A vibrant family photoshoot in Notting Hill | London Photographer

Jun 7

This vibrant family contacted me with a very specific request, they were celebrating a milestone birthday (for their dad) and wanted a fun, short photoshoot in London’s cinematic Notting Hill.

If you are looking to book a vibrant family photoshoot in Notting Hill? Here are my top tips for great photos in one of London’s most famous film locations.

With its unique and quirky shopfronts, colourful houses and lovely little green spaces, Notting Hill is a great location for a photoshoot, especially if you want some vibrant backgrounds that are not obviously London.

Where are the best places for a Notting Hill Photoshoot?

Portobello Road Market - which is just a short walk from Ladbroke Grove tube station - is the obvious place to start if you want to have a Notting Hill Photoshoot.

It gets pretty busy from midday onwards and is very crowded on the weekends, but if you get there earlier in the morning before the shops open, you’ll be treated to some beautiful antique shopfronts which make for some lovely photos.

Biscuiteers, the famous Notting Hill Bookshop, Farm Girl Cafe and Alice’s Antique Shop all make for beautiful, instagrammable locations for photos.

And if you wander a bit further afield then the floral display outside The Churchill Arms is brilliant all year around and has cemented its reputation as one of the most instagrammable and famous pubs in London.

This lovely family opted to have their photoshoot at 5pm on a week day. So the market was just closing up for the day, which meant lots of discarded rubbish and half empty stalls.

Since this wouldn’t have made for the best photos, we opted for photos infront of some of the lovely rainbow coloured houses in the quieter streets nearby.

You can find some of these houses on Ladbroke Grove, St Luke’s Mews, Collville Terrace Houses and Westbourne Grove. Or just have a wander around the streets near the market and see what you stumble across!

When is the best time for a photoshoot in Notting Hill?

The best time for a photoshoot in Notting Hill is always going to be when there are fewer crowds in the area.

Notting Hill is a busy and popular location. And like most London sites, it is pretty crowded on the weekends and also in peak tourist season (summer and Christmas).

So if you are thinking of booking a photoshoot in Notting Hill, then I would always suggest an early morning photoshoot, preferably on a week day.

This particular photoshoot in Notting Hill actually happened at 5pm on a Friday afternoon in May.

Although the area around Portobello Road was fairly crowded, we managed to get some great photos with the lovely colourful houses in the surrounding streets.

How long does a photoshoot in Notting Hill take?

The answer to this is: How long have you got?!

The amount of time you have available will determine how many different spots we can visit.

This Notting Hill Photoshoot was one of my mid-week mini sessions lasting just 30 minutes. And so we decided to focus on getting some lively, colourful backdrops in our photos.

If you opt for an hour’s photoshoot, then we could also include Portobello Road market, the Churchill Arms and some of the lovely small garden parks in the area.

Extend that by another 30 minutes or an hour and we can also visit the gorgeous Holland Park, which is nearby and a popular choice for couples Engagment photoshoots and also seasonal family photoshoots. It is a beautiful park to visit all year round.