that I fill my time with:

Personal Branding

Personal branding photos are a perfect application for small teams and individuals looking to populate their website and social media with approachable photos. Often combined with headshot photography and environmental portraiture, it shows these entrepreneurs in their elements, often in service-based fields, and paves the way for landing their next client.

Dating Profile Photography

Dating profile photography in London is a rapidly growing niche that’s often always overlooked by photographers. Though I often stay within the commercial space, consumer photography types like dating photography in London I love. Working one one-on-one with someone, building a comfortable relationship, and then snapping photos at the right moments follows all the traits of lifestyle photography and applies to the dating world as well.

Dating photography, within lifestyle photography, has a stigma around it – especially in London. Many turn their chin at it and wonder who would invest in dating photography; however, nearly all of my clients are folks who have just left a five-year, or longer, relationship. They’re rejoining the market with little to no photos of themselves. They’re much further into their careers, working 40-60+ hours per week, and have income to invest in their dating life to make the most of the finite dating time they have available each week.

Those who overlook dating profile photography assume the subject’s prospective matches wouldn’t match with someone who’s clearly paid to improve their dating profile – and they’re often right. This makes it an important lifestyle photography art to keep the resulting images as candid as possible.

It’s important to avoid their target audiences wondering "Why the photo was taken?”, as the impact of looking overly staged can be detrimental. Storytelling in an image (making the scenes clear), minimal editing, authentic expressions, and highlighting interests are key to first impressions and a great way to hone your skills: both with working with non-models

I’ve had some of my clients lead to marriage with the photos I’ve taken; it’s incredibly rewarding and a great change-up from the commercial photography world. If you’re interested in this, check out my article Why Professional Dating Profile Photos Are a Must: Expert Tips from a London Dating Photographer.

Founders Photos

Like personal brand photography, this specializes in focusing on founders of companies who often have more editorial applications to their images beyond their own website.

Two founders of a custom stuffed toy company show off their most popular user-created plush toys for an editorial lifestyle photography campaign publication shown in news outlets in London, UK, and around the world.

Two founders of a custom stuffed toy company candidly throw toys at each other, showing their working dynamic, for an editorial lifestyle photography campaign publication shown in news outlets in London, UK, and around the world.

Influencers

Influencers are great to partner with because they often have a consistent need for reliable content for brands they’re connected with. Moreover, the long-term relationship you may build makes it easier to capture authentic moments for their partnerships which is highly desirable by brands.

Product Photography

Not to be confused with still life photography, product photography in the commercial lifestyle photography space is all about interacting and engaging with products. It means finding unique locations those viewing the images aspire to take the respective products to, and the focus can be on the person with the accompanying product by their side.

Editorial Content

Editorial lifestyle photography is an area I aspire to grow further. It means a more documentary, journalistic style nature with your photos to tell a real story. This often means doing away with the staged nature and going down to the roots of lifestyle photography. To achieve this, relationships with editorial publications are a must – or find a true story you’re passionate about and pitch it as your way to build that relationship. This is something I’m continuing to explore, especially in London, as being new to the city means a fresh perspective on current events.

Street Photography

While having fewer commercial applications, street photography is how I spend all my time in London when I’m not shooting clients. Street photography is your window into documenting your communities. It illustrates the world how you see it, and it is a legacy I look forward most to leaving behind. It’s a great way to practice your skills interacting with strangers, building a documentary-style photography base, and creating personal photography projects that you’re passionate about outside of paying shoots.

For those new to street photography, check out my article Mastering Street Photography: Tips and Techniques for Overcoming Awkwardness.

Personal branding, dating profile photography, small business website content, founders photos, influencers, product photography editorial content (what I want to do more) leading into documentary styles, even street photography: documenting your community

Four male Japanese runners in matching neon jackets, sunglasses, and poses in Tokyo for street lifestyle photography editorial — Street photography in Tokyo, Japan, of four runners wearing matching neon jackets in similar poses and one framed within another's elbow. Street photography, an artistic and purely candid branch of lifestyle photography, is how I spend all of my time outside of client shoots. Especially while traveling or in a new city like London, it gives me purpose to explore streets and areas while practicing my skills of documenting candid, organic moments.

6. The Role of Lifestyle Photography in Building Personal Brands and Small Businesses

Personal brands and small businesses can benefit, arguably the most, from lifestyle photography. By showcasing a brand’s personality and values through authentic imagery, lifestyle photography helps create a connection with potential customers. It’s your opportunity to tell their story behind the curtain of a brand’s logo. In London, where the market is saturated with competition, this approach can set a brand apart. From my experience, I’ve seen how powerful these images can be in building trust and establishing a strong, relatable brand identity.

Spending a day with these individuals and walking through their tasks and routines is how I document their “About” page story. Highlighting the culture they foster for their team members humanizes their product or offering.

Every business needs this. An About section for a small business is how connections and relationships are made. For me, when I first began my photography business, I loved hiding behind a logo and creating a business that was independent of myself. As I matured and began to partner with larger clients, they contacted me because of my About page and the fact that it was me behind the scenes. Going from curating a separate company from myself – to being one with the services I provide – builds trust. Though my example fits within the photographer realm, it is an anecdote that applies to any business – especially service providers I choose to invest in.

7. Case Studies: How Small Businesses Use Lifestyle Photography to Tell Their Stories

Some of the most inspiring work I’ve done involves helping small businesses tell their stories through lifestyle photography. These businesses often lack the resources of larger companies but make up for it with passion and creativity. By focusing on what makes them unique—their story, their values, their people—we’ve been able to create campaigns that resonate with their target audience.

In particular, in the months leading up to my move to London, UK, I partnered with the Chinese Canadian Museum to deliver their launch campaign.

With a small budget but big dreams from their creative director, we needed to find a way to capture the attention of the public in Vancouver with a relatable story filled with metaphors that could be displayed across the city. If the campaign met the criteria, it would receive public funding for out-of-home placements on buses and tube stations all over the city.

Vancouver is home to the most Chinese people in the world outside of China, and this has been rooted in over a century of Chinese history in the city – but also littered with discrimination. Namely, the Chinese head tax that was paid 100 years ago by migrants to move to Canada to work on the railroad.

In short, Chinese migrants sold themselves into slavery with the promise of opportunity and bringing their families with them. While taught in schools in B.C., it is a piece of history that is largely ignored outside of the localized area. The campaign below breaks free of these Chinese head tax certificates that defined these migrants 100 years ago and the generational trauma that came with it.

In the end, the opening was monumental with my images seen outdoors across the city, the television commercial I produced seen across the country, and news outlets across North America.

Commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign for the Chinese Canadian Museum

Building exterior long exposure with yellow taxi blur for editorial lifestyle photography campaign — Exterior of the Chinese Canadian Museum to accompany their commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign as seen in editorial publications worldwide.

Behind the scenes green screen room of paper flying for commercial lifestyle photography campaign — Behind-the-scenes in a green screen room used to capture the commercial lifestyle photography image for the advertising campaign displayed "out-of-home" on buses and in train stations.

8. Crafting Impactful Commercial Campaigns: Lessons from Lifestyle Photography

Creating a successful commercial campaign using lifestyle photography involves more than just taking pictures. It’s about understanding the brand’s message and finding ways to visually communicate it. This process requires collaboration, creativity, and a deep understanding of the target audience. From my time in North America to my current work in London, I’ve learned that the most impactful campaigns are those that feel genuine and reflect the brand’s core values.

Have team members who love what they do as much as you do. While wearing many hats is the norm for working with smaller brands, when partnering with larger agencies and businesses, bringing on board a specialized team who knows their roles and enables you to focus on your specialty without distraction creates the highest quality work. This includes producers to keep you on track, art directors to think big and push your creativity, and assistants to help enable you to do your best work.

Effective campaigns are not done in a vacuum, or done alone. They’re done in collaboration. When I began working with clothing stylists, for example, who matched incredible outfits with the locations we scouted, it elevated our work and allowed me to focus on my lighting and framing versus steaming clothes on a model. It’s hard to go back once you work with talented individuals who are passionate about their craft.

On the other hand, when photographing solo entrepreneurs and small businesses in lifestyle photography, bringing many cooks in the kitchen can be overwhelming for individuals. Meeting one-on-one ahead of time, and even when shooting, where possible, makes it approachable and easier to get the authentic moment.

Lastly, when it comes to lessons, licensing is something I ignored for too long. Ensuring you’re fairly compensated for the application and impact of your work is a nuance of commercial lifestyle photography that’s kept behind closed doors. When it comes to licensing your portraits and lifestyle images for commercial advertising purposes (whether online, in print, or seen outdoors), ask, don’t prescribe.

Ask: how long will it be used for, where will it be used, and what mediums will it be published? Then, define fair compensation for usage based on the parameters set out by the client. Make it easy for them to extend the length of time if your campaign is effective. Separate your licensing usage from your time (day rate) and all other costs are industry standards for photography.

For online-only campaigns, this may serve a lesser usage cost than print, because print advertising, like in a magazine, is something that exists forever in the world and will deliver value in perpetuity for your client. Price accordingly, and price per image.

Commercial lifestyle photography advertising campaign for Rosenbauer

9. Growing Your Career as a Lifestyle Photographer: Tips from Both Sides of the Atlantic

For those looking to grow their careers as lifestyle photographers, I hope my journey may offer some valuable lessons. Moving from North America to London, I’ve had to adapt to a new market while staying true to the principles that have guided my work. Building relationships, staying current with trends, and continuously honing your craft are key to success. Whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your business, there are always opportunities to learn and grow.

Be the person who’s behind the website and service. Before I moved to London, UK, I was told by Europeans and Brits who made the reverse move that agencies dominate the commercial space in London. I made it my mission to get represented, as that appeared to me that would be validating to have my work recognized and achieve the same shoots I had back home.

I began my emailing crusade as many do, and I was of course disappointed that I wasn’t picked up right away. I was naive to what they wanted, and after assisting notable photographers in London, they informed me they too received no reply. I was confused because I was led to understand that impactful shoots only went through agencies, but these photographers were successful. They told me they look for those who run their own business, can source their own clients, and are their own, unique powerhouse in the industry.

London lifestyle photographer Ian Kobylanski candid portrait while on a commercial advertising photoshoot — A candid portrait of myself and one of my favourite lenses while on a lifestyle photography photoshoot.

Coming from North America where freelancing, being your own business, and the scrappy hustle of being independent in the norm, this was expected of me to succeed. I found it validating to hear that, this is still consistent here in London and it has already proved itself. This motivated me to continue pitching, making relationships, and great content so that I become visible in a new market.

There are advantages to being independent rather than signed to an agency. If you’re personable and have great communication, you own the line of communication with your clients. My clients that I’ve worked with have appreciated that it’s me they’re working with each step of the way. While it would be great to have an agency oversee my every day, I love being able to cater to the projects that are fulfilling to me and honing an audience that speaks to my character.

That said, working with independent producers is a great middle ground if you’re a freelancer. When working with commercial lifestyle projects with nuanced licensing, producers help you price your worth. They often offer consultations that can inform you what your rates should be and give you guiding principles. When working on nuanced projects, they will take a cut of your earnings upon a successful project, but the rates they prescribe and offer confidence to deliver may far exceed what you would have estimated otherwise.

Consulting with a producer changed the way I craft my estimates for clients. It illustrated to them I knew how to apply the money they were investing into the project. It increased my confidence, my earnings, and the success rate of clients accepting my proposals. Partner with a producer if you’re at this stage in commercial lifestyle photography where you may feel over your head!

10. The Future of Lifestyle Photography in London: Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond

Looking ahead, the future of lifestyle photography in London is bright. As brands continue to prioritize authenticity and storytelling, the demand for this type of photography is accelerating. For photographers, this means defining your style, understanding the application of your work and its audience, and ultimately fostering communication skills for both your client and subject that bring everyone at ease. The rise of social media, the focus on diversity and inclusion, and the push for more relatable content are all factors that will shape the industry in the coming years.

As new generations mature and become the audience for this work, namely Gen Alpha (otherwise known as the “iPad Generation”) is gaining their voice. What do they desire? What is relatable to them?

While an existential question that may take time to see its impact, today, being real and owning your imperfections means all your cards are on the table and your heart is on your sleeve.

If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you reading my perspectives as a London lifestyle photographer who’s excited to now call this city home and tell the stories of the people in it. If you’re a photographer, I hope this helped shine a light on new angles of the art form.

If you’re a brand or agency exploring lifestyle photography for your vision, please check out my editorial and commercial lifestyle photography services in London, UK, and around the world.

I invite you to follow my work on Instagram and I encourage you to join my email newsletter below for updates on my commercial photography work that’s blossoming in London.

What Is Lifestyle Photography? A London Photographer's Perspective

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