Outdoor sittings
Outdoor sittings on The Green in Croxley Green, with the Northwood studio in reserve for wet or windy days.
Portrait Photographer in Croxley Green
Unhurried portrait photography for Croxley Green, outdoors on The Green or among the bluebells of Croxleyhall Woods in spring, or under studio lighting in Northwood.
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Studio in Northwood HA6 · free consultation
Croxley Green and nearby
Natural, flattering portraits in Croxley Green
We meet on the green, walk while we talk, and start photographing before anybody has decided to be self-conscious. There is no arranging of limbs. You get small physical instructions, weight onto the back foot, chin forward, stop smiling for a second, and frames are taken continuously through all of it.
Editing is done to skin tone and contrast only; the shape of a face is left alone. A couple of frames go up on the screen during the sitting to confirm the light, and the rest stays unseen until the edit is done.
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What we offer
Portrait photography in Croxley Green
An hour, one or two people
One or two people, roughly an hour outdoors, quiet direction instead of posing, no wardrobe changes needed.
Profile and branding portraits
Edited for skin tone and contrast alone, supplied at full size plus crops made for profiles.
Local and experienced
A portrait sitting planned around Croxley Green light
Children and older sitters set the pace, and the session bends to whoever is in front of the camera. Giving the hands something to do and tipping the chin a little down are small corrections that fix much of what people dislike about their own pictures.
For couples we give light prompts rather than poses, which keeps the pictures natural. Sessions can be booked in our Northwood studio or on location, wherever you feel most comfortable.
Recent work
A gallery of recent portraits
Church, green, woodland and moor: portrait settings in Croxley Green
Outdoors in Croxley Green, a portrait comes down to where the sun sits at your chosen hour, what stands behind you and whether we can reach it easily with a reflector. The landmarks and open spaces below are described from published sources and would each give a different kind of light.
- Scotsbridge Scotsbridge on Park Road, Rickmansworth (WD3 1AT), includes a publicly accessible 500m stretch of the River Chess chalk stream, where water voles live in the banks and the council asks walkers to keep dogs on leads or under close control and not to enter the water. Source: Scotsbridge - Three Rivers District Council
- Rickmansworth Aquadrome Rickmansworth Aquadrome off Frogmoor Lane (WD3 1NB) is a local nature reserve around Batchworth Lake and Bury Lake where dogs are welcome but must stay out of the water, play areas and fenced picnic area and be on leads around the café. Source: Rickmansworth Aquadrome - Three Rivers District Council
- Barton Way greenspace The Barton Way greenspace in Croxley Green (WD3 3QA) has football pitches, a multi-use games area and a children's play area. Source: Barton Way - Three Rivers District Council
- Dickinson's paper mill In 1830 John Dickinson built Croxley Mill beside the Grand Junction (now Grand Union) Canal, where Croxley Script paper was made; Dickinson Square and Dickinson Avenue hold houses the company built for its workers, and the mill closed in 1980. Source: Croxley Green - Wikipedia
Good to know
Portrait Photographer in Croxley Green, FAQs
Yes. Groups suit The Green because there is room to stand well back, which keeps everybody the same apparent size instead of letting the front row loom. Give us the head count at the enquiry, since anything above about six needs a wider stretch of grass and a little longer on the day. Wear tones that sit together rather than matching outfits, and expect several arrangements rather than one.
Yes, and couple sittings can be held on location or at the studio. It runs outdoors on The Green, mostly walking and being talked at instead of posed, which is what stops people looking stiff. Flat shoes are worth bringing for grass. If one of you dislikes being photographed, tell us beforehand, because then we start with frames of the two of you together and leave singles until later.
Yes. Portfolio work is a speciality, and performers from Croxley Green are welcome at the studio. We would light the set several ways and change looks so the book has range, guiding expression and pose with casting in mind.
Allow about an hour and a quarter on the day. That covers meeting, walking to the part of The Green we want and photographing without hurrying anybody. Much shorter and it feels rushed; much longer and people tire and it shows. Editing happens afterwards, so the finished pictures follow once we have worked through them properly rather than being handed over on the spot.
Yes. We photograph portraits at every age, little ones included. Younger sitters get breaks and games whenever they need them. One child, a pair of siblings or a bigger group, we keep it playful so the pictures come out warm.
Serving Croxley Green
A portrait photographer near Croxley Green
Portrait sittings are available across Hertfordshire, and Croxley Green (WD3) is one of the places we can meet you. It sits close to Chorleywood and Mill End, which we cover too. A studio sitting in Northwood is always an option if the weather is against us.
At 1,207.5 metres, The Green is claimed as England's longest village green, which leaves plenty of room to find a quiet stretch for a sitting. Dickinson Square and Dickinson Avenue keep the houses John Dickinson's company built for workers at Croxley Mill, built in 1830 beside the canal and closed in 1980, where Croxley Script paper was made. For relaxed outdoor photographs, Croxley Common Moor is one option, and The Green, with All Saints' Church standing on it, gives a village backdrop.
More in Croxley Green
More photography services in Croxley Green
The same studio, experience and personal care apply to every service we offer in Croxley Green. Explore the rest: We also cover portrait photography across Hertfordshire, including Maple Cross, Watford, Radlett, Sarratt, Rickmansworth and Oxhey.
The Green is the reason a Croxley Green sitting does not need a second location, and it is the length of it that does the work. A green running as far as this one lets us stand well back and photograph down it, and the gap between camera and subject is what pushes a background out of focus and stops a hedge line competing with a face. Cramped spaces force a wide lens close in, which stretches whatever is nearest to it, usually a nose or a hand. Here there is room to do the opposite. A tree line beside the grass matters for a separate reason: it gives a continuous edge of shade with open sky in front of it, which is the most forgiving light available outdoors. Standing a pace inside that shade, facing out, puts soft light onto the face and keeps direct sun off the top of the head. Season swings this hard. With the trees bare, light reaches the grass all day and the whole green photographs pale and open, which suits darker clothing and holds detail in it. In full leaf the same ground goes patchy, and dappled light across a face is the one fault that cannot be corrected afterwards, so from late spring we book the last hour instead, once the sun sits low enough to come in under the canopy rather than through it. Wear mid tones. Green on green flattens a person into the background, and pure white against grass becomes a bright patch that the eye lands on before it finds anybody's face.
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Guides
Portrait guides for Croxley Green
Before your portrait sitting, these journal guides may help.
Choosing clothes for a portrait on The Green or indoors
Read the guide
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documentary, warm & unhurried
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Photographer in Croxley Green
every service we offer in Croxley Green
At the studio
Visiting the studio from Croxley Green
Our studio at The Broadway, 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6 1NU is around 4 miles from Croxley Green, and a portrait session in the village carries no travel charge. Portrait sessions there are booked ahead, passport and ID pictures are also taken, and printing, framing, restoration and scanning are done in the building. Portrait sittings can be arranged by phone during studio hours, Mon to Sat 10:30 to 18:00 and Sun 13:00 to 18:00.
Portrait sittings are taken by Kaushik Bathia himself, FBIPP and FMPA, a five-time European Kodak Gold Award winner who has worked from the Northwood studio since 2001.
Based in London
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