Dates released for the season
Christmas mini session dates are released for the season rather than fixed on this page. Ask by phone or WhatsApp on 07956 505383 and we reply with what is open.
Christmas Photoshoot in Berkshire
November and December family portraits for Berkshire households, photographed beside your own tree, on a frosty walk in a royal park or in the warmth of the Northwood studio, about 10 miles from Slough.
The short answer
Can we book a Christmas photoshoot in Berkshire?
Yes. Berkshire families can have Christmas portraits at home with the tree, outdoors in a park such as Windsor Great Park or Dinton Pastures, or at the Northwood studio, which is about 10 miles from Slough and 26 from Reading. Studio mini session dates are released for the season, so ask by phone or WhatsApp on 07956 505383. If the pictures are for cards, ask early enough that the session is booked in time for them, especially for a home out towards Newbury. Travel to your home or park is set out in your written quote.
Our usual session area is within about 20 miles of the studio. Further out in Berkshire, sessions are by arrangement, with travel quoted in writing before you book.
Me and my family are coming to this studio since last year to have our Christmas picture taken. We've been this year and for sure we are gonna come next year!!!
Beautiful family photos, everyone was made to feel comfortable and relaxed so we got lovely photos with everyone smiling and happy. Photographs are beautiful. Thank you!
I went into the photoshoot with reservations, as I wasn’t sure how well my youngest child (3 years) would be in a photoshoot situation. As soon as walking into the shoot and seeing how Kaushik interacted with the little ones, I was immediately put at ease. He amazingly kept my child smiling and laughing for an hour, where I can’t seem to manage to do for 30 seconds!
Three settings
Your tree, a Berkshire park in winter, or the studio
A Christmas portrait for a Berkshire family can happen in one of three places. At home, the tree, the fireplace and the children in matching pyjamas give the pictures a sense of your own house. Outdoors, Berkshire's royal parkland and country parks give bare branches, low sun and long avenues. At the Northwood studio, about 10 miles from Slough, the session ignores rain and the early December dark completely.
The studio mini session is the short format: around 20 to 30 minutes, guided posing and a small set of edited images, which is enough for a card, a framed gift and a few to share. At home or in a park it runs as a family session instead, booked the same way and planned around who is coming. Ring or WhatsApp for current session prices, and the national Christmas photoshoot page explains the studio mini format in full.
Card deadlines
Working back from the day your Berkshire Christmas cards go in the post
A Berkshire card list might run from neighbours in Slough to relatives in Hungerford, and none of it can be designed until a photograph has been chosen. That makes the session the first job on the Christmas list, so aim for a date booked in time for the cards rather than one squeezed into December. The national Christmas photoshoot page covers card timing in full.
If you already know the date the cards must be in the post, tell us when you book and we will plan back from it. Families in the far west of the county, around Thatcham and Newbury about 39 to 42 miles from Northwood, may find an earlier slot easier, since a home or outdoor session out there needs a little more planning than one in Slough or Windsor.
East Berkshire outdoors
Frost on the Long Walk and winter colour at Virginia Water
Windsor Great Park gives an outdoor Christmas portrait real scale. The Long Walk, planted under Charles II in the 1680s, runs for almost two and a half miles towards the castle, and a family walking down the centre of that avenue in coats and scarves makes a quiet, wintry card. In the Deer Park beside it, around 500 red deer live, so a family dog stays on a short lead there.
At the southern edge of the park, Virginia Water's lake is about two miles long with a 5.25-mile circuit, passing the Cascade and the Leptis Magna Ruins. The Valley Gardens and the Savill Garden are close by; the Savill Garden has opened to paying visitors since 1953, so check its entry arrangements before choosing it for a session.
The middle and west
Lakes at Hurst, the Rookery in Reading and Donnington's gatehouse
Further west, Dinton Pastures Country Park at Hurst has 350 acres of lakes, ponds, rivers, woodland and meadow, with footpaths throughout, which suits a pushchair on a cold morning. In Reading, Prospect Park rises to a Regency mansion with views across the Kennet Valley, and The Rookery's mature oaks frame a family group well once the leaves have fallen.
Newbury and Thatcham families have Donnington Castle, a free English Heritage site where the twin-towered 14th-century gatehouse stands among Civil War earthworks and dogs are welcome; the Berkshire pet photography page has more on dog rules in the county parks. A word on Maidenhead in winter: Ray Mill Island can close between September and April when the river is high, and the island at Guards Club Park shuts from December to June, though the park itself stays open.
On the day
Outfits, grandparents and short December afternoons
In December the Long Walk, the lakes at Dinton Pastures and the Rookery in Reading are mostly bare branches, grey water and pale grass. Against that, one or two warm, deeper colours carry the picture, while very pale outfits can disappear into a frosted field. Outdoors, a coat that looks good matters more than the jumper underneath it, and big logos are better left at home. Indoors by your own tree, choose clothes that sit with the room and its decorations rather than compete with them.
Grandparents, cousins and the dog are welcome; tell us who is coming when you enquire, as with any family photoshoot in Berkshire, so the posing and the space suit the whole group. For outdoor Christmas portraits, daylight fades early in December, so a late morning or early afternoon start is safer than a late one. Travel from Northwood to your Berkshire home or park is quoted up front and set out in writing before you book. The Berkshire photographer hub lists every other session in the county.
Planning
Planning around Berkshire
Deer and dogs on the Long Walk
The Deer Park beside the Long Walk holds around 500 red deer, and dogs must stay on a short lead and under close control there at all times.
Maidenhead islands in winter
Ray Mill Island can shut between September and April in high water, and the Guards Club island closes from December to June, so pick the open park as a backup.
Rain plan from Slough
If a December forecast turns wet, the Northwood studio, about 10 miles from Slough, keeps the card on schedule without waiting for a dry weekend.
Winter settings in Berkshire
Winter parks, gardens and landmarks in Berkshire that suit an outdoor Christmas portrait, with the source for each.
- The Lexicon: The Lexicon, the regenerated Bracknell town centre shopping district with a 12-screen cinema, opened on 7 September 2017. 1
- St George's Chapel: St George's Chapel within Windsor Castle was begun in 1475 under Edward IV and is regarded as one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic architecture. 2
- Salt Hill Park: Salt Hill Park on the A4 Bath Road opposite the old Town Hall was given to the town in 1907 by James Elliman Junior, and its lodge, Barn Café and landscaping were designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. 3
Sources, facts checked October 2026
Town by town
Christmas sessions across Berkshire
Berkshire towns run from Slough, about 10 miles from the studio, to Newbury in the far west; the table shows each town's distance, which shapes how early to book a home or park Christmas session.
- Slough (10 miles from the studio)
- Windsor (12 miles from the studio)
- Maidenhead (14 miles from the studio)
- Ascot (17 miles from the studio)
- Bracknell (19 miles from the studio)
- Wokingham (22 miles from the studio)
- Sandhurst (24 miles from the studio)
- Reading (26 miles from the studio)
- Thatcham (39 miles from the studio)
- Newbury (42 miles from the studio)
Good to know
Christmas photoshoots in Berkshire: questions answered
Ask as soon as you know you want a card picture, so the session is booked in time for the cards. A home session in Reading or Newbury needs its travel planned and quoted first, so those dates are worth fixing before a studio slot would be. If your cards must go out by a set date, mention it when you book and the session is planned back from it.
Yes, the Long Walk and Virginia Water both work well for an outdoor winter portrait. In the Deer Park beside the Long Walk, dogs must be on a short lead at all times. Travel from Northwood, about 12 miles to Windsor, is set out in your written quote.
Prices are given on request by phone or WhatsApp, so you hear the current figure for the session you want, whether that is a studio mini session or a family session at your home or in a park. Travel for a Berkshire home or park session is quoted separately in writing.
Yes. Kaushik comes to homes in Reading, about 26 miles from Northwood, and as far as Newbury, about 42. A session by the tree in your own living room puts your own home into the card. Travel is set out in writing before you book, and earlier dates help at the far end of the county.
A studio mini session lasts around 20 to 30 minutes, with guided posing throughout and a small set of edited images afterwards. That is enough for a card, a framed present and a few pictures to share with family who live further away.
Yes. In the studio, Diwali and Eid sittings run in the same short format as the Christmas mini, and a Diwali photoshoot can also happen at your Berkshire home among your own diyas and rangoli. For an Eid photoshoot at Northwood, tell us which days around the festival suit your family and we reply with the times on offer.
Winter weather in the Thames valley can change quickly. If the forecast is poor, we can move to another date or switch to the Northwood studio, which is unaffected by rain or short daylight. Talk it through by phone when you book so there is a plan either way.
Behind the camera is Kaushik Bathia, established in Northwood since 2001, FBIPP and FMPA, with five European Kodak Gold Awards.
Festive portraits
Planning Christmas photos in Berkshire this year?
Tell us your town, who is in the picture and whether you would like your tree, a park or the studio. We will reply with the dates released for the season.
More in Berkshire
- Photography across Berkshire
- Weddings in Berkshire
- Asian weddings in Berkshire
- Hindu weddings in Berkshire
- Sikh weddings in Berkshire
- Muslim weddings in Berkshire
- Family photography in Berkshire
- Newborn photography in Berkshire
- Maternity photoshoots in Berkshire
- Engagement and couples shoots in Berkshire
- Headshots in Berkshire
- Portraits in Berkshire
- Event photography in Berkshire
- Pet photography in Berkshire
- Commercial photography in Berkshire
- Cake smash photoshoots in Berkshire
- Christening photography in Berkshire
- Graduation photography in Berkshire
- Christmas Photoshoots
Other counties
- Christmas photoshoots in Hertfordshire
- Christmas photoshoots in Buckinghamshire
- Christmas photoshoots in Surrey
- Christmas photoshoots in Essex
- Christmas photoshoots in Bedfordshire
- Christmas photoshoots in Kent
- Christmas photoshoots in Oxfordshire
- Christmas photoshoots in North West London
- Christmas photoshoots in West London
- Christmas photoshoots in North London
- Christmas photoshoots in East London
- Christmas photoshoots in South London
- Christmas photoshoots in Central London