Photos of People and Art
On my regular visits to art galleries and museums I take a lot of photos of art. Something I do less frequently, but which generally makes me happy with the result, is to photograph people looking at the art.
When I started to pull out my images, I realised that they broadly fell into 3 categories.
1) People contemplating art
2) People interacting with or immersed in art
3) People photographing art
It’s funny because I normally spend a lot of time waiting for people to move out of the frame so that I can take an uninterrupted shot of the artworks but I should be more aware of the possibilities when people are in the frame because, as I said, I’m quite often pleased with the result.
1) People contemplating art
At Tate Modern, a girl contemplates Gerhard Richter’s Two Candles (Zwei Kerzen). This was part of the Capturing the Moment exhibition which ran from 13 June 2023 to 28 April 2024 and explored the relationship between painting and photography. This exhibition was very impactful for me personally and I visited a few times. On the occasion I took this image I was attending a photography workshop. I had already taken a photo of this girl as she stood in front of another painting. I had told her I was taking photos and she said she was fine with that so when we moved into the room with this painting, I asked if she would mind posing for me and she was happy to stay there until I took this shot. I felt that her thoughtful presence and silhouette matched the contemplative aspect of this painting and it’s one of my favourite images from that day.
This vibrant painting is by Alia Ahmad and this photo was taken at White Cube, Mason’s Yard in February 2025 at the opening night of the Fields exhibition. I thought that the artistic nature of this woman’s coat complemented the painting even though they’re in two different styles. To my mind the coat pulls together the muted colours of the floor and the bright colours of the painting. I had no interaction with her because she was naturally standing still in a nice pose while she studied the painting.
There’s a lot written about the ethics of photographing people without their explicit permission in relation to street photography which I’ve read with interest. From that and general experience, I’ve put together some guidelines for myself over the years. I try not to cause anyone discomfort or consternation. I have done this twice on the street in my early days and I don’t like the feeling of causing anyone worry or the least bit of anxiety. So, I’m never going to try to emulate Bruce Gilden with his confrontational style of people photography capturing a “brutta figura”. What I am happy to do is photograph people in public places who are in a “bella figura” moment. If I see someone interesting and I would like to take a photo of their face or want them to pose then I’ll ask them politely. You can generally judge who’s happy to do that and I’ve not had a No yet. If someone has put an effort into their appearance and dress then they’re generally happy to be on show.
Phillips auction house recently held a Digital Art Awards exhibition in May 2025. This attendee with her brightly coloured accessories and jacket seemed to fit the mood perfectly.
This is an older one but one of my favourites. Two children gaze at the light art Colour Cubed by Mandy Lights at the Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival in December 2020. This light festival was a highlight for so many people because of all the lockdowns and sadness in 2020 and it was so good to have an event bringing light and joy into our lives.
Bringing people into an image is perfect for showing scale. In this case, the wall sized stained glass exhibit at the Newport Street Gallery in July 2023 requires everyone to stretch upwards to see the whole piece. This was one exhibit in the exhibition A Great Light by the artist Brian Clarke.
2) People interacting with or immersed in art
Another of my favourite exhibits at Tate Modern which I visited several times was Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms. This image was taken in January 2024. Here, the people inside the room blur into the scene of infinite reflected lights which were also changing colour. Once inside this room you were truly immersed in the experience.
I incorporated one of my photos of this scene in my second piece of art titled No. 2 Diamonds In The Sky. It forms the backdrop of the sky. Click the button below to see this piece and to read about all the different elements in it. I’m really proud of the level of detail I put into it and the new skills I had to learn to create it.
A young girl is silhouetted dancing in front of Cast Glass Panels by the artist Jeff Bell in Cabot Square,Canary Wharf. This piece is made of cast lead crystal which shines beautifully when lit at night. This was posed so I was able to capture a variety of shapes. It was hard to choose which one to use here but I thought this one has the most fun aspect. This was taken in October 2022.
Here, a completely oblivious passer by is captured looking at their phone while crossing the bridge in Canary Wharf surrounded by the light artwork The Clew by Ottotto. This work was installed for the Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival in December 2020 but became a permanent fixture. The piece is made from 100 circles of red light.
Here I am at Frameless London immersed in a scene of a deconstructed portrait of Jean Metzinger by the artist Robert Delauney. Frameless is a beautiful and fun venue. In this room (one of 4 huge immersive galleries) paintings are separated into brush strokes which are pulled apart digitally to “fall” down from the wall then they’re pushed together again to reform the painting.
Frameless London is a permanent venue.
At Do Ho Suh’s exhibition Walk the House in Tate Modern this young woman posed for her friend in the doorway of the fabric structure. She had spotted that her orange and white floral skirt was an excellent match for the orange entrance to the walk through part of the exhibition. I very quickly snapped her as she posed and in this case asked her if she would mind me using it.
This exhibition is running until 19 October 2025.
3) People photographing art
This Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama was exhibited in Hyde Park in 2024. It’s huge scale is shown perfectly against this petite woman sitting at the base. I had wanted to capture this in good light and I was rewarded with clear visibility and a beautiful blue sky on the day.
At White Cube Bermondsey a young woman concentrates on photographing a wooden sculpture by Richard Hunt at the exhibition Metamorphosis - A Retrospective. This exhibition runs until 29 June 2025.
I didn’t set out intentionally to photograph people interacting with art, it just happened naturally. However, now that I’ve realised it’s something I enjoy, I’m sure I’ll think about it consciously in the future and hopefully add to my collection.
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I wish you a good month ahead, along with success and satisfaction in your own pursuits.
Loren x