Grand Entrances
Whether by baraat, doli or a lit-up reception walk, we make sure your entrance is caught in full and never half-framed.
Asian wedding photography with room to breathe in Derby, from the henna of the mehndi to the last dance of the reception, with albums your family will still open in decades to come.
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Wedding photography from £750
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The short answer
Kaushik Bathia is an award winning Asian wedding photographer based in London, photographing Hindu, Sikh, Gujarati, Muslim and Tamil weddings in Derby and throughout Derbyshire for over twenty five years and more than a thousand celebrations. For the vidaai we hold back and let the emotion be what it is, photographing the goodbyes gently rather than crowding a moment that belongs to the family. From the mehndi and sangeet to the baraat, the ceremony and the reception, we photograph every part of an Asian wedding in and around Derby with knowledge and care. We treat the mehndi with the same care as the pheras and the reception with the same eye as the nikah, because every part of your story deserves it. You can add a second photographer, a female photographer and hand finished albums, and we are glad to travel across Derbyshire and beyond, so wherever your celebration is held it is within reach.
Serving Derby
Derby is a city with a large South Asian community and many banqueting venues. Across Normanton, Littleover and Allestree and the rest of Derbyshire, we cover the mehndi, the ceremony and the reception with a careful eye. A nikah turns on the giving of consent, the mehr and the signing of the contract, and we record each with the dignity the occasion carries.
On the dance floor we shoot fast and close, catching the bhangra, the dhol and the uncles who never sit down, so the party reads as alive as it felt. We work quietly through the sacred parts and lift the energy for the baraat, reading each moment as it comes rather than pulling you out of it for set-up shots. Our approach is relaxed and documentary, so you can be present in your own wedding.
Asian families throughout the area have trusted us with their weddings, and Derby is a city with a large South Asian community and many banqueting venues, a destination we return to gladly. Nearby Nottingham and Northampton are familiar to us too. Local wedding venues we know near Derby include Grand River Suite, The Incora County Ground and Osmaston Park.
Derby is a city with a large South Asian community, notably around Normanton, and a strong engineering heritage linked to Rolls-Royce. Derby railway station is a major hub on the Midland Main Line, with the A38 and A52 giving fast regional links. We often take couples to Markeaton Park, Derby's most visited park with a lake and open parkland for a few quiet portraits, and Derby Cathedral, with its tall 16th century tower is a lovely backdrop nearby.
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What we offer
Whether by baraat, doli or a lit-up reception walk, we make sure your entrance is caught in full and never half-framed.
The speeches, the first dance and the bhangra, captured to the very last guest.
Whether Hindu, Sikh, Gujarati, Muslim or Tamil, we know the rituals well enough to anticipate each one before it happens.
Every tradition
The kanyadaan and the joining of hands at the mandap are photographed with quiet care. We are ready for the giving of the sindoor and the tying of the mangalsutra at a Hindu ceremony. The garland exchange, when the couple meet with the jaimala, is a moment of pure joy we love to photograph.
For Gujarati families the garba and raas fill an evening with circling colour and movement, and we love following the dandiya sticks and the swirling skirts. At the milni the two families meet and embrace, garlands are exchanged and the elders greet one another, and we record the warmth of that first joining. For Gujarati families the garba and the raas fill the evening with colour and movement, and we love photographing them.

The whole celebration
Multi-day celebrations ask a lot of a family, so on the early events we stay light on our feet, reading the room rather than rearranging it for a picture. For large pre-wedding gatherings a second photographer makes sure two moments at once are captured.
We document the grand moments and the quiet ones in between, so nothing is lost. By the time the dancing starts, we have already learned your family, so the reception frames feel easy and familiar rather than a scramble to catch strangers in the dark.
Why choose us
We understand how much the day means, and we photograph it with the care it deserves. Knowing the running order of a Sikh Anand Karaj, a Gujarati hastamelap or a Tamil muhurtham means we are never caught out by a sudden change of pace.
Early muhurat timings often mean an early departure, and we build that into our planning so we are set up and ready before the first guest arrives. We are based in London and think nothing of the drive across Derbyshire, so travelling to your venues is simply part of how we work.

Where we travel
We are London-based but rarely in London; much of our work takes us across the Midlands. We photograph across Normanton, Littleover and Allestree regularly, and returning to the county for a wedding feels less like travel and more like familiar ground.
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Good to know
We certainly do. Long experience in gurdwaras has made the shape of the Anand Karaj familiar, from the palki's arrival to the four laavan circling the Guru Granth Sahib. Because we know what is coming, we position ourselves quietly and respectfully without missing a single meaningful moment.
Yes. We photograph the nikah and walima with real care for the customs of the day, working discreetly through the signing of the contract and the exchange of vows. Where the celebration is segregated, we can arrange a female photographer so every guest feels entirely at ease throughout.
Countless times. An Asian wedding gathers dhol drummers, decorators, caterers and entertainers under one roof, and we have long since learned how to share the space with them smoothly. That easy coordination keeps the day flowing and puts us in the right spot whenever something is about to happen.
Yes, gladly. Meeting for a pre-wedding or engagement shoot somewhere around Derby lets us build a rapport before your wedding, and you come away with a set of portraits in a place that means something to you. Most couples feel noticeably more comfortable in front of the lens afterwards.
As soon as you comfortably can. Popular auspicious dates disappear fast, and if your Derby wedding lands on a busy weekend we would urge you to enquire well ahead. Once the date is confirmed, a booking secures it and lets us start planning your coverage in earnest.
Certainly. Where a Derby wedding keeps the ladies' side separate, or a female photographer feels right for the bridal preparations, we can provide one within your coverage. Please raise it when you enquire so that we can shape the team precisely around your requirements.
Yes, always with care. We photograph respectfully in the temples, gurdwaras and mosques of Derby, as well as mandaps, marquees and banqueting halls. Staying quietly to one side of the priest, granthi or imam, often working with a long lens, we make sure the ceremony is never disturbed.
More in Derby
The same team, experience and care across every wedding and service we cover in Derby. For weddings of every tradition in Derby, see our wedding photographer in Derby page. Browse our Asian wedding photography page, the wedding photography overview, all areas we serve, or nearby Nottingham and Northampton.
Recent weddings
Hindu · Sikh · Gujarati · Muslim · Tamil
Tell us about your celebration and we will send availability, ideas and pricing, wherever it takes place.
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