In 2025, Photo London – the newest of the world’s top three international photography events – marked its tenth anniversary. Along with Paris Photo and New York’s Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), Photo London is an important destination for leading photography galleries, publishers, and collectors from around the world. There’s a nod to the craft of photography as well, with Nikon and paper manufacturer Hahnemuehle handing out prizes. The London fair occurs in May, shortly after AIPAD and half a year before Paris Photo. Beyond the photos and books on display there are related artist talks, film screenings, workshops, and awards.

As with other such fairs, Photo London’s focus is on bringing artists and books to market. The process of exhibiting is costly; exhibitors must apply and not all are accepted. Return on investment is top of mind. While it’s not the best venue for emerging artists to find gallery representation or a publisher, it’s a terrific opportunity to take the temperature of the art market, see a wide range of work from famed classics to avant-garde, meet some photographers you admire, discover new inspirations, and be energized through immersion in a community of people who share your passion for artful collaborations with light.

Photo London is based in Somerset House, a sprawling Georgian-era office building in the West End. In contrast to the soaring dome of the Grand Palais in Paris, Somerset House is a warren of small rooms that slow down the pace and invite conversation. While large, the show is smaller than Paris and feels more intimate, without Paris’s sometimes long queues. Several exhibiting photographers approached me to discuss their work and I spotted renowned artists including Martin Parr walking the halls. There wasn’t a marquee installation to compare with Galerie Julian Sander’s mind-blowing wall of 600 August Sander portraits at Paris last year, but in terms of providing opportunities to interact with artists, gallerists, publishers, and other attendees, Photo London is unmatched.

In addition to analog and digital photography, this year’s show included many works produced using alternative processes and media, or lens-free techniques. Among the themes that stood out in contemporary work is skepticism about representation. One gallery after another showed pictures whose representational elements had been obscured, reconfigured, replaced, or removed. Storytelling is out, in favor of a subjective, qualitative point of view. Will it sell? We’ll find out next year when we see if galleries return with more of these types of images, or try something different.

Given the fair’s commercial orientation, inevitably a number of exhibitors brought rich collections of classic work by luminaries such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassai, Edward Steichen, and Sebastiao Salgado. Living legends including Graciela Iturbide, Baldwin Lee, Martin Parr, Steve McCurry, and Don McCullin were also well represented. Many of them attended and spoke at the show. Several rooms focused on celebrity portraits, with subjects ranging from Queen Elizabeth to Catherine Deneuve to Lady Gaga; mural-sized wildlife photos also seemed popular. Other exhibitors went in a different direction, hanging conceptual, alternative process, or AI-assisted pieces. A fair of this size truly has a spectrum of work that covers all tastes.

Alongside household names were photographers whose reputations are on the rise. One who is familiar to Street Photography Magazine readers is Los Angeles-based documentary and street photographer Michael Rababy, who has been featured here several times, most recently in a podcast last October. He published his latest photo book, Casinoland – Tired of Winning, with Kehrer Verlag in November; this was his first visit to Photo London. Impressively, he scored not only a book-signing in Kehrer’s space, but also was one of six artists whose work his Los Angeles gallery, Fabrik Projects, brought to the fair. Rababy told me the exposure led not only to book and print sales, but to encounters with Martin Parr, who stopped by to look at the book, and The Guardian, which will profile his work in an upcoming article.

Rababy shared that he especially valued the chance to display prints at Photo London. “Being able to show work on the wall is a bigger deal,” he said. As far as advice to emerging photographers, “build relationships,” he continued. “See where your work fits. This gallery fits my niche as a documentary photographer.” Relationships are also important for connecting with the right publisher, Rababy added. He has two friends who previously published with Kehrer and they made the initial introduction. Beyond the boost to his practice, Rababy said he valued opportunities Photo London offers to “meet people and look at lots of work.” He called out the chance to see a selection of Baldwin Lee’s prints and hear him speak as highlights.

Beyond the core Photo London fair, a number of satellite events around the city ran in parallel, deepening photo-immersion opportunities. Peckham24, in south London, offered A Bigger Book Fair: booths from over 70 photo publishers, including many small, even individual, presses. The event also included an exhibition of work by the four photographers who were awarded V&A Parasol Foundation Prizes for Women in Photography this year. Responding to the theme of “unity,” Morgan Levy (USA), Spandita Malik (India), Tshepiso Moropa (South Africa), and Tanya Traboulsi (Lebanon) created winning projects. Peckham24 leans toward community-oriented and experimental projects for its exhibitions and talks.

Another publishing-centric satellite event, “Offprint,” was in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Billed as a fair for “independent, experimental, and socially engaged publishers,” it hosted almost 100 exhibitors and thousands of attendees. Featured publications included zines, magazines, and other printed materials, in addition to photo books, with talks, launches, and signings on the agenda.

At The Photographers’ Gallery, the 2025 winner and finalists for the prestigious Deutsche Boerse Photography Foundation Prize were on exhibit. Lindokuhle Sobekwa took the prize for his book meditating on presence, absence, and trauma, I carry Her photo with Me. Also shortlisted and included in the show was Cristina de Middel’s “Journey to the Center,” about migration through Central America; Rahim Fortune’s book Hardtack, exploring the enduring nature of African-American culture and traditions; and Tarrah Krajnak’s project “Shadowings. A Catalogue of Attitudes for Estranged Daughters,” which brings together twenty years of her work.

London is a great city for photography any time of year, with important collections at several museums, dedicated photography venues such as The Photographers’ Gallery, and many top art dealers. Add in the excitement and energy of Photo London, and the month of May becomes a can’t-miss time to explore the capital and its photo treasures.