Portrait Photographer in St Albans
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We come to you · Portraits outdoors in St Albans · free consultation
St Albans and nearby
How a portrait sitting in St Albans runs
- What the session includes: A conversation about the style you like before the camera comes out, unhurried direction during the sitting, then a private gallery and natural retouching on the portraits you choose; prints, frames and albums can be ordered afterwards.
- Where we photograph in St Albans: Your home or garden, or outdoors 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.
- To book: Use the form at the end of this page, or call or WhatsApp 07956 505383, and we will arrange a date and place in St Albans.
A location sitting takes ninety minutes or thereabouts, rather less indoors. Anything needing daylight gets done first and anything that does not is held back, so one grey half hour cannot spoil a whole booking. You look at frames on the camera screen as they happen, which means no surprise waiting for you at the end.
The finished work reaches you as a private online gallery: full resolution for printing, plus a smaller set for posting. Retouching takes out what was temporary on the day and leaves the rest alone.
Our main page for a portrait photographer near St Albans sets out every session type and what each sitting includes.
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Local and experienced
A portrait photographer covering St Albans
If you are nervous, it helps to have no mirror in view. We show you the frames after a run rather than mid-pose, so you are not watching yourself.
A graduation set can include the gown alone, the gown with family, and a frame without it, since the graduate matters as much as the robes. Most sittings cover several looks, changing backdrop and light, and outfit if you want.
Recent work
Recent portraits and personal branding
St Albans backdrops for an outdoor portrait
For a portrait with a sense of place rather than a studio backdrop, these parks and landmarks in and around St Albans offer historic buildings and open grass. A source is linked after every note. Travel from Northwood is set out in your written quote before you book.
- Clarence Park is a 25-acre Victorian-style park in the heart of St Albans between the main railway line and Hatfield Road, and it is home to St Albans Cricket Club with St Albans City FC's ground on its edge. 1
- Kingsbury Watermill on the River Ver, dating from about 1570, is a Grade II listed building that has housed The Waffle House restaurant since 1978. 2
- Clarence Park formal garden. The formal part of Clarence Park covers about 3.6 hectares and keeps most of its original Victorian features, having lost only its wood and heather-thatched bandstand. 3
- Verulamium Park covers 175 acres close to the city centre, holds Green Flag and Green Heritage Site awards, and stands on the Roman city of Verulamium, whose walls and the outline of the London Gate can still be seen. 4
Sources
Good to know
Portrait Photographer in St Albans, FAQs
Yes. We vary the lighting and looks so the book shows real range, and direct expressions and poses with casting briefs in mind.
Yes. Sitters of any age are welcome, and with children we slow down and let them set the pace. Singles, couples and groups all get a relaxed session, which is what makes the pictures feel natural.
Yes. Sittings in St Albans happen outdoors, and the month usually decides which. Between November and February low sun works sideways across open grass for the whole afternoon, which is the kindest light of the year. In midsummer we go early or wait for the last hour instead. Tell us roughly when you want it and we will propose the time of day.
It depends on the type of sitting and on what you order afterwards, from digital files alone to prints, frames, canvases or albums. Tell us what you are planning, a branding set or a graduation portrait, and we will send a written quote.
Yes, and they are among the happiest sittings we do. Graduation marks real hard work, so we photograph it with warmth, in cap and gown if you wish. You can sit alone or with family, and choose prints, frames or an album afterwards.
Serving St Albans
A portrait photographer near St Albans
St Albans is about 11 miles from Northwood, and the city centre offers several recognisable backdrops for an outdoor sitting. It sits close to Radlett and Abbots Langley, which we cover too. We cover St Albans and the wider Hertfordshire area for portrait photography, on location, with travel from Northwood set out in your written quote before you book.
The Clock Tower in the Market Place, completed by 1405, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the only surviving medieval town belfry in England.
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 portrait photography across Hertfordshire, including Chorleywood, Abbots Langley, Maple Cross, Carpenders Park, Hemel Hempstead and Bushey.
St Albans offers a sitting two backgrounds that ask for opposite clothing, and settling which one you want is most of the preparation. Rust, camel and tan sink into it and stop reading as clothes at all; a cool grey, a deep blue or an unbleached white keeps its edge. Verulamium Park inverts the rule, because over 100 acres of grass puts one colour on every side of the frame: mid greens on a sitter go quiet, and a black coat on sunlit grass turns into a flat shape with a face floating above it. Season decides the hours before the forecast gets a vote. The park is largely open, so in June and July the sun arrives from almost directly overhead, lighting the crown of the head and starving the eyes, and a sitting then belongs early or in the last hour. From November the sun stays low and crosses the grass sideways for an entire afternoon, which is the easiest light of the year here and the reason a cold booking is worth the inconvenience. One more consequence follows from open ground on that scale: wind gets an unbroken run at it. Hair blown across a face cannot be repaired afterwards, so a hair tie in a pocket does more good than a spare top, and on a genuinely blowing day we put a tree line at our backs and work with it.
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Guides
Portrait guides for St Albans
From outfits to posing nerves, journal pieces to read before a portrait in St Albans.
What to wear to a St Albans portrait session
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
For St Albans, about 11 miles from Northwood, we work on location. For a portrait that could mean Verulamium Park, the streets around the Clock Tower or your own home, and we bring the lighting with us.
Kaushik Bathia, FBIPP and FMPA, photographs each portrait sitting himself, working from Northwood, where he set up in 2001 and holding five European Kodak Gold Awards.
Popular sessions
Portrait sessions for St Albans come in many forms: couples and engagement photoshoots, graduation portraits near St Albans, model and actor portfolios, birthday photoshoots and Christmas portraits.
Based in London
Book your St Albans shoot
Tell us what you'd like to capture in St Albans and we'll send availability, ideas and pricing.