London Institute of Photography Reviews 

Whether you're a complete beginner or a more experienced amateur photographer looking to take your skills to the next level, LIOP has something to offer.
I began my journey with LIOP by taking the short Photography Careers course, which was incredibly insightful. I was immediately impressed by the high standard of teaching, so a few months later I decided to invest in myself and enrolled in the Professional Photography course (10 modules.)
Even though I already had a solid understanding of photography as a keen amateur, I learned something new in every module—even the more fundamental ones. The tutors are all accomplished professional photographers who are genuinely passionate about sharing their knowledge and helping students succeed. The practical, hands-on sessions are particularly enjoyable and provide invaluable real-world experience.
If you're considering the Professional Photography course, be prepared to work hard and challenge yourself—but it's absolutely worth the effort. Looking back, it's one of the best £3,700 investments I've ever made in myself.
One of the most impressive aspects of the course was seeing complete beginners produce outstanding photographs after just a few modules. The progress students make is remarkable.
I highly recommend LIOP to anyone who is serious about improving their photography, whether you're just starting out or looking to develop your skills to a professional level.
A big thank you to Holger, the course director and the other teachers for supporting me throughout the course.

An exceptional experience from start to finish. The environment is professional, welcoming, and inspiring, making it a great place to learn and grow. The tutors are highly knowledgeable, supportive, and always willing to help. The director creates a positive atmosphere and genuinely cares about every student’s learning experience, making the course both enjoyable and motivating. I highly recommend the London Institute of Photography to anyone looking to improve their skills in a professional and inspiring environment.

I had such a fantastic time at the Complete Foundation Photography Course at the London Institute of Photography.

I found the course incredibly valuable and inspiring in teaching me to understand my way around a camera and how to use Manual mode (properly!) to prioritise either Aperture or Shutter Speed. As well as that, we were shown a huge variety of photographer examples, given mini-assignments in different locations to capture our surroundings in creative ways and taught how to professionally edit our photos.

Until the course, I was someone who had been self-taught in photographing my work and capturing images for stop-motion animation, and relied on youtube videos and bits of advice along the way. It was so useful to finally connect the dots in this course and learn so much more about how to use a camera to achieve the outcome I want. As well as using this new found information and inspiration for my work, I now feel excited to use my camera whilst I'm out and about, capture what interests me and see where it takes me!

I really enjoyed this photography course. It was very beginner friendly and taught me how to use my camera from the ground up. Megan was a great tutor, she was friendly, knowledgeable, and explained everything clearly. I learned so much and feel much more confident with my camera now. Highly recommended!

Really comprehensive course delivered in a way that is very accessible to newbies like me. We covered so much in four days. It’s a great set up to get you going on your photography journey. Megan was an excellent tutor. Highly recommended.

A great course taught by real professional photographers - the teachers had no ego and were super humble just wanting to inspire the students. Amazing location in the heart of Brick Lane which has so much going on and so many subjects to explore through the camera. Really helped develop my confidence in the camera and debunked many myths you see on YouTube etc.

From the welcome to the end of the course, the experience has been fantastic. Holger, our teacher is passionate, supportive and very respectful of students objectives and starting level. The course is very well balanced between theory and practical elements. And I was lucky to be in a great group of students. looking forward to continuing the journey on the next course. Kr; Julie

I am really glad I did the beginners course @ LIoP, the whole experience is 100% worth the money, even in just two days I genuinley learnt the most valuble steps to begin a long and sustainable relationship with my camera and photography journey. I really reccomend it to anyone looking for just that !!!

I had such a fantastic week at LIOP.

Holger is the kind of person who gives you his all. He’s a great teacher - he’s able to explain concepts in a way that just makes it so simple to understand. He has a great sense of humor and is such a cool guy. He has great stories to share and applies this experience and knowledge while teaching.

I highly recommend LIOP!

Can’t wait to come back for more courses.

I had a fantastic session with Holger at LIoP. He helped me work through several Lightroom issues and took the time to explain everything in clear, detailed steps. His patience, expertise, and ability to break things down made the whole process smooth and genuinely enjoyable. My problem was fully resolved, and I came away understanding far more than I expected.

Great experience overall, I’d highly recommend!

This was such a great experience. The instructor was extremely good and I really advanced my skills. I'll go back again as soon as I am able. Thanks to everyone involved!

LIoP was a great experience for me! The foundation photography course was exactly what I needed to sharpen my technical knowledge and practical skills. I have come away with the confidence to take photography seriously as a career. I would definitely recommend the course. Also, Holger Pooten is a fantastic instructor.

I signed up for the Complete Foundation Photography Course, hoping to learn how to use my mirrorless camera and how to take decent photographs. I came away with all of that and a whole lot more. The 4 day course was a perfect blend of technical instruction and hands-on practical exercises, with a level of intensity I hadn't really expected. Not only do I now feel comfortable using my camera in manual mode, but I also have a real appreciation of what makes a great photo, a plan that will help me take a great photo and the inspiration to go and do exactly that. Loved it.

​"I am writing this to provide a professional account of my experience at LiOP. After investing in the Professional Photography Course, I found it to be a significant disappointment regarding the value provided.
​Price vs. Quality: The tuition is disproportionately high for the depth of content.
​Curriculum Depth: Roughly 50% of the sessions involve reading basic slides.
3. Supervision: During "practical" shooting sessions, instructors were often absent for extended periods (ranging from 60 to 90 minutes), leaving students without any professional guidance or supervision.
​Enrollment Process: Management explicitly confirmed via email that my language level was sufficient just to secure my payment. However, they admitted later in writing that I faced 'genuine difficulty' due to the language barrier.
​Factual Inaccuracies: The institution provided incorrect information regarding a 'pre-enrollment assessment' that never took place. I have the email trail to prove these contradictions.
​I am currently escalating this matter through official channels. I am sharing my documentation with the Professional Photography Press (Amateur Photographer). I am also in contact with the CMA, Trading Standards, and my Local MP to investigate these institutional practices. Additionally, I am alerting Action Fraud and the ICO regarding the misleading claims made. I will continue to share this experience across all platforms to protect the public interest."
Update1:
​"Your claim of 'offering support' does not accurately reflect the facts of my experience. I qoute "Some students and teachers mentioned that you film the classes. Unfortunately we cannot allow this for privacy and copyright reasons, except in special circumstances".
​Recording Sessions: I had to record sessions from day one to keep up with the material. Initially, you contacted me to restrict this, stating it was against policy. You only agreed to let me continue after I explicitly informed you that I was struggling to comprehend more than 10% of the content—a direct result of the language barrier that was not adequately addressed during pre-enrollment.
​Inaccurate Pre-Enrollment Advice: The assurance that an 'Intermediate' level would be sufficient has proven to be inaccurate for a course of this technical depth. The specialized terminology and advanced concepts require a much higher level of proficiency than what was communicated to me before I started the course. Furthermore, my specific inquiries regarding necessary preparations were left unanswered.
​Academic Oversight: Your public admission that no formal assessment process exists explains why my progress was not monitored. It appears the priority was the commercial transaction rather than ensuring the student’s ability to succeed in the course.
It is noteworthy that the permission to record sessions—which was granted when I highlighted my 10% comprehension rate—was abruptly withdrawn. This sudden change in policy, following my dispute, appears to be a retaliatory measure rather than an educational one. This inconsistency has been documented and shared with the relevant authorities as part of my formal report.
To be precise, the only Zoom call that ever took place was a meeting with Holger two weeks after the course had already commenced. This meeting was requested by me to address the difficulties I was facing. It is therefore impossible for the merchant to substantiate their claim of a 'pre-enrollment assessment' or 'consultation' as it simply never occurred. I reiterate my request for the merchant to provide any verifiable evidence—such as a time-stamped meeting link or calendar invite—dated prior to my enrollment on January 5th. Without this, the merchant's statement is a clear misrepresentation of the timeline and facts.
​I have formally reported these inconsistent practices and the provision of conflicting information to Action Fraud. This matter is now being handled through official channels to ensure accountability regarding the integrity of information provided to both students and financial institutions. I am prepared to escalate this further to the Financial Ombudsman and relevant regulatory bodies."
Update 2:
Framing the recording ban as a 'privacy' issue now is a transparent attempt to alter the facts. This is directly contradicted by your email (Feb 8th), sent after our dispute began, where you explicitly stated the ban was a withdrawal of a 'discretionary gesture of goodwill'—with no mention of privacy. Deliberately ignoring this context and manipulating the timeline to hide the retaliatory nature of your actions is a misleading practice that has now been documented for Action Fraud and HSBC.

I couldn't recommend the Professional Certificate Program more highly. I'm a graphic designer who really wanted to add Product Photography to my skillset. Yet I had absolutely zero experience in photography. A couple years ago, I had splurged on an expensive online course, spent a ton on photography equipment, and then promptly got nowhere with online lessons and trying to learn by myself. I felt really deflated and figured it was something I wouldn't be able to pull off. That is until I found LIoP and joined their Flexible PPC program. I live in Oxford and work full-time, so I took the classes on weekends over the course of 9 months. The teachers were amazing, I loved the classes and learned so much from the in-person experience that I never would have been able to grasp no matter how many videos I watched. The Product Photography class in particular was just what I was looking for and covered so much material in a short time. I also loved that you do your own personal project because I walked away with actual portfolio photos that I can use to get clients. Fast forward to now and I have my first paid client. I was having some trouble with a couple technical shots, and Holger even met with me in the LIoP studio to help me figure out what I was getting wrong. Everyone there cares about your development as a photographer and is there to help guide you. I am really surprised and impressed with how much I've grown as a photographer. If you are interested in furthering your career as a photographer (no matter what kind), I would highly recommend this program.

Undertaking the professional photography course with the LIOP was a fantastic experience and I would throughly recommend this course to other prospective students. As a self taught photographer, I had looked at other course options before deciding on booking onto the LIOP course, but what really resonated with this course was the focus and opportunity to learn from and be taught by working professional photographers.

The LIOP covers an interesting range of photography genre focuses all within a very practical, hands on, intensive teaching approach. Having class sizes capped at 8 max in a group ensures you have quality interaction with teachers and get to know and interact with other students along the way. This ensured we could bounce ideas, support and really get to know one another. Additionally, working together on studio and in class shoots, ensured we got to know about lighting and studio setup and ways to achieve different effects.

As part of the PCC, you also have a number of group mentoring sessions which help hone style influences and focus. One of the standout elements was the personal project and the onus on us to independently plan an area of focus, develop considerations for all shoots, so the images could form a central component of our end of course portfolio. Having the opportunity to do this with on-going guidance from Holger, supported focus considerations and really developed my understanding of elements to bring a project together and develop as a photographer.

Thank you to all of the brilliant staff at LIOP; Holger, Misao, Karina, Chiara, Megan, Noemi, Ben, Ossi and Caterina!

LIoP's intensive PPC curriculum is an excellent deep dive into photography and techniques and some of the more practical business aspects of photography as a career that opened up to me a ton of ideas and imagination about what it means to bring photography into my work, and make it a profession, in practice. I started the PPC in August while rethinking my career and am excited about the possibilities it opens up to pursue a photography practice. The tutors are all excellent, practitioners in their own right who are always happy to share their knowledge and experience, their advice, and Holger, the course director, has built with his team a brilliant space to help students thrive wherever they're at. If you're considering an immersive programme, I would really recommend this one!

I learnt such a lot in 4 days, starting as pretty much a beginner and leaving with lots of knowledge and confidence. A great course with a good mix of technical and composition/creative.

I did the beginners course and the intermediate course. Both are so well structured and organised, that they actually do manage to teach you the essential practices and rules in photography. I was pleasantly surprised how well exercises and experience are mixed up with theory. There was not 1 dull or empty moment. The time was so well utilised. I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to get into photography or to improve their skills. I certainly plan to go on with their advanced classes as well!

The tutor Holger was professional, dedicated, and articulate in his delivery. The two days were packed with valuable information, combined with practical on-site exercises. The group of learners came from diverse backgrounds and were both friendly and supportive of one another. I enjoyed the class, ready to take on the following-on session soon to keep the momentum going.