Street Photography in London

Soho has characters at every hour, but it comes alive at night. Skip Carnaby Street and work Kingly Street, then Wardour Street and Berwick Street, where alleys cut through to Brewer Street. The Berwick Street market is good at lunchtime. After dark, head to Frith Street and Dean Street, where drinkers and smokers fill the pavement in summer. Stand on the kerb opposite a lit pub front and let people walk through the neon. Caution: people outside bars notice cameras quickly, so smile and keep moving.

Waterloo station gives you rush hour crowds on York Road. The South Bank gives you brutalist concrete and light wells around the Southbank Centre and National Theatre. The skate park under the Queen Elizabeth Hall has drawn skaters for decades. Climb the steps above it and shoot down on passers by for clean, graphic frames. On rainy days the river walk turns into a sheet of reflections. Then walk down Waterloo Road to The Cut, which is edgier and good at night. Caution: keep a strap on in the crowds.

The Square Mile is suits and stone under hard light. Start at the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street, where sun hits big stone walls. Then walk west down Cheapside to One New Change, where you can frame St Paul's Cathedral behind office workers. Come on a weekday, ideally at lunch or around 5pm when commuters stream toward London Bridge. In winter the low sun cuts sharp shadows between towers. Caution: much of this area is private estate, and security may ask you to stop.

Weekdays bring commuters grabbing a last drink before the train. Weekends bring food crowds to Borough Market. Enter by Bedale Street and walk west past the stalls and Southwark Cathedral to Clink Street. On a sunny afternoon, its narrow walls throw strong light and shadow. Stand at one end and wait for someone to step into a patch of sun. Bermondsey Street to the east is calmer, with cafes and delis. Caution: the market is packed at weekend lunchtimes, so arrive in the morning if you want room to work.

This is East London: old brick warehouses, graffiti, curry houses and a creative crowd. Eric Kim lists East London and Shoreditch among his favourite places to shoot. On Sunday the markets run along Brick Lane and into the Truman Brewery buildings, with food stalls and performers. Early Sunday gives softer light and fewer people. Put a painted wall behind a passer by and wait for colour or gesture to match. Caution: ask before shooting a stall close up. Most vendors say yes.

Oxford Street is the densest crowd in the city. The stretch west of Oxford Circus toward Selfridges is the best part. The key moment is Oxford Circus just before sunset on a sunny day, when light comes straight down the street into the evening rush. Stand at the crossing and backlight the crowd. When it gets too much, cross into Soho. Saturday around 2pm gives maximum bodies. Caution: expect other photographers at the Circus at sunset, and step out of the flow so you don't block walkers.

Camden is where subcultures still dress up: punks, goths, tattoos and bright shop fronts. The canal and the lock give you a calmer backdrop a few steps from the market. Get there around 10am to 11am, before weekend crowds make it hard to move. Look for characters against plain walls, or frame them with the painted shop signs above. The towpath below the lock bridge gives a lower, quieter angle on the crowd. Caution: people in costume sometimes expect a tip for a posed shot.

Platforms and escalators give you London without the weather. Westminster station has deep shafts and stacked escalators. Baker Street keeps its old brick platforms. Light is low, so don't trust aperture priority. Set about 1/125s and shoot a fast 35mm wide open, as Chasing the City does. A wider lens helps inside carriages. Try the long escalators from the top, with lines of commuters leading into the frame. Caution: security is alert here, so use a silent shutter and don't block platform edges.