Lakeside Darkroom Reviews 

Very welcoming darkroom. Naroa and Jack has been helpful with navigating the darkroom and providing guidance in printing workshop. It's a relaxed darkroom where you can spend time to explore the art of printing.

Fantastic dark room and facilities.The owner could not be more helpful and since it was a year since my last time printing it was highly appreciated. I will definitely be returning.

I couldn't recommend doing a course here enough! I did the black and white film processing session last week and it was so enjoyable. Naroa Perez is an excellent teacher and patiently explained the whole process as it was all new to me. She is clearly an expert in her field. My negatives came out perfectly and I returned today to collect them. The dark room is very well equipped in a nice location and it would be impossible to beat the value for money that you receive.
Thank you again I learnt a lot!

This is hands down the best Darkroom in London. Great equipment and even greater staff. The overall vibe is really relaxed and their approach allows you to really focus on your work rather than the money spent to book a session (which is what I felt in other darkrooms in London). The darkroom and the adjacent "studio" are really clean and welcoming and they come with the bonus of a nice cafe in the building and the Lakeside view to relax between sessions. With the Elizabeth Line bow reaching thamesmead there are no excuses not to visit Lakeside Darkroom. A real, affordable, gem in London.

Such a warm and welcoming darkroom. If you’re into analogue photography and pushing your work to the next level Naroa can definitely help you with that. Would recommend

Fantastic darkroom space for beginners or experienced practitioners. Naroa can guide you in traditional or experimental processing and printing. I love it here, I’m so happy this space of creative exploration and exchange exists in London.

I booked a one hour camera training workshop. It was 1 on 1 and specifically tailored to my camera. Was great to have such a personal experience that was focused on my own relationship to photography and how to develop. Made me want to take it to the next level the fact that LSD is comfortable safe environment to ask anything!

This place is so nice. I really enjoyed the darkroom session and Naroa is a really friendly and welcoming person, who can help you to explore more experimental photography techniques without fear. I highly recommend this place. It's a safe space where you are free to express yourself and have fun with analog photography.

GCSE Photography Trip

We brought 9 of our GCSE Photography students to Lakeside Darkroom to create a series of prints from the film they had been working on in workshops afterschool. Naroa provided our students with an excellent introduction to working in a darkroom, and helped ensure that all students left the workshop with at least one contact sheet and print from their film, as well as a series of experimental photograms. This was also a great CPD opportunity for members of our art/photography department to refresh their darkroom knowledge and gain some new skills!

We had an excellent experience and hopefully plan to come back again and again with more students.

Thank you so much for accommodating us!

Naroa is an excellent teacher full of knowledge!! It was such a comfortable environment, perfect for learning and asking questions. She tailored my workshop to suit my previous experience - and taught me tricks for both colour and black and white printing. My passion for printing has been re sparked!!

Lakeside Darkroom is a warm and welcoming place. It is a great space for practitioners no matter what level you are.

I love the small breaks in between printing where there’s always some snacks provided.

A coffee/tea session before we start. We then get to know each other and talk about our experiences. It’s nice to learn from others.

It is a safe space to make mistakes! This made me feel much more confident in taking photos and printing.

Naroa also helped me with developing film which now allowed me to developed my own at home.

Thanks Naroa!

Lakeside darkroom is not only a well equipped darkroom, but also an intimate space to get industry advice, ask questions and have a good chat. I booked one of the workshops for female photo technician training, and we got to have a go at doing everything the 'wrong' way, experimenting with developing times etc. It was a fun and eye-opening experience, which has increased my confidence.

A truly special place.
Great for beginners and those more experienced. Naroa is always on hand to answer questions and is so generous with her time. Very accommodating and quick turn around with film processing service and sorting printing days

Amazing darkroom, safe space especially for female creatives, truly no judgment zone! I hadn’t been in a darkroom for years and was nervous to refresh my knowledge, but I attended the female technician workshop and learned so much more. Naroa is amazing and very helpful, and there are many interesting workshops available. The darkroom is also much more affordable than most places in London. I can’t recommend this darkroom enough!

Amazing equipment, amazing atmosphere, great location and very supportive.

As a beginner I was made to feel completely welcome and have since also been back to do their cyanotype workshop too. Really lovely space and couldn’t recommend it more if you’re thinking about it!

It’s more than a darkroom. It’s a place where women can feel heard, seen and SAFE when developing and sharing their art.

Amazing darkroom! Naora is really supportive and helped me a lot, especially when I just started out a project but have no idea how to work it out. Really chill surroundings, and will definitely have the best time producing your own work!

The only place I print! Thank you Naroa for creative a safe, inclusive and supportive creative space. Also incredible teaching! I feel so confident working on my own projects and learning new skills. I hope to work here for many years to come!

Fantastic darkroom and in a great location. I love the feminist and environmental values it holds too.