Outdoor sittings
Outdoor sittings beside the Palace of Westminster, or in St James's Park when the wind is up.
Portrait Photographer in Westminster
Portraits in Westminster that look like you, made beside the Thames, in St James's Park, with gentle direction and flattering light.
★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews
We come to you · outdoor portraits by Westminster's landmarks · free consultation
Westminster and nearby
Portrait sittings by the Thames and in St James's Park
- 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 Westminster: Your home or garden, or outdoors at St James's Park, Victoria Tower Gardens or The Green Park. We travel from Northwood, about 14 miles away. The Northwood studio is there too, if you ever prefer it.
- To book: Ring or WhatsApp 07956 505383, or leave your details in the form below.
A sitting takes ninety minutes or so, and we spend it working through several positions instead of setting up once. That puts variety into the backgrounds without anybody having to hold still while a light stand is adjusted, and it leaves time to stop thinking about the lens.
Afterwards you go through a private gallery and mark what you want kept. Those frames are finished by hand and delivered as a print file and a smaller web file. Nothing is retouched into a different face.
Every kind of sitting, from individual and couple portraits to graduation and milestone shoots, is on our portrait photography near Westminster page.
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My two sisters and I ‘ the golden girls’ had a great, hilarious photo session. Kaushik is very professional and took some amazing photos especially when we were laughing so much trying to get up from the floor. Can’t wait to see ‘air brushed’ version. Well at 75 you need a little help. Definitely recommend Kashuik. He enjoyed our craziness!
Really pleased with my photos. Kaushik is very professional and took lots of picture for us to choose from. Our shoot was comfortable and not too long. I would highly recommend him.
Kaushik did a great job in taking both formal and informal portrait photos. He is an enthusiastic professional photographer who made me feel at ease. The photographs were excellent and have been greatly admired.
What we offer
Portrait photography in Westminster
One decision first
One decision first: the landmark either fills the frame or stays out of it altogether.
Couples and pairs
Individuals and couples, an hour and a half, hand-finished frames chosen from a private gallery.
Why choose us
Calm, relaxed portrait photography
Retouching stays light, removing distractions while keeping your skin, lines and character.
A personal-branding sitting gives a varied set of images for your website, profiles and social channels. Actor and model portfolios cover a range of looks and expressions, from clean commercial frames to characterful ones.
Recent work
Individual, couple and group portraits
Westminster landmarks and gardens for an outdoor portrait
For a portrait with Westminster's Gothic stonework or Royal Park greenery behind you instead of a studio backdrop, consider the places below. Follow the link under each note to read the source for yourself. Travel from Northwood is set out in your written quote before you book.
- Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben). The clock tower known as Big Ben, completed in 1859 to a design by Augustus Pugin and Charles Barry, was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee; its Great Bell weighs 13.7 tonnes. 1
- Victoria Tower Gardens lies between the Thames and the Houses of Parliament and holds Rodin's sculpture The Burghers of Calais and the Buxton Memorial, which marks the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. 2
- The Green Park, created by Charles II in 1660, has no formal flower beds, only mature trees, grassland and wildflower meadows, and holds three war memorials including the Canada Memorial and the Bomber Command Memorial. 3
- The Palace of Westminster, rebuilt to Charles Barry's Gothic Revival design from 1840, has been Grade I listed since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. 4
Sources
Good to know
Portrait Photographer in Westminster, FAQs
Yes, and gladly. A degree is hard earned, so graduation portraits are made with warmth, in cap and gown if you like, and Victoria Tower Gardens, between the Thames and the Houses of Parliament, is one outdoor option. Sit alone or with family, then choose prints, frames or an album.
Either. In Westminster we can meet you outdoors, near the Palace of Westminster or in St James's Park. Sittings can also happen indoors where you live in Westminster. Say which suits you when the date is fixed.
We do, and love it. Children of any age are welcome, and we let them set the pace. A single child, siblings or a wider group: the mood stays playful so the pictures feel natural.
Yes, happily. A session around Westminster can combine individual portraits with a few couple or group frames, and that slots easily into the time. Tell us beforehand who is coming, and we will plan light and poses for everyone.
Yes, couples are very welcome. Two people give more to work with: hands, a height difference, the two of you walking. In Westminster we would start beside the river, where the water opens up the sky and the light comes in sideways, then move into St James's Park if you want a background nobody will recognise. Allow an hour and a half.
Serving Westminster
A portrait photographer near Westminster
Westminster, roughly 14 miles from Northwood, is one of the London boroughs where we offer outdoor portrait sittings. It sits close to Camden and Kensington and Chelsea, which we cover too. Travel from Northwood is set out in your written quote before you book, whichever setting you choose for your portrait.
The Palace of Westminster, rebuilt to Charles Barry's Gothic Revival design from 1840, has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, and its clock tower, known as Big Ben, was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012. Westminster station, in zone 1 on the Circle, District and Jubilee lines, is a convenient place to meet before a riverside sitting. For relaxed outdoor photographs around Westminster, St James's Park is one option, and The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben beside the River Thames is a well-known local backdrop.
More in Westminster
More photography services in Westminster
The same photographer, experience and personal care apply to every service we offer in Westminster. Explore the rest: we also cover portrait photography across London, including Kingston upon Thames, Waltham Forest, Kensington and Chelsea, Sutton, Enfield and Newham.
The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben are too widely known to sit quietly behind a face. Put the tower over a shoulder and a viewer reads the building first and the person second, and what has been made is a holiday picture with somebody standing in it. There are two honest ways round that and no comfortable middle. Either the landmark is the subject, the frame opens right out, the tower goes in whole and the sitter is deliberately small against it; or the landmark is excluded and the Thames does the work instead. A river is a break in the roofline as wide as the water, so a face standing near it takes light from the side and from a long way off, rather than straight down from overhead as it does in a street with buildings on both sides. That is why the ground beside the water keeps working after the streets behind it have gone harsh. Season decides more here than any forecast. In December the sun never climbs far, so side light runs the whole length of a short afternoon. By June that same stretch is lit from above for hours at a time, and the sensible booking is an early one, or else the hour before dusk. Clothing follows the stone, which is pale, and the water, which on a bright day is paler still. A white shirt becomes the lightest thing in the picture and pulls attention down to the chest. Mid greys, navy, deep green, rust: tones that sit below the background rather than above it.
Headshot Photography in Westminster
LinkedIn, corporate & acting
Family Photography in Westminster
newborn to multi-generation
Commercial Photography in Westminster
events, team & product
Pet Photography in Westminster
characterful pet portraits
Asian Wedding Photography in Westminster
Hindu, Sikh, Gujarati, Muslim & Tamil
Sikh Wedding Photography in Westminster
Anand Karaj, mehndi & baraat
Guides
Portrait guides for Westminster
Reading from our journal to help you plan a portrait sitting by the Thames.
Colours and clothes for a portrait by the Thames
Read the guide
Wedding Photography in Westminster
documentary, warm & unhurried
Hindu Wedding Photography in Westminster
mandap, pheras & saptapadi
Muslim Wedding Photography in Westminster
the nikah, mehndi & walima
Photographer in Westminster
every service we offer in Westminster
How it works
Meeting you by the river or in the park
We travel to Westminster from Northwood, about 14 miles away, so we bring the shoot to you. Portraits in Westminster are usually made outdoors, by the river or in St James's Park, with lighting brought when needed.
Each portrait sitting is photographed by Kaushik Bathia, fellow of the BIPP and the MPA and winner of five European Kodak Gold Awards, who has worked from Northwood since 2001.
Beyond Westminster, see portraits across Central London. For every other service, see photography across Central London.
Popular sessions
Portrait sessions for Westminster come in many forms: couples and engagement photoshoots, graduation portraits near Westminster, model and actor portfolios, birthday photoshoots and Christmas portraits.
Based in London
Book your Westminster shoot
Tell us what you'd like to capture in Westminster and we'll send availability, ideas and pricing.