The photophysical and photochemical properties and quenching (by 1,4-benzoquinone) of metallophthalocyanine sulfonates of aluminium ( AlPcS_mix), zinc ( ZnPcS_mix), silicon ( SiPcS_mix), germanium ( GePcS_mix) and tin ( SnPcS_mix) are presented. The quantum yield values of fluorescence (Φ_F), triplet state (Φ_T), singlet oxygen (Φ_Δ) and photodegradation (Φ_d) were determined and the observed trends in their variation among the complexes discussed in terms of aggregation and the heavy atom effect. 1,4-benzoquinone effectively quenched the fluorescence of the complexes. Quenching analyses gave positive deviations from Stern-Volmer behavior, suggesting the existence of static quenching in addition to dynamic quenching. The static and dynamic components of the quenching were separated using a modified Stern-Volmer equation and the “sphere of action quenching model”. The quenching constant was found to be a function of the radius of the central metal ion.