A Culturally packed London Engagement shoot with photos at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Kensington Park
When Sanaz enquired about photographing her and David’s engagement shoot at the Natural History Museum I got very excited. I have many fond childhood memories exploring the vast halls of my favourite London museum. From the magnificent Dippy the Diplodocus in the entrance hall (now replaced by Hope the big blue whale) to endless exhibits that boggles the imagination on what life on this planet used to be like.
London has so much to offer in so many different areas, that it’s easy to miss out on some of its amazing experiences. When Sanaz shared her and David’s love of exploring London’s many museums and historic buildings I realised that this was an area that I hadn’t done justice.
In addition to the Natural History museum, we also explored the Victoria and Albert Museum for their engagement shoot. I had not been to the V&A Museum before so this was especially exciting for me. I couldn’t believe that it was free to enjoy a peaceful lunch break sat reading a book next to priceless Roman art. Why is everyone not doing this! Actually scratch that. Maybe it’s better to keep this gem between us.
I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Sanaz and David, chatting and sharing new London experiences with them. They’re an amazing couple so clearly in love and a perfect match. I’d like to wish you both the very best in all your future adventures together!
I will now hand the mic over to Sanaz and David.
Why did you choose to do a London Engagement shoot?
David and I really wanted as many recorded memories as possible of us during the honeymoon phase between engagement and wedding. We also wanted some lovely professional photos showing who we were at the time of our engagement.
What location did you pick for your Engagement shoot and why?
We chose the Natural History Museum, The V&A Museum, and Kensington park for our shoot. David and I chose the museums because of our academic backgrounds, and our shared hobby to stroll around galleries and talk about everything and nothing. We chose Kensington park because our first ever date was spent on a park bench.
Do you have any advice or recommendations for other couples planning to do an Engagement shoot?
Be comfortable in who you are as individuals and as a couple, and trust Matt because he knows how to capture your love on photo.
What was your experience like working with Matt?
Matt is such a professional and lovely person, someone you can have a chat with about all sorts of things whilst he sneakily takes fantastic photos. We were a bit anxious about how you’re supposed to pose, but Matt sorted that out really quickly, and our two hours with him felt like 5 minutes. All the photos are amazing! A year later and we still haven’t framed any of them because we can’t choose which ones to print!
Do you have a favourite photo and why?
I think one of our absolute favourites is us dancing on the marble stairs in the V&A museum. That photo just caught our old school romantic side (and our love for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) in the most beautiful classic setting.
Natural History Museum Engagement Shoot Photos
London’s Natural History Museum is home to a vast range of specimens from our history consisting of over 80 million items! It’s particularly famous for its dinosaur skeletons (something we played with during their photo shoot). The outside of the building (a mix of Gothic Revival and twelfth-century Romanesque-style architecture) is also stunning and perfect for engagement shoot photos.
Victoria and Albert Museum Engagement Shoot Photos
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is home to architectural and decorative arts. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to highlight their love for the arts. The museum includes an estimated 4.5 million objects spanning 5,000 years of art from ancient times to the modern era.
Plus it’s free to explore! They also host ‘museum lates’ where you can enjoy a cocktail while exploring the exhibitions – thanks Sanaz for this tip!
London’s Oldest Photograph
A personal favourite of mine – the museum also houses what is believed to be the oldest photo of London, taken in 1839 (below). It shows Trafalgar Square and was developed on a silvered copper plate. As the photo was taken with such a long exposure, any people or traffic that were moving won’t be visible. However, if you look closely you can see a few figures in front of the Statue of King Charles 1. These people stayed still (examining at the statue) long enough for the photo to capture them.
Sorry, my inner history and photography geek got a bit excited there.
Back to Sanaz and David’s amazing engagement shoot around the V&A museum!
Kensington Park Engagement Photos
When deciding on locations for engagement shoots with my couples, I always ask if there’s anywhere that has a special personal connection for them. The power of a photo is in how it makes you feel when you look at it. Beautiful composition, light and locations combined with an amazing moment goes a long way. By including a location that also has specially memories attached to it can add even more power to the photo.
So when Sanaz mentioned that their first date was on a bench in Kensington Park I knew we had to include it. Luckily for us, Kensington park was only a short walk from the museums.
The bench where they had their first date!
Are you thinking of having a London museum engagement shoot? Get in touch and let’s make it happen!
