Kaushik BathiaPhotography
Parents in traditional Gulf dress with their young daughter, studio portrait

Christmas Photoshoot in East London

Kaushik comes to your East London home for a Christmas family portrait beside your own tree, or meets you in a park for a winter walk in coats and scarves, with the timing planned around your card deadline.

★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews

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The short answer

How do Christmas photoshoots work in East London?

Kaushik travels to you: a Christmas session can be at home by the tree, or outdoors in a park such as Victoria Park, Lloyd Park or Valentines Park in November or December. Dates are released for the season, so ask by phone or WhatsApp on 07956 505383 to find out what is open. If the pictures are for this year's cards, mention your posting date when you ask. East London is about 16 to 20 miles from Northwood, and the travel is set out in your written quote.

Google reviews

What families say

4.8 from 580+ Google reviews

Great customer service and very professional. I booked a family photo session with him for a Sunday evening at 5pm however, got stuck in traffic and couldn't get to the studio until 5:45 pm. He was very patient and waited until we got to there. He was very good at making my daughter smile in all the pictures.

Fey A., Google review, 2015

Fantastic photographer . Relaxed atmosphere and even made my young children laugh and look at the camera ( which they normally don’t do ) . Amazing results ! Would highly recommend.

Google review, 2023

In one word "AWESOME" We arranged a family photo shoot for six, four children and two adults.. the whole family was made to feel very comfortable (even allowing a change of clothes from smart to casual) and the children although apprehensive at first (being children) were literally in hysterics by the time we left... would definitely HIGHLY RECOMMEND and use again when everyones a little older...

Google review, 2016

Read all the reviews on Google

Card deadlines

Working back from an East London card deadline

Start with the date the cards need to leave your hands, then count back. A session in an East London park depends on a dry day with some light, so leaving a spare weekend before that deadline is worth more than any outfit. If the plan is Columbia Road on a Sunday, there are only so many Sundays before December, which is another reason to ask early. The national Christmas photoshoot page sets out the timing for cards in more detail.

Session dates are released for the season rather than fixed far in advance, so the simplest step is to call or WhatsApp 07956 505383 and ask which dates are open for East London. If a weekday after school suits your family better than a weekend, mention it. Prices are given on request, and the travel from Northwood is quoted up front in writing before you book.

Family of four in red and black lying on the studio floor

At home

By your own tree: a Christmas session at home

A Christmas portrait at home has something a studio cannot copy: your own tree, your own decorations and the room the children will remember. You do not need a large space. A corner with the tree, a sofa or a rug in front of it, and a window nearby for light is enough for the family group, a few portraits of the children and a close frame of hands hanging a favourite decoration.

December daylight is short, so an at-home session is best planned around the brightest part of the day, with the tree lights switched on for a warm glow behind you. For clothes, think about the room rather than a colour chart: pick two or three shades that sit well with your sofa, your walls and the tree, and keep big logos for another day.

Winter parks

Bare trees and low sun in Victoria Park, Lloyd Park and Valentines Park

A winter park gives a different kind of Christmas picture: coats, scarves and a family walking together under bare branches. Victoria Park, opened in 1845 as 'The People's Park' and described by Tower Hamlets Council as London's oldest public park, has 86 hectares of open lawns and tree-lined paths. In Walthamstow, Lloyd Park's terraced gardens and its moat with an island sit right behind the William Morris Gallery.

Valentines Park in Ilford surrounds the Grade II* listed Valentines Mansion and its historic gardens, and its two cafés are a sensible place to warm cold hands afterwards. Leyton Jubilee Park, Waltham Forest's biggest park, has a central avenue of London plane trees over 100 years old, which make a strong line of bare trunks in winter. Hainault Forest, with its lake, Woodhenge sculptures and restored Victorian barns, suits families who want a proper woodland walk.

Family of five in grey, black and red, studio group portrait

Seasonal streets

Columbia Road on a Sunday, Walthamstow Village and Ilford's parades

If you would rather a street than a park, East London has two good ones. Columbia Road Flower Market is a Sunday-only market on a road of Victorian shops off Hackney Road in Bethnal Green, so a Sunday session there gives stalls and colour, while any other day gives a quieter street of shopfronts. Walthamstow Village, centred on St Mary's Church and the timber-framed Ancient House, has an old-fashioned look that suits a Christmas card.

In Ilford, the Business Improvement District runs town-centre events that include Christmas parades, so check its published dates if you want the festive crowds in the background, or avoid them if you prefer a calm session. For other festivals, Diwali and Eid sittings follow the same short format in the studio, and a Diwali session can also be at home among your own lamps. The national Christmas photoshoot page explains the short studio sittings held at Northwood.

The session

What a Christmas session involves, and what you take home

A Christmas session is short and guided. We talk through who is in the picture and the look you want, then move from the big family group to smaller groups and portraits of the children, with little ones setting the pace. Grandparents, cousins and the family dog are welcome; tell us who is coming when you book, so the posing and the space suit everyone.

Afterwards you receive a small set of edited images to choose from, with high-resolution files ready for any card printer. Prints, framed pieces and albums can be ordered as presents, so if a print is meant for a grandparent's present, say so when you choose your images. For the rest of the year, the family photography in East London page covers at-home and park sessions, and the East London photographer page lists every service in the area.

Three-generation family in black and red, studio group portrait

Planning

Planning around East London

01

Name your posting date

Tell us the day the cards must go out when you ask, and the session is booked in time for the cards, with a spare weekend in case the weather turns.

02

Sunday at Columbia Road

Columbia Road Flower Market trades only on Sundays, so choose a Sunday for the stalls and flowers or a weekday for an empty street of Victorian shopfronts.

03

Warm up at Valentines Park

Valentines Park in Ilford has two cafés, which makes it a practical choice for a cold December session with small children who need warming up afterwards.

04

Plane trees in Leyton

Leyton Jubilee Park's avenue of London plane trees, over 100 years old, gives a bold line of bare trunks for a winter family walk.

05

Dogs in Victoria Park

Bringing the dog to a Victoria Park session is fine, but dogs must stay out of the children's play areas, so plan the family group away from them.

Winter settings in East London

These parks, landmarks and streets make good winter settings for a Christmas family photograph in East London, each with its source linked.

  • Coronation Gardens, Leyton: Coronation Gardens on Oliver Road, Leyton, formally opened on 23 May 1903, has the borough's last surviving bandstand, a maze, a fountain and ornamental gardens, and dogs there must be kept on a lead. 1
  • Bartlett Park: Bartlett Park in Poplar, a 4.95-hectare park opened in 1961 and refurbished in 2020, has a designated dog walk area, a canalside walkway and a fully inclusive playground for ages 5 to 25. 2
  • Epping Forest muzzle and wildlife byelaws: Under the Epping Forest byelaws greyhounds and whippets must be effectively muzzled, dogs must not worry or chase any bird or animal, and obedience training is allowed if it causes no nuisance to other users. 3
  • Churchfields Recreation Ground: Churchfields Recreation Ground in South Woodford is a medium-sized open space with quite a large grass area, which the council calls a great haven for families and dog walkers. 4
  • Millfields Park: Millfields Park is three large open spaces around Lea Bridge Road and Chatsworth Road, framed by plane and elm avenues and bordered by the Lea Navigation, with a dog-free area and dogs kept out of the play area and sports facilities. 5

Sources, facts checked October 2026

  1. Coronation Gardens | London Borough of Waltham Forest
  2. Bartlett Park | Tower Hamlets Council
  3. Epping Forest byelaws | City of London
  4. Parks in the Woodford and South Woodford area | Redbridge Council
  5. Millfields Park - Hackney Council

Town by town

Christmas sessions across East London

The table shows each East London borough's distance from Northwood, with links to the local family and area pages.

Good to know

Christmas photoshoots in East London: questions answered

As soon as you know when the cards need to be posted, and well before December if you want an outdoor session in Victoria Park or Lloyd Park, where a wet weekend can push the date back. Later sessions are still possible for framed presents or simply for the family's own pictures.

The short mini sessions run only at the Northwood studio, about 16 to 20 miles from East London, on dates released for the season. A Christmas shoot at your home or in an East London park is booked as a family session instead. Call or WhatsApp 07956 505383 with your borough and the days that suit you.

Yes. Kaushik comes to your home with everything needed, and a corner with the tree and a window nearby is enough space. Walthamstow is about 17 miles from Northwood, and the travel for an at-home session there is set out in your written quote.

Yes. A winter walk in Victoria Park gives open lawns, bare trees and low sun, especially around the middle of the day. Dress in warm layers in colours that sit together, bring gloves the children can take off for a few frames, and plan a hot drink afterwards.

Yes, if you ask early and tell us your posting date. The session is then booked in time for the cards, and if the weather rules out a park on the day, a session at home by the tree keeps you on schedule.

Yes. Grandparents, cousins and the family dog are all welcome. Let us know who is coming when you book, so the session has time for the full group and for smaller groups such as grandparents with grandchildren.

Christmas session prices come by phone or WhatsApp on request. The quote covers the session and the travel from Northwood to your home or park, so the full cost is clear before you book. Prints and frames are ordered separately once you have chosen your images.

Yes. The studio at 21 Joel Street, Northwood Hills is two minutes from Northwood Hills station on the Metropolitan line, and a studio session is unaffected by rain or short winter daylight. Studio Christmas dates are released for the season too, so ask which ones are open.

Behind the camera is Kaushik Bathia, established in Northwood since 2001, FBIPP and FMPA, with five European Kodak Gold Awards.

Christmas in East London

Ask for this season's dates

Tell us your borough, who is in the picture and whether you would like home or a park, and we will reply with the dates on offer and a written quote.

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