Photography Studio Hire in London · From £35 per hour

STU 22 is a purpose-built photography studio in Wapping, London E1W, five minutes from Tower Bridge. Three distinct rooms under one roof mean you can shoot clean e-commerce packshots, a full-length fashion campaign and a moody blacked-out portrait sitting in the same day without moving location. Hire starts at £35/hr plus VAT, with professional lighting, grip and on-site support included and no hidden fees.

Three rooms, one roof

Infinity Cove · 16ft × 16ft · 12ft ceilings · from £120/hr. A premium all-white cyclorama with no corner for a shadow to catch on. Built for fashion, beauty, campaigns, lookbooks, music video and full-length work, and for e-commerce packshots that need a background reading true white straight out of camera.

Blackout Studio · 26ft × 19ft · zero ambient light · from £110/hr. Total light control. Nothing gets into the frame unless you put it there, which is what dramatic portraiture, reflective product work and precise video lighting actually need. Double-sided curtains split the room into set and backstage so hair and makeup can run while you light.

The Portal · from £35/hr. Our most versatile and most affordable space: content creation, corporate headshots, self-tape castings, podcasts and DJ or music recording. Focusrite-equipped and soundproofed, so it handles audio as seriously as it handles stills.

What is included in every booking

Every hour you book comes with the default kit at no extra cost. There is no separate lighting charge, no grip charge and no surprise line at the end:

  • Lighting: 2× Aputure 60X continuous LED, plus strobe options on request
  • Grip and stands: 2× Matthews C-stands, 5× C-stands with arms, 2× combo stands, mini boom, shotguns and shotgun arms, magic arms, knuckles, K-clamps, 8× sandbags and 5× light stands
  • Modifiers and colour: softboxes, umbrellas, hoods and diffusers, 2× poly boards with holders, gel bag and photography gels
  • Power: 2× 13A extension leads
  • The practical things: fast Wi-Fi, a tethering table, backdrops and stands, a private changing room with mirror, rails and steamer, and a lounge and kitchen you are welcome to use throughout
  • On-site support to get you set up and shooting fast

The changing room is worth calling out, because it is the thing that separates a real studio from a hired room. It sits a few steps from the set with its own mirror, rails and steamer, so talent never has to cross the shooting floor half-dressed. On a fashion day with six looks that is not a nicety, it is the difference between running to schedule and running over.

The full kit, from £200

When a shoot needs more than the default, the full kit can be added from £200 plus VAT: Leica Cine Projector, Aputure Spotlight, Nova 300P, Godox RGB 150W and SL60W, 2× Lencarta Ultra 300 Pro, 2× Lencarta Smart Flash IV, 3× Godox MS300, and an Amaran package with T4C and T2C tubes, 150C, 200D, 100D, extra 60D and 60X units and 2× handheld Ace 25C. Add it at booking or message us to check availability for your date.

How to choose your room

All rates exclude VAT at 20 per cent.

The short version: if you need the background to disappear into white, take the cove. If you need the background to disappear into black, take the Blackout. If the room is a backdrop rather than the point, take The Portal and spend the difference on your crew.

Why photographers choose Wapping over central London

Central London studios routinely charge £120 to £250 per hour before you have added a single light, and lighting is very often billed separately on top of that. STU 22 sits ten minutes from the City and Shoreditch and charges East London rates with lighting included. On a ten hour shoot day that gap is frequently more than a thousand pounds, which is a stylist, a retoucher and lunch for the crew.

Getting here is straightforward. Wapping Overground is a five minute walk. Shadwell, on both the Overground and the DLR, is minutes away. Tower Hill is one stop. Liverpool Street is about twelve minutes by car, and Tower Bridge is five. We are open 08:00 to 22:00, seven days a week, which means early call times and late finishes are both normal here rather than a negotiation.

We publish the whole market comparison, room by room and rate by rate, in our 2026 London studio price index. It is worth five minutes before you book anywhere, including here.

Who shoots at STU 22

Fashion and editorial photographers working lookbooks and campaigns. E-commerce brands batching hundreds of SKUs on white. Agencies running corporate headshot days where thirty people cycle through in an afternoon. Content creators filming for TikTok, YouTube and UGC campaigns. Music artists shooting press kits, cover art and video. Casting directors and actors recording self-tapes in The Portal.

The rooms are deliberately neutral so they take on the character of your shoot rather than imposing one. See recent work on our Instagram, or explore the three studios in detail with full specs and gallery.

Booking, access and the practical bits

  • Hours: 08:00 to 22:00, seven days a week
  • Minimum booking: hourly, so a short content shoot does not have to buy a half day it will not use
  • Longer bookings: half day and full day rates are better than the hourly rate, so message us with your dates
  • Viewings: free, usually arranged within the week
  • Included: room, lighting, grip, Wi-Fi, tethering, changing room, kitchen, on-site support
  • Not included: photographer, stylist, hair and makeup, retouching, prop hire. Ask and we will recommend people we trust

FAQs

How much does it cost to hire a photography studio in London? Across London, expect £35 to £250 per hour depending on size, location and whether lighting is included. At STU 22 in Wapping, hire starts at £35/hr for The Portal, £110/hr for the Blackout Studio and £120/hr for the Infinity Cove, all excluding VAT, with professional lighting and grip included in every booking.

Is lighting included in the hire price? Yes. Professional lighting and a full grip package are included in every booking at no extra cost. A larger kit with Lencarta and Godox strobes, Amaran LEDs, an Aputure Spotlight and a Leica Cine Projector can be added from £200 plus VAT if your shoot needs it.

How big are the studios? The Infinity Cove is 16ft by 16ft with 12ft ceilings, a seamless all-white cyclorama with no corners. The Blackout Studio is 26ft by 19ft with 12ft ceilings and zero ambient light. The Portal is our flexible third room, set up for content, headshots, self-tapes, podcasts and DJ recording.

Where exactly is the studio? STU 22 is in Wapping, London E1W. It is a five minute walk from Wapping Overground, minutes from Shadwell on the Overground and DLR, one stop from Tower Hill, five minutes from Tower Bridge and about twelve minutes from Liverpool Street by car.

What are your opening hours? We are open 08:00 to 22:00, seven days a week, so early call times and late finishes are both straightforward to book.

Can I view the studio before booking? Yes. Message us on WhatsApp and we will arrange a viewing that fits your schedule, usually within the same week.

Is there a changing room and somewhere for hair and makeup? Yes. There is a private changing room with a mirror, rails and a steamer a few steps from the set, and the Blackout Studio can be split with double-sided curtains so hair and makeup can run backstage while you light the set. There is also a lounge and kitchen included with every booking.

Ready to book?

Check live availability and book your session online in under two minutes, or message us on WhatsApp and tell us what you are shooting. We will tell you which room to take and how long you will need, usually within minutes.