Home is the easy option
A session in your Essex home keeps children settled. Kaushik brings lights and backgrounds and uses your best window light.
Family Photographer in Essex
Relaxed family photoshoots at home, in the garden or in a park near you, anywhere from Loughton to Colchester. Kaushik travels from Northwood, and the travel is quoted in writing before you book.
The short answer
Can I book a family photoshoot in Essex at home or in a park?
Yes. Kaushik Bathia comes to you for family photography in Essex: your home, your garden or a park nearby, such as Hainault Forest, Harlow Town Park, Thorndon Country Park or Castle Park in Colchester. The studio is in Northwood Hills, about 20 miles from Loughton and about 57 from Colchester, so travel is set out in your written quote. If you would rather come in, sessions can be held at the studio instead. Prices are given by phone or WhatsApp.
Our usual session area is within about 20 miles of the studio. Further out in Essex, sessions are by arrangement, with travel quoted in writing before you book.
I would highly recommend Northwood Hills Studio. We have been been capturing our favourite family portraits since 2004. Always great fun, yet very professional. The printed results are great and we will keep coming back.
We had a family photo session with grandparents, parents sons and our dog too. Mr Bathia is good humoured, he got the best out of all of us and took some great photos.
He was very professional, made us relaxed and got everyone to smile. The photos were beautiful especially the family portrait.
How it works
A come-to-you family session in Essex
For many families a session at home is the easiest choice. Children are calmer in their own space, toys and snacks are close by, and nobody has to get into a car with a toddler at the wrong time of day. Kaushik arrives with lights and backgrounds, looks at the rooms with the best window light, and keeps the session moving at the children's pace.
Because the studio is in Northwood Hills, every Essex family session involves a drive. Loughton is about 20 miles away, Epping about 23, Brentwood about 31, Chelmsford about 39 and Colchester about 57. We do not hide that: the travel is shown as its own line when we quote, so you can decide with the full picture.
If the travel does not suit you, the studio at 21 Joel Street is an alternative, two minutes from Northwood Hills station. Some families combine the two, with a studio session for a baby and an outdoor session later in the year. Whichever you choose, the session is planned with you by phone first, so you know where it will be, how long it will take and what it will cost.
Outdoors
Parks and open spaces for a family shoot in Essex
West Essex has some of the oldest woodland near London. Hainault Forest, by Chigwell, is one of the few remaining parts of the old Forest of Essex and has 7.2 km of surfaced paths, which suits a pushchair. Epping Forest is larger still, but the City of London Corporation requires a licence for photography there, including portrait shoots, so a forest session needs that permission arranged first.
In Harlow, the Town Park covers over 160 acres and holds a Green Flag Award. Its water garden of three cascading spring-fed ponds and the rhododendron dell at its southern end give two very different backgrounds within a short walk. Near Brentwood, Thorndon Country Park has ancient woodland and parkland with old oak pollards, and Weald Country Park covers about 500 acres of landscaped former estate.
Further out, Chelmsford has 19 Green Flag parks, including Central Park, Admirals Park and Oaklands Park. In Colchester, Castle Park spreads over 11 hectares around the castle, with the Roman town wall running through it, and High Woods Country Park has meadows, woodland and a lake, though the council publishes photography charges for it, so that cost needs including.
Timing
The best seasons for family photographs in Essex
Late spring and early autumn are the most comfortable times for an outdoor family shoot. The light is softer, children are not squinting into a midday sun, and the woodland in places like Thorndon and Hainault has colour without the heavy summer shade. A late afternoon start usually gives the gentlest light.
Summer works well with an early evening session, when the heat has gone out of the day. In winter we move indoors or into the garden for a short session, and a bright room at home can look as good as any park. Whatever the season, we pick a time that fits naps, meals and school, and keep a wet-weather plan ready.
Ages and stages
Babies, toddlers, teenagers and grandparents
A family session changes with the age of the children. With a baby, the session centres on closeness: parents holding the baby, siblings meeting them, small details of hands and feet. Toddlers need movement, so we build in a walk, a game or a run across the grass. Older children and teenagers do best when they are given a bit of freedom and not asked to pose stiffly.
Three generations together is one of the most valuable sessions you can book, and it is easiest at a grandparent's home or a garden, where nobody has far to walk. If the family is spread across Essex and beyond, choose the house that is easiest for the oldest and youngest members, and we will plan the travel around it.
What to wear and where next
Clothes, planning and other Essex pages
Choose clothes in two or three colours that sit well together rather than matching outfits. Plain fabrics photograph better than large logos, and soft layers work in every season. Bring a spare top for small children, because grass, mud and juice are part of any outdoor session. For a woodland park, sensible shoes matter more than you might expect.
For newborns, read the Essex newborn photography page. The Essex overview lists every service across the county, the national family photography page explains the session itself, and for a first birthday a cake smash photoshoot is a lovely follow-on. If you want help choosing a park near you, mention the town when you enquire and we will suggest a few options from the list below.
Planning
Planning around Essex
Epping Forest needs a licence
The City of London Corporation requires one for portrait photography in the forest. Hainault Forest or your garden can be simpler.
Harlow Town Park has variety
The water garden and the rhododendron dell give two quite different backgrounds within the same 160-acre park. It is about 25 miles from the studio.
Chelmsford has 19 Green Flag parks
Central Park, Admirals Park and Oaklands Park are all options close to the city centre, about 39 miles from Northwood.
Travel in writing first
Every Essex family session involves a drive from Northwood, and that travel is shown on your quote before you book.
Parks and open spaces for a family shoot in Essex (continued)
Parks and open spaces across Essex, including the licence, charge and dog rules that can shape a family photoshoot.
- Epping Forest: Epping Forest, which borders Loughton to the west, is an ancient woodland stretching 13 miles from east London into Essex and has been kept as public open space since the Epping Forest Act 1878. 1
- Hainault Forest: Hainault Forest, one of the few remaining parts of the former Forest of Essex and a royal hunting forest from the 11th century, has 7.2 km of surfaced paths, with the woodland run by the Woodland Trust and the adjacent country park by the London Borough of Redbridge. 2
- Harlow Town Park: Harlow Town Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country at over 160 acres, was designed by Dame Sylvia Crowe, is a Grade II listed site and has held a Green Flag Award for seven years in a row. 3
- Thorndon Park: Thorndon Park at Brentwood is a 141-hectare (349-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest of semi-natural woodland and ancient parkland with old oak pollards; Essex County Council runs part of it as Thorndon Country Park. 4
- Grays Town Park: Grays Town Park was given to the people of Thurrock in 1887 by the local squire James Theobald, laid out on a redundant brick-earth quarry with sloped embankments, tree-lined paths and ornamental planting. 5
Sources, facts checked October 2026
Town by town
Family photography around Essex
Below are the Essex towns we come to for family sessions, each with its distance from the Northwood studio.
- Loughton (20 miles from the studio)
- Chigwell (21 miles from the studio)
- Epping (23 miles from the studio)
- Harlow (25 miles from the studio)
- Brentwood (31 miles from the studio)
- Grays (33 miles from the studio)
- Billericay (36 miles from the studio)
- Basildon (37 miles from the studio)
- Chelmsford (39 miles from the studio)
- Southend-on-Sea (48 miles from the studio)
- Colchester (57 miles from the studio)
Good to know
Family photography in Essex: questions answered
Sessions are offered across the whole county. Loughton is about 20 miles from the studio, Brentwood about 31, Chelmsford about 39, Southend-on-Sea about 48 and Colchester about 57. The travel for your session is set out in writing before you book.
Ring or WhatsApp 07956 505383 for a session price. Tell us where you are, how many people and whether you want home, garden or a park, and you will get a clear quote with travel listed separately.
Possibly, but the City of London Corporation requires a licence for photography in the forest, including portrait shoots. That permission has to be in place before the session. Hainault Forest, a garden or another park can avoid the extra step.
We move the session indoors at your home, or rearrange the date for an outdoor shoot. A bright living room or conservatory often works very well, so the session can still go ahead. If a park is important to you, we can hold a second date in reserve.
Most family sessions run for about an hour, which is enough for small children before they tire. Larger groups or a session that moves between home and a park may need a little longer, and we agree that in advance.
Yes, and it is well worth doing. Choose a home or garden that is easy for everyone to reach, and we will photograph the whole family, each household and the grandparents with the grandchildren. Allow a few extra minutes for the larger groups.
Yes. The studio is at 21 Joel Street, Northwood Hills, two minutes from the station on the Metropolitan line. It suits babies, plain backgrounds and families who would rather not pay for travel to Essex.
Family sessions in Essex
Book a family session at home or in a park
Tell us where in Essex you live, who will be in the photographs and when suits you. Kaushik will reply with ideas, a price and the travel from Northwood in writing.
More in Essex
- Photography across Essex
- Weddings in Essex
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- Hindu weddings in Essex
- Sikh weddings in Essex
- Muslim weddings in Essex
- Newborn photography in Essex
- Maternity photoshoots in Essex
- Engagement and couples shoots in Essex
- Headshots in Essex
- Portraits in Essex
- Event photography in Essex
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- Commercial photography in Essex
- Christmas photoshoots in Essex
- Christening photography in Essex
- Graduation photography in Essex
- Family Photography
Other counties
- Family photography in Hertfordshire
- Family photography in Buckinghamshire
- Family photography in Berkshire
- Family photography in Surrey
- Family photography in Bedfordshire
- Family photography in Kent
- Family photography in Oxfordshire
- Family photography in North West London
- Family photography in West London
- Family photography in North London
- Family photography in East London
- Family photography in South London
- Family photography in Central London