Kaushik BathiaPhotography
Mother-to-be in a red dress looking down at her bump, studio maternity portrait

Maternity Photographer in North London

Bump portraits between 28 and 34 weeks, at home or in a North London park such as Waterlow Park, Broomfield Park or Trent Country Park. Kaushik comes to you from Northwood, so the journey is his, not yours.

★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews

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The short answer

When and where should we have a maternity photoshoot in North London?

The best window is about 28 to 34 weeks, when the bump is clearly rounded and you are still comfortable. In North London the session can be at home, or outdoors in a park such as Waterlow Park in Highgate, Broomfield Park in Palmers Green or Trent Country Park near Cockfosters. Twins are usually planned nearer 28 weeks. Travel from Northwood is set out in writing before you book, and prices are given on request.

Google reviews

What new parents say

4.8 from 580+ Google reviews

Really appreciated the effort that went into the photoshoot and getting my baby to smile for the photos. Lovely photos to take home. Would recommend.

Priya M., Google review, 2026

Me and my heavily pregnant Fiancee visited here as a birthday gift from a friend of hers and had a LOVELY experience, Kaushik made us feel VERY welcomed and comfortable and we also had a good laugh. He was also very clear and precise with his instruction with regards to posing so we could get the best picture. Overall a very nice experience and would recommend.

Daniel T., Google review, 2017

…With 5 children aged between 2 and 7, the youngest of whom had just been woken up when we arrived and subsequently mainly wanted Mummy cuddles, it was very lucky for us that he was also very personable, and good at getting the little ones (and adults!) to smile/laugh naturally while looking at the camera!

Miri W., Google review, 2022

Read all the reviews on Google

Timing

Inside 28 to 34 weeks, matched to a North London season

Plan for about 28 to 34 weeks, when the bump is clearly rounded and you are still comfortable on your feet. One North London point shapes the date: the Hampstead Heath licence, including the two-hour slot at the Hill Garden and Pergola, runs Monday to Friday only, so if the Heath is your setting, choose a weekday inside that window and book a few weeks ahead.

The season then shapes the setting. If your 30th week falls in April or May, Queen's Wood near Highgate, an ancient oak and hornbeam wood with wood anemones and bluebells in spring, gives soft green light. A late summer or autumn date suits the open lawns and lakes of Trent Country Park, or the eighteenth-century ponds of Broomfield Park. A winter due date usually points to a session at home by the window.

Tell us the due date when you first get in touch, and we work back from it to a day that falls inside the window and suits the light and weather of that month. Pencil a second date close by in case the first one is wet.

Mother-to-be in a blush gown holding a pink gladiolus, studio maternity portrait

Outdoors

Spring-fed ponds, a duck pond bridge and a 273-acre estate

Waterlow Park on the Highgate hillside, given to the public in 1889 by Sir Sydney Waterlow as 'a garden for the gardenless', has three spring-fed ponds and views across the City. A flowing dress against that skyline, or beside the water on a still morning, is a classic maternity picture within about 11 miles of Northwood.

Golders Hill Park has a flower garden beside a duck pond with a small humpback bridge, and a water garden. It is managed as part of Hampstead Heath, where the City of London requires permission for professional photography. For the Hill Garden and Pergola nearby, the City offers a two-hour licence for portrait and lifestyle shoots with handheld equipment, Monday to Friday only, not on bank holidays.

On the north-eastern side, the Forty Hall Estate in Enfield is a 273-acre listed landscape with an ornamental lake, medieval fishing ponds, a walled garden and one of the oldest Cedar of Lebanon trees in England. Grovelands Park in Southgate has grounds landscaped by Humphry Repton around a John Nash mansion and a boating lake. Alexandra Park has a rose garden too, though Alexandra Palace asks every photographer to hold a permit there.

At home

A home session when a long walk is the last thing you want

Late in pregnancy a park walk can be tiring, and a home session takes that away. You sit down between set-ups, change outfits in your own bedroom and keep the pace gentle. A tall window in a Muswell Hill or Crouch End Edwardian house, or the big glass doors of a garden flat in Belsize Park, gives plenty of soft light for full-length bump portraits.

Home also brings in the details of waiting: the nursery you have painted, the cot made up, a row of tiny folded babygrows, a scan picture on the fridge. These quieter pictures sit well beside the posed portraits and tell the story of those last weeks before the birth.

Posing is guided gently throughout, so you never have to wonder where to put your hands. Colour and black and white versions both come in the gallery, and you choose favourites afterwards with no pressure to decide on the day.

Expectant couple seated together on the studio floor, maternity portrait

Wardrobe

Two outfits that show the bump, chosen for woodland greens or a pale wall

Bring something fitted and something flowing: bump-hugging pieces show the shape, while a long dress adds movement outdoors. Solid colours photograph more cleanly than prints. Among the greens and browns of Highgate Wood or Coldfall Wood, cream, dusty blue or terracotta stand out; against a pale wall at home, deeper colours give more contrast.

For a park session, wear comfortable shoes for the walk and change into anything delicate near the spot. At Trent Country Park the two main council car parks by the Cockfosters Road entrance are free, so the car can double as a changing room close to the lakes.

A partner or an older child in the frame adds warmth to the set. Coordinate rather than match: one shared colour across the family looks calmer than identical outfits. We are happy to advise on a palette before the day.

Getting there

Travel from Northwood to Highgate, Southgate and beyond

Hampstead is about 10.5 miles from Northwood, Highgate about 11.2, Muswell Hill about 11.6, Southgate about 12.3, Palmers Green about 13.3 and Enfield about 14.6. Kaushik drives to your home or meets you at the park, so you are not travelling late in pregnancy.

Travel from Northwood to your part of North London is quoted up front and set out in writing before you book. If you would rather a clean backdrop whatever the weather, a maternity session can also take place at the Northwood studio, two minutes from Northwood Hills station on the Metropolitan line.

A maternity session pairs naturally with a newborn session in North London in the first couple of weeks after the birth, and you can plan both together. For how the session works in general, see maternity photoshoots, or the North London overview for every other service.

Mother-to-be in a cream dress cradling her bump, studio maternity portrait

Planning

Planning around North London

01

Hill Garden weekday licence

A two-hour City of London licence covers small, handheld portrait and lifestyle shoots at the Hill Garden and Pergola, Monday to Friday only. Plan a weekday for it.

02

Primrose Hill needs a permit

Lifestyle photography in the Royal Parks, Primrose Hill included, needs a permit from the park office, each issued for up to ten people for one hour.

03

Alexandra Park permit

Alexandra Palace asks every photographer, amateur or professional, to hold a permit for Alexandra Park. Allow time to arrange it before the date.

04

Twins come earlier

If you are expecting twins, plan the session nearer 28 weeks, while posing is still comfortable.

05

Bluebells in late spring

Queen's Wood and the woods at Moat Mount carry bluebells and wood anemones in spring, a soft setting for a 30-week bump in April or May.

Outdoor settings for a maternity shoot in North London

These parks and gardens suit an outdoor maternity session in North London; check each one's source for opening hours and any photography rules.

  • Kilburn Grange Park: Kilburn Grange Park, a 3.2-hectare Camden open space in Kilburn beside Kilburn High Road, opened in 1913 and has a playground, basketball court, outdoor gym and tennis courts. 1
  • Friary Park: Friary Park in Friern Barnet is a 9-hectare Edwardian park opened to the public in 1910, owned by Barnet Council, with a playground, tennis courts, bowling green, skatepark, three redwood trees and a café in the Gothic Revival Friary House, and it has received a Green Flag Award. 2
  • Priory Park: Priory Park on Middle Lane (N8 8LN) has held a Green Flag Award since 2003, has a 1909 fountain of Lamorna granite and a dog-free Philosopher's Garden. 3
  • Woodside Park: Woodside Park on the High Road (N22 8YX) is set around George Meehan House, the old Wood Green Town Hall built as an Italianate private home around 1865, has a Braille garden and playground, and has held a Green Flag Award since 2016. 4
  • Alexandra Park: Alexandra Park covers 196 acres around Alexandra Palace, with more than 7,500 trees and panoramic views across the London skyline, and has received the Green Flag Award for 19 consecutive years. 5

Sources, facts checked October 2026

  1. Kilburn Grange Park - Wikipedia
  2. Friary Park - Wikipedia
  3. Priory Park - Haringey Council
  4. Woodside Park | Haringey Council
  5. 19 Years of Green Flags for Alexandra Park | Alexandra Palace

Town by town

Maternity sessions across North London

Each North London neighbourhood below shows its distance from Northwood, with a link to its local family photography page.

Good to know

Maternity photoshoots in North London: questions answered

Yes, with a permit. Primrose Hill is a Royal Park, and lifestyle photography there needs a permit from the park office, issued for up to ten people for one hour. The summit is one of London's six protected viewpoints, rising to almost 63 metres, so the skyline makes a striking backdrop. Belsize Park is about 11 miles from Northwood.

The City of London requires permission for professional photography on the Heath. Its two-hour weekday licence covers portrait and lifestyle sessions with handheld equipment at the Hill Garden and Pergola. Plan a weekday date if the Heath is where you want to be, or choose Waterlow Park or a Barnet park instead.

Between about 28 and 34 weeks. If your chosen park needs a permit, as Alexandra Park and Primrose Hill do, count back from that window and arrange the permit first, so the session is not squeezed into the last few weeks.

Yes. Partners and older children are welcome and often make the warmest pictures. Waterlow Park's ponds and paths give room for a toddler to wander between set-ups, and the session can start with the family pictures while everyone is fresh.

We talk it through with you the day before. The options are moving the session indoors at home or choosing another date inside your window, which is why it helps to keep a second date in mind when you book.

Yes. Plan the maternity session for 28 to 34 weeks and the newborn session for the first 5 to 14 days after the birth, both at home if you like. Mention both when you first get in touch so the timings can be planned together.

Prices are given on request by phone or WhatsApp on 07956 505383, depending on the session and the prints or albums you choose. Travel from Northwood to your neighbourhood is set out in your written quote before you book.

Every session is photographed by Kaushik Bathia himself, FBIPP and FMPA, holder of five European Kodak Gold Awards, who opened the Northwood studio in 2001.

28 to 34 weeks

Plan your maternity photoshoot in North London

Tell us your due date, your neighbourhood and whether you picture a park or your home, and we suggest a date inside the window.

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