Dark coats done properly
Dog sessions on the open parkland at St Albans, timed to the coat rather than to the diary.
Pet Photographer in St Albans
Pet photography in St Albans for dogs, cats and small animals, at home, in the city's parks, with treats, play and time for the animal to settle.
★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews
Dog sessions in St Albans parks, pets at home · free consultation
St Albans and nearby
What happens during a St Albans pet session
- Included in the session: A patient, treat-friendly session where your pet sets the pace, with or without you in the frame, and the chosen portraits finished as prints, framed pieces or canvases if you want them on the wall.
- Where we photograph in St Albans: Your home or garden, or a walk at Verulamium Park, Clarence Park or Bricket Wood Common. We travel from Northwood, about 11 miles away. A sitting at the Northwood studio is also possible if you would rather.
- How to book: Ring or WhatsApp 07956 505383, or leave your details in the form below.
We photograph from the ground, kneeling, because a dog seen from standing height looks like a dog seen by a stranger. Where recall is a matter of opinion, a line keeps things honest and is taken out afterwards.
Sessions run short by intent, and we finish early if the dog has plainly had its fill rather than pushing on for a list. You get the edited set, in colour and mono, plus one frame worked up for printing large. Say beforehand if the dog is reactive, and the ground gets chosen around that.
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…Kaushik has photographed our family on a number of occasions, and the experience has always been fantastic. Not only is the time that he spends with us very enjoyable, it is also a very relaxed experience as Kaushik manages to take phenomenal photos of you and your family in your everyday environment. Therefore, the photos always look very natural and relaxed.
We had our family portraits done many years ago with Kaushik Bathia and we loved them so we have now returned again this time with new additions to the family. On all the occasions we went Kaushik Bathia has taken care of everyone and made everyone laugh and smile especially the children in order to get the best photos.
We had a great experience with our family photoshoot. The photographer made everyone feel relaxed and comfortable, which really shows in the final photos. The images are natural, well-captured, and beautifully edited. We’re all really happy with the results and would highly recommend.
What we offer
Pet photography in St Albans
Cats and small animals
Cats, rabbits and elderly dogs photographed in their own home, in short spells, entirely at their own speed.
At the animal's level
Kneeling, close and quiet: pictures taken at the height of the animal rather than looking down at it.
Local and experienced
A pet photographer covering St Albans
We watch each animal for signs of stress and give it a rest before it needs one.
Two or three pets from one home can share a session, photographed separately and together, and a helper per animal makes the group picture much easier. We photograph the animal alone and then with you, because the pictures with its people are the ones most often wanted later.
Recent work
Our favourite pet portraits
St Albans parks and open ground for dogs
For a St Albans dog session we would look for ground where your pet can roam safely, well away from traffic, with room for a long line if recall is unreliable. Each place below in and around St Albans is summarised from a published source. Travel from Northwood is set out in your written quote before you book.
- Bricket Wood Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest of about 78.5 hectares between the M25 and M1, with ancient woodland, hornbeam coppice, wet heath and ponds, a free car park and dogs welcome, managed by St Albans City and District Council. 1
- Heartwood Forest at Sandridge, about three miles north of St Albans, is a 346.72-hectare Woodland Trust site on former farmland bought in 2008 where over half a million native trees have been planted, and dogs are welcome. 2
- Nomansland Common Green Flag. Nomansland Common, which lies between Sandridge and Wheathampstead on the borders of Heartwood Forest, won a Green Flag Award for the first time and the council describes it as a popular spot for walkers and dog owners. 3
- Nomansland Common, 52 hectares of heathland, meadow and woods between St Albans and Wheathampstead owned by the Althorp estate and Wheathampstead Parish Council, is a very popular recreational area for dog walkers. 4
Sources
Good to know
Pet Photographer in St Albans, FAQs
Most animals with fur, feathers or hooves. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and horses can all be photographed in St Albans, at home or outdoors. For anything more unusual, ask us before you book. Each animal gets the time it needs, whatever the species.
Most dogs will not, and that is fine. We let an energetic dog play and take the pictures in the pauses between games. In a space the size of Verulamium Park, 175 acres, there is room for action frames of a dog mid-run too. A good portrait does not depend on a dog holding still.
Yes. It is often the session most worth booking. An old dog is photographed at home in St Albans, on its own bed and its own floor, with no journey to endure. We keep it to twenty minutes or so, work low, and let the dog lie down for most of them. Stiff hips are no obstacle to a picture. Standing to order is.
Quickly. Editing starts straight after the session, so you are not left waiting. When the gallery is ready you can share it with family and choose favourites, and we will help you decide on prints, frames or canvases.
An edited gallery of your pet as it really is, in colour and black and white. Prints, frames and canvases can all be ordered from that gallery. Galleries are turned around quickly, so the wait is short.
Serving St Albans
A pet photographer near St Albans
St Albans is about 11 miles from us, with open parkland for lively dogs and quiet homes for older or nervous animals. It sits close to Radlett and Abbots Langley, which we cover too. We cover St Albans and the wider Hertfordshire area for pet photography, on location, with travel from Northwood set out in your written quote before you book.
Clarence Park, a 25-acre Victorian-style park between the main railway line and Hatfield Road, is a smaller option than Verulamium Park for a dog session. Verulamium Park covers 175 acres beside the remains of the Roman city, so there is space to find a quieter corner for a nervous dog.
More in St Albans
More photography services in St Albans
The same photographer, experience and personal care apply to every service we offer in St Albans. Explore the rest: we also cover pet photography across Hertfordshire, including Maple Cross, Oxhey, Watford, Rickmansworth, Abbots Langley and Radlett.
For a dog session the deciding fact is the coat rather than the location. A black dog, or a dark brindle one, needs light arriving low, so that it rakes along the fur and shows the shoulder, the ribs, the line of the jaw; with the sun overhead on a summer afternoon the same dog collapses into an outline and no editing recovers what was never recorded. Verulamium Park is largely open, so overhead sun there has nothing to soften it, and dark dogs get booked into the first or the final stretch of daylight. That is not a preference, it is the window in which the picture exists at all. A cream or white coat fails in the opposite direction under exactly the same sun: the lit flank burns out, leaving glare where the fur should be. Ground is the second variable. Low land beside the lakes stays soft, and a dog running hard on soft ground comes back with mud up the legs and the belly, which photographs as a two-tone animal and costs longer to clean on screen than it did in the bath. Following a wet week, the drier ground back from the water is the better run. Where recall is a matter of opinion, a line keeps the dog inside the frame and disappears in the edit. Older and nervous animals are a different job altogether. Those are done at home, on the floor they already sleep on, in short spells, and they end at the animal's say-so, not on a schedule of ours.
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Guides
Pet guides for St Albans
Some journal reading for St Albans owners before a session with their dog, cat or rabbit.
Relaxed Sessions That Feel Natural
Read the guide
What to wear when you join your pet in the pictures
Read the guide
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Photographer in St Albans
every service we offer in St Albans
How it works
How we work in St Albans
We travel to St Albans from Northwood (about 11 miles) rather than asking you to travel to us. Out in St Albans we would carry a portable light and a long lens, so a dog can run in the park or a cat can stay on its favourite chair.
Every pet session is photographed by Kaushik Bathia, FBIPP and FMPA, who has worked from Northwood since 2001 and holds five European Kodak Gold Awards.
Beyond St Albans, see pet photography across Hertfordshire. For every other service, see photography across Hertfordshire.
Popular sessions
Pets are welcome at a Christmas family photoshoot too, and the whole family can be photographed together in a family session.
Based in London
Book your St Albans shoot
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