Liquid crystalline poly(meth)acrylates (LCPs) with 4-methoxyphenyl thiobenzoate side groups were synthesized to attain a photoinduced molecularly oriented structure, which is transparent in the visible region. The axis-selective photoreaction and photoinduced reorientation behaviors of the thin films were investigated using linearly polarized (LP) 313 nm light. The axis-selective photoreaction of the side groups generated an optical anisotropy in all the LCP films, but the amplitude depended on the alkylene spacer length and the type of the polymer main chain. The photoirradiated films were transparent in the visible region because the photoreacted products expressed less color. The axis-selective photoreaction of films followed by the thermally generated self-organization processes effectively induced an in-plane molecular reorientation perpendicularly to light polarization with an in-plane order parameter (S) of 0.62 and birefringence (Delta n) similar to 0.17, when the mesogenic groups were connected to the polymer main chain via hexamethylene spacers. In contrast, the out-of-plane reorientation dominated when the LCPs contained long alkylene spacers.