Clissold Park's deer
Clissold Park keeps a small herd of fallow deer, and dogs are barred from its play area and sports facilities, so a keen chaser is photographed there on a lead.
Dog and Pet Photographer in East London
A dog photographs well somewhere it already knows. Kaushik comes to your park or your home in East London, and the session is planned around that borough's dog rules, which differ from one side of the Lea to the other.
The short answer
Where can I have my dog photographed in East London?
On a walk your dog already knows, such as Victoria Park, Lloyd Park's off-lead area, Hackney Marshes or Hainault Forest, or at home if your pet is calmer indoors. Each borough sets its own dog rules, so the spot is chosen with leads, play areas and wildlife in mind. A session lasts around 45 minutes to an hour, prices are given on request, and travel from Northwood is set out in your written quote.
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!
Great service and fantastic photos taken of myself and family. We were given a very warm welcome by Kaushik and I feel that was also reflected in the photos he took. So very pleased with the photos and would highly recommend Kaushik.
Hackney
Hackney's dog PSPO and the parks that suit a dog shoot
Hackney has 58 parks and green spaces totalling 282 hectares, and a Public Spaces Protection Order on dog control, updated on 18 March 2024, applies across the borough. The council asks owners to keep dogs in sight and under control at all times, out of children's play areas and marked dog-free areas, and out of park rivers and lakes, especially when they are icy or during the spring and summer waterfowl breeding season. Those rules shape where in a park we photograph.
London Fields, a Green Flag park, has a wildflower meadow that makes a soft summer background, and Hackney Downs has meadows alongside its marked dog-free area. Millfields Park, framed by plane and elm avenues beside the Lea Navigation, and Well Street Common, lined with London plane and chestnut trees, give long, leafy lines for a running dog. At Clissold Park, home to a small herd of fallow deer, a dog that likes to chase is better photographed on a lead.
Waltham Forest
Off the lead in Lloyd Park, on it in Ridgeway Park: Waltham Forest's dog orders
Waltham Forest's dog control orders require dogs on leads on roads, footpaths, verges, cemeteries, car parks and in named parks such as Abbotts Park and Cann Hall Park, keep dogs out of children's play areas, and limit one person to walking six dogs at a time. Off-lead walking is allowed in designated places including Ainslie Wood, the exercise area at Higham Hill Recreation Ground, a designated area of Lloyd Park, Epping Forest and Lee Valley Park.
For a free-running shot, Lloyd Park's off-lead area is the obvious choice, and the council publishes a dog map showing exactly where it is. Ridgeway Park in Chingford, Coronation Gardens in Leyton with its bandstand and maze, Langthorne Park and Memorial Park at Chingford Mount all require a lead, which suits a calmer, posed portrait. Walthamstow Wetlands is off the list entirely: only assistance dogs are allowed on the reservoir site.
Tower Hamlets
Victoria Park, Bartlett Park and the canals of Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets Council made its dog control Public Spaces Protection Order on 30 April 2025 for three years, and its parks guidance keeps dogs out of children's play areas and fenced sports and exercise areas. Owners are also asked to keep dogs in sight and under close control and not to let them into canals or lakes, especially in icy weather or the waterfowl breeding season. In Victoria Park, at 86 hectares the borough's largest, dogs stay out of the play areas and the park's byelaws apply elsewhere.
Bartlett Park in Poplar has a designated dog walk area and a canalside walkway, which together give both open grass and a waterside line without the dog going in. Millwall Park on the Isle of Dogs, a former docklands site, has meadows below a disused railway viaduct that make a striking backdrop. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, a 12.55-hectare Local Nature Reserve since 2001, has a woodland feel for a quieter, more atmospheric portrait.
Newham and the Forest
Wanstead Flats, West Ham Park and the Epping Forest byelaws
Wanstead Flats is about 334 acres of open grassland on the southern edge of Epping Forest at Forest Gate, used for exercising people and dogs, where cattle grazed freely until 1996. The Epping Forest byelaws require any dog to be under effective control and to wear a collar bearing the owner's name and address, greyhounds and whippets to be effectively muzzled, and dogs not to worry or chase any bird or animal. The City of London's dog walking code adds that a dog that does not respond to recall stays on a lead.
The Flats also carry a photography condition: the City of London Corporation requires a licence for commercial, student or non-profit filming or photography in Epping Forest, so a paid session there needs that settled first. West Ham Park, also run by the City of London Corporation, has its own byelaws: a dog goes on a lead when an officer or constable directs it, and there are set times when dogs may only enter on a lead, so check those before choosing a time of day.
Redbridge
Leads in Redbridge parks, and the bigger spaces at Hainault and Fairlop
Redbridge Council welcomes dogs in its parks but asks owners to keep them on a lead. That makes a Redbridge session a lead-on portrait by default, with the lead held loose and out of the main frame. Seven Kings Park has formal rose beds and free car parking, and the council describes it as a big hit with dog walkers. Churchfields Recreation Ground in South Woodford has a large grass area, and the Lechmere Avenue open space in Woodford is good for strolling and getting closer to nature.
For a bigger landscape, Hainault Forest covers 400 acres of woodland and parkland with a lake, the Woodhenge wood sculptures and restored Victorian barns, and Fairlop Waters Country Park is set around a large lake with accessible paths and nature routes. Both give room for a dog to move and for a wide frame with water or trees behind. Travel to any Redbridge park is quoted up front and set out in writing before you book.
The session
How an East London pet session runs, and what to bring
A pet session lasts around 45 minutes to an hour, timed for when your dog is at its brightest. Bring favourite treats, a squeaky toy or ball, a familiar blanket, a lead and a towel, and arrive with your dog slightly hungry and, if it is a bouncy breed, after a short walk. A calm second person to hold and reassure it always helps. Cats, rabbits and older dogs are often happier at home, or at the studio in Northwood Hills, where the light and background are controlled.
A week or two after the shoot you receive a private online gallery to choose from, and favourites can become prints, framed pieces or canvases. The pet photography page explains the approach in full, and each borough has its own page: Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge.
Planning
Planning around East London
Walthamstow Wetlands is not for dogs
Only assistance dogs are allowed on the 160-hectare reservoir site, so for a Walthamstow session choose Lloyd Park's off-lead area or the Higham Hill exercise area instead.
Keep away from the water in spring
Hackney and Tower Hamlets both ask owners to keep dogs out of lakes and canals, especially in the spring and summer waterfowl breeding season, so waterside frames are taken from the path.
Collars on the Flats
Epping Forest byelaws require a collar bearing the owner's name and address, so on Wanstead Flats the collar stays on and the portrait is framed around it.
Muzzles for sighthounds
Greyhounds and whippets must be effectively muzzled under the Epping Forest byelaws, so a muzzle-free portrait of a sighthound is better taken at home or in a borough park.
Six dogs at most
Waltham Forest limits one person to walking six dogs at a time, which matters for a big multi-dog household planning a group portrait in a Walthamstow or Leyton park.
Dog walks and parks in East London
These are the parks and dog rules that decide where an East London pet session can happen, each linked to the council or landowner that publishes it.
- Victoria Park: Victoria Park, on Hackney's southern border in Tower Hamlets, covers 86.18 hectares and opened to the public in 1845. 1
- Wanstead Flats: Wanstead Flats, about 334 acres of open grassland on the southern edge of Epping Forest at Forest Gate, is managed by the City of London Corporation and used for exercising people and dogs; cattle grazed there freely until 1996. 2
- Epping Forest dog byelaw: Epping Forest byelaws, which cover Wanstead Flats, require any dog brought onto the Forest to be under effective control and to wear a collar bearing the owner's name and address. 3
- Seven Kings Park: Seven Kings Park has formal rose beds, a skate park at its southern end, a children's play area and free car parking, and the council describes it as a big hit with dog walkers. 4
- Hackney Marshes: Hackney Marshes has 82 football, rugby and cricket pitches across North Marsh, South Marsh and Mabley Green beside the Lee Navigation towpath; dogs are excluded from the sports facilities and council officers can require a lead if a dog is not under control. 5
Sources, facts checked October 2026
Town by town
Pet sessions across East London
East London's boroughs are listed below with their distance from Northwood and a link to each borough's pet page.
- Hackney (16 miles from the studio)
- Walthamstow (17 miles from the studio)
- Waltham Forest (17 miles from the studio)
- Tower Hamlets (17 miles from the studio)
- Forest Gate (19 miles from the studio)
- Newham (20 miles from the studio)
- Redbridge (20 miles from the studio)
Good to know
Pet photography in East London: questions answered
Yes, in the designated off-lead area. Waltham Forest Council publishes a dog map showing where dogs may run free in Lloyd Park, so the session is planned inside that area for running shots, with calmer portraits by the terraced gardens and moat on a lead.
No. Walthamstow Wetlands is a working Thames Water reservoir site and nature reserve where only assistance dogs are allowed. For a session nearby, Lloyd Park's off-lead area, Higham Hill Recreation Ground's exercise area or Epping Forest give your dog room to move.
The City of London Corporation requires a licence for commercial, student or non-profit photography anywhere in Epping Forest, which includes Wanstead Flats. A booked session is paid photography, so raise it when you enquire, and we can compare the Flats with a borough park that suits your dog.
It can be. At 86 hectares it has plenty of open grass and tree-lined paths, but dogs must stay out of the children's play areas and the park's byelaws apply elsewhere. In spring and summer, keep your dog away from the lakes during the waterfowl breeding season.
Redbridge Council asks owners to keep dogs on a lead in its parks, so plan on a lead-on session there. A long, light lead held loosely out of the main frame keeps the pictures natural, and close portraits are framed so the lead barely shows.
Yes. Hainault Forest's 400 acres of woodland and parkland, its lake and the Woodhenge sculptures give a varied walk with several backdrops. Redbridge is about 20 miles from Northwood, and the travel for a Hainault session is set out in your written quote.
Ask by phone or WhatsApp on 07956 505383 for the price of a pet session in your East London park. The written quote covers the session and the travel from Northwood, so you know the full figure before booking. Prints, frames and canvases are priced separately and chosen after you have seen the gallery.
Kaushik Bathia, FBIPP and FMPA, photographs every session personally and has done so from the Northwood studio since 2001, with five European Kodak Gold Awards along the way.
Pet photos in East London
Book your dog's walk with a camera
Tell us about your pet, the park you walk in and any quirks we should know, and we will plan the session and send a written quote.
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