London Independent Photography
We are a forum for both amateur and professional photographers with more than 400 members. Our activities are designed to bring together photographers with different interests and levels of expertise who are interested in developing their personal approach to photography and improving their skills.
So if your passion is photography or you'd just like to know more about getting involved with photography in London, feel free to contact us, we're always looking for new members.
Group Activities
LIP organises programmes of practical workshops, master classes and talks, and also holds regular group sessions in locations around London where members bring their current work for discussion.
The satellite groups are a good way to keep in touch with other LIP members in your area. The currently active groups are City & Shoreditch, Croydon, Ealing, Harrow, North London (Enfield), Queens Park, South East London, and Woolwich.
London Independent Photography Magazine
Our Magazine is free to all members and currently published three times a year. It features articles written by members providing a forum for them to air their thoughts and exchange ideas. It shows photographs, includes book reviews and a diary of events in and around London and much else of interest.
Details can be found on the Magazine page, and archived versions of past issues are downloadable in PDF format.
Exhibitions and Shows
Many LIP members have exhibited widely and held solo exhibitions, but gather together to show their individual approaches to photography in LIP's annual group show in London. High standards and objectivity are achieved in these shows by using professional selectors. Some of the prestigious selectors have included Photographers Gallery Curator Clare Grafik, Photographer/teacher Paul Hill MBE, ex Photographers Gallery director Sue Davies and Curator of Photographs at the V&A Mark Haworth-Booth.
A Short History of LIP
London Independent Photography was formed on July 29, 1987, and was conceived of by Janet Hall and Virginia Khuri under the inspiration of the workshops organized by Paul Hill at the Photographers Place. Read A Short History of LIP by Virginia Khuri
Become a Member
To join LIP, you can print out and send us a membership application.
"LIP has nurtured many photographers during its 13-year existence, with its informal exhibitions, workshops, lectures and newsletters. Finally there is the chance of selected formal exhibitions, to a very high standard indeed. The contribution that LIP has made to creative, individual photography in the London area has been invaluable. So far all this supportive work has been done on a voluntary basis, with no funding. I would strongly support any application for funding for their ambitious Millennium Project, as l believe that it would benefit not only the members but also enlarge public appreciation of creative photography."
Fay Godwin Hastings, East Sussex
"LIP is an exemplary (and unfunded) association of individuals who are seriously interested in the art of photography. I hope their ambitious plan receives support."
Mark Haworth-Booth Curator of Photographs, Victoria and Albert Museum
"No group has done more to propagate the cause of creative photography than LIP. Its programme of events and exhibitions for professional and amateurs alike has been exceptional. The consistently high standards it sets are not bettered in my experience by any similar capital city group in the world. LIP is on a mission to make people aware of the life enhancing, self-expressive potential of the medium and to encourage the highest standards amongst its members."
Paul Hill MBE FRPS Professor of Photography De Montfort University, Leicester
"LIP provides a valuable service for serious photographers in London, both amateur and professional, through its comprehensive programme of events which includes workshops, evening talks, formal and informal meetings and a lively newsletter. I am enthusiastic about the group's innovative Millennium Project which I believe deserves encouragement and support."
Mick Williamson, Senior Lecturer in Charge of Photography London Guildhall University