Photo Tips London Lanterns: Capture the City’s Light Shows

When you’re shooting London lanterns, decorative light installations that transform streets, parks, and riversides during festivals and holidays. Also known as London light displays, these aren’t just decorations—they’re dynamic subjects that change with weather, crowd movement, and time of night. Whether it’s the Chinese New Year lanterns in Chinatown, the winter lights along the South Bank, or the floating lanterns on the Thames, each one tells a story in color and glow.

Getting a great shot isn’t about having the most expensive gear. It’s about knowing when to show up and how to use what’s already around you. Most London lantern festivals, annual events where communities and artists create large-scale illuminated installations across the city happen in late autumn and early winter, when the days are short and the air is crisp. That means you’ve got fewer hours of natural light to work with, but longer windows of ideal shooting conditions after sunset. You don’t need a tripod if you’re using a modern phone—just lean against a wall, set your camera to night mode, and wait for a gap in the crowd. For DSLR users, a wide aperture (f/2.8 or lower) and a slow shutter speed (1-4 seconds) will blur moving lights into soft streaks, turning crowds into abstract patterns.

Some of the best spots aren’t the ones you’ll find on tourist maps. Try the lanterns near St James’s Park, London’s oldest royal park, often used as a backdrop for seasonal light installations during holiday events, or the floating lanterns near Thames River Walk, the scenic path from Westminster to Tower Bridge that becomes a corridor of light during festivals. Avoid shooting directly into the lights—instead, position yourself so the lanterns frame a building, a bridge, or even a person walking by. That adds depth and context. Look for reflections in puddles after rain; they double the glow and turn ordinary shots into something magical.

People often forget that the best photos come from patience, not speed. Wait for someone to walk under a lantern, or for a child to point at one. Those candid moments turn a pretty picture into a memory. Don’t just take one shot of each display—move around, shoot from low angles, crouch down, or climb a step or two. A view from above can turn a cluster of lanterns into a glowing mosaic. And if you’re shooting in a busy area, try capturing the quiet moments right before the lights turn on or just after they go off. The emptiness makes the colors pop.

You’ll find plenty of posts here that cover the events where these lanterns appear—from street art festivals to seasonal markets. But none of them tell you how to actually photograph them well. That’s what this collection is for. Whether you’re trying to capture the glow of a single lantern in Islington or the full sweep of lights along the Thames, these guides give you the real-world tips that work on the ground—not just theory.