Three friends, three white outfits, one Westminster Bridge

Three friends, one grey summer day and a plan to wear white. This Big Ben photoshoot stayed within a few hundred metres of the tower, yet every stop gave the gallery a different mood: the red phone box, the green railings of Westminster Bridge, the river wall below it, and a last look across the Thames at the London Eye.

Three friends, one palette

The styling did half the work. Nobody wore the same thing: a white suit, a cream knit dress with a structured jacket, a slip dress under a cropped blazer. What they shared was the colour, and against the honey stone of the Palace of Westminster that reads as calm and expensive rather than matching. We took the group shot first, while everyone was fresh, then split up at the phone box.

Three friends in white outfits on the river wall with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament behind

Two friends in white by a red phone box with Big Ben in the background

Westminster Bridge

The bridge is where Big Ben looks tallest. With a low angle and the railing leading into the frame, the tower fills the sky behind you. Each friend had a few minutes here on her own: leaning, sitting on the parapet, letting the wind do something with her hair. The overcast sky helped, it is soft on faces and keeps the stone from turning orange.

Woman in a knit dress sitting on the Westminster Bridge railing below Big Ben

Down by the river wall

A flight of steps takes you from the bridge to the South Bank, and the view changes completely. From the river wall you see the whole Palace in one line, Big Ben at the end of it, and the green arch of Westminster Bridge on the right. The stone steps and the low wall are made for sitting portraits, which is a relief for anyone who doesn’t know what to do with standing.

Woman in a cream jacket by the South Bank river wall facing Big Ben

Black and white portrait on the river wall with Big Ben and Westminster Bridge

One dress, two landmarks

The long white dress got its own set. A gust of wind, a pigeon cutting through the frame at exactly the right moment, and then a walk along the river for one frame with the London Eye behind: a second London icon without leaving the area.

Woman in a white dress on the river wall as a pigeon flies past Big Ben

Woman in a white dress leaning on the river wall below Westminster Bridge and Big Ben

In black and white

White outfits and a grey sky make natural black and white photos. A few monochrome frames often end up as the favourites, and in this gallery they did.

Black and white portrait under Westminster Bridge with Big Ben in the distance

Black and white photo of a woman in a suit on Westminster Bridge below Big Ben

Ideas for a friends’ Big Ben photoshoot

Agree on a colour, not a uniform. Same palette, different silhouettes. It looks planned without looking like a team kit.
Group photo first. Everyone is fresh and nobody has smudged their lipstick yet.
Give everyone solo time. A few minutes each on the bridge means every friend leaves with portraits of her own.
Use the wall. Sitting and leaning poses on the river wall are easier than standing in the middle of the pavement.
Let the wind in. Westminster Bridge is breezy. Loose hair and long skirts move, and movement looks natural.

With three people and four backdrops, a two-hour Big Ben photoshoot gives everyone solo portraits as well as group photos. Groups of six or more are priced on request.