Ace Movies, 13 Woodbourne Ave and 186 Streatham High Road. The Amateur Cinematographers’ Association was an award-winning group of amateur filmmakers. They began their activities at Apsley House, 13 Woodbourne Ave, and later moved to the basement of Waylands photographic shop at 186 Streatham High Road.
Edgar Beach, 100 Mitcham Lane Edgar Beech was born in East Peckham and ran a business in Mitcham Lane where he stocked a wide selection of local scenes either taken by him or by other photographers
Charles Borup, 156 Streatham High Road. Born in Denmark on 8 March 1875, he operated a photographic shop and managed the Borup Bioscope Company at 156 Streatham High Road. Sir Walter Essex (Streatham resident in North Drive) was a director when the company acquired Borup's film business. Borup is known for photographing Margaret Morris, a British dancer and choreographer who founded the Margaret Morris Movement and two Scottish National Ballets. Morris developed a movement notation system published in 1928. His portraits of Morris are preserved in the National Portrait Gallery.
Christina Broom, 87 Streatham Hill. Christina Broom (1862–1939) was the UK's first female press photographer. Around 1901, she and her husband ran a stationers’ shop at 87 Streatham Hill, selling postcards featuring her photos. She specialised in images of suffragettes, royalty, aristocrats, and soldiers. A Streatham Society plaque will be placed at 87 Streatham Hill in spring 2027. She also has an English Heritage blue plaque in Fulham.
Evelyn Jephson “Evie” Flower Cameron. (August 26, 1868 – December 26, 1928). Daughter of Philip Flower of "Furzedown House" Streatham, she was baptised at St Leonard's Church. As a photographer and diarist of the American West, she documented her experiences as a pioneer near Terry, Montana from the late 1890s onward. She is renowned for her photography capturing the early life of settlers in Eastern Montana, including cowboys, sheepherders, weddings, river crossings, freight wagons, ranch work, badlands, eagles, coyotes, and wolves.
William Davis, 10 Becmead Ave and 24 Woodbourne Ave. William Davis, born in 1892 in Bermondsey, trained as a photojournalist with George Bolak. In 1919, he married Doris Koblett and founded the General Photographic Agency at 173 Fleet Street. The family left their home at 24 Woodbourne Avenue just before it was bombed in WWII. Davis's studio was located at 10 Becmead Avenue. He was commissioned to take the 21st birthday photos of Queen Elizabeth the Second and also took the published photos of her fathers coffin lying in state. The acclaimed photographer Ben Hardy trained with Davis.
Zoe Dominic, 128 Downton Road. (1920-2011). A dance and theatre photographer, renowned for images of Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Maria Callas, Margot Fonteyn, and Rudolf Nureyev.
Neil Kenlock, currently lives in Streatham (address not published). Neil Kenlock, born in 1950 in Jamaica, is a London-based photographer and media professional. He began his career as a fashion photographer before becoming the official photographer of the British Black Panthers in the 1960s and 1970s, documenting the black experience in the UK. Kenlock also co-founded Choice FM, the first licensed radio station for Britain’s black community.
George Shadbolt, 119 Hopton Road. George Shadbolt and his son Cecil Victor Shadbolt , were pioneer photographers who took aerial images from balloons. Cecil died in 1892 after a tragic balloon accident at Crystal Palace. George (1819–1901), a mahogany dealer, was an early photography experimenter, optics student, founding member of the Photographic Society, and editor for several photography journals.
Arnold Spencer-Smith. An amateur photographer who joined Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17, as Chaplain and photographer on the Ross Sea party. The hardship of the expedition resulted in Spencer-Smith's death. Cape Spencer-Smith on White Island is named in his honour.
Wiiliam Strudwick Born in 1834. William Strudwick is noted for his Street Scenes and views from river banks
South Thames Studios and Denis Thiel. Denis, a Fleet Street photographer and owner of South Thames Studios in Streatham and Norbury, lived at 35 Pollards Hill South and 6 Hilldown Road. Many of his photos were credited to the Press Association, including one of the the well-known shots of the 88 bus in the Balham bomb crater.
Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson (nee Taylor-Wood) OBE - A British film director, photographer and artist who was brought-up in Streatham near Streatham Common. Her work includes the commission by the National Portrait Gallery - a video of David Beckham.
John Thomson, 51 Woodfield Ave (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921). John Thomson, born in Edinburgh in 1837, was a Scottish photographer and geographer. He was among the first to photograph the Far East, capturing its people and landscapes. His later work documenting London's street life became a foundational example of social documentary and photojournalism. Thomson eventually became a prominent portrait photographer in Mayfair, earning a royal warrant in 1881. An English Heritage Blue Plaque has been unveiled in Brixton.
Douglas Wayland, 71 and 186 Streatham High Road. Douglas Wayland opened his shop and studio at 71 Streatham High Road in 1893, later moving to Regina House at 186 Streatham High Road, now the site of Lloyds Bank (closing May 2026) on the corner of Becmead Avenue. Wayland was among the first photographers to use electric lighting, which caused quite a stir in 1908 due to its innovation. He became known for photographing local dignitaries, and together with his brother, was commissioned to capture images of the Duke of Cambridge. The Wayland family originated from the Isle of Wight and operated studios in Streatham, Sutton, and Blackheath. Douglas lived at 14 Woodbourne Avenue, where he passed away in March 1935.
Valerie Sybil Wilmer,33 Prentis Road. Born on 7 December 1941, Val Wilmer is a British photographer and writer focusing on jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. She lived at 33 Prentis Road in Streatham and is linked to the local Swing shop run by Dave Carey on Mitcham Lane.
Wykeham Studios, 133 Streatham High Road, previously 5 Bank Buildings. During the mid-1880s, Claude and Elanor Hill established a photographic studio known as CE Hill. In 1891, Samuel Pollard acquired the enterprise, later forming a partnership with Wykeham at 98 Balham High Road in 1905. Following Pollard's passing in 1907, M and F Wykeham assumed ownership, opening a third studio at 64 Brixton Road in 1909. Wykeham became a limited company in 1910, managed by Frederick William Emuss and Montague Picton Prout. The Balham Studio relocated to 67 Balham High Road in 1911 and operated there until 1950. Additional branches were launched at 304 High Holborn and 165 Victoria Street, while 133 Streatham High Road ceased operations in 1959.
Madamme Yevonde (born Yevonde Philone Cumbers), "The Cottage" St Julian's Road (name changed to Leigham Court Road)Yevonde joined the women's suffrage movement and chose photography as her profession after responding to an ad in The Suffragette. In 2023, The National Portrait Gallery showcased her pioneering work in the exhibition Yevonde: Life and Colour, highlighting her innovative influence on portrait photography.
