Check the gown hire first
A hired gown usually has to be handed back the same day as the ceremony, so a Surrey graduate should note the return time before booking, or extend the hire for a later session.
Graduation Photographer in Surrey
Cap and gown portraits for Surrey graduates and their families, on the day itself, on a later date at a Surrey landmark, or in the controlled light of the Northwood studio.
The short answer
Can I book a graduation photoshoot in Surrey?
Yes. Kaushik Bathia photographs graduation portraits for Surrey graduates in three ways: around the ceremony day, on a later date at a Surrey setting such as Runnymede or the Guildford Castle gardens, or at the Northwood studio. Sessions cover formal and relaxed frames, alone and with family. Prices are given on request by phone or WhatsApp, and for a location session travel is set out in your written quote.
Our usual session area is within about 20 miles of the studio. Further out in Surrey, sessions are by arrangement, with travel quoted in writing before you book.
Had such an amazing experience with Kaushik Bathia Photography 📸 The whole shoot felt super fun and comfortable, and the pictures turned out better than I could have imagined! Highly recommend if you want natural vibes and stunning shots.
I went the studio for the photoshoot and Mr Batia is proffessional, courteous ,efficient and cheerful. I love my photos and will come again. Highly recommend.
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!
On the day
Portraits around the ceremony, before the gown goes back
Hired gowns are usually returned on the day of the ceremony, and that one fact shapes most graduation photos. If you want pictures in the gown, either they happen on the day, in the gaps around the ceremony, or you arrange to keep the gown longer. Check your hire terms before you book anything else.
Photographs on the day are about the occasion: the graduate with the scroll, parents who drove a long way, grandparents in their best coats. They also come with crowds, queues and whatever the weather is doing, so keep the list short and the groups organised. Ask your university what it allows on its grounds and when, since rules for outside photographers differ between institutions and ceremony days.
Royal Holloway
Egham and the Founder's Building at Royal Holloway
Surrey's university setting with the strongest presence in Egham is Royal Holloway, whose Grade I listed Victorian Founder's Building, with its quadrangles, stands in 135 acres of parkland. For a graduate who studied there, its brickwork and courtyards are an obvious backdrop, but they are university grounds, so ask the university about photography by an outside photographer before planning a session there.
Egham is about 13 miles from Northwood, on the Waterloo to Reading line between Virginia Water and Staines. Runnymede, the Thames-side meadow between Egham and Old Windsor where Magna Carta is most likely to have been sealed in 1215, is close by and partly National Trust land, which makes it a natural second setting for law and history graduates in particular.
A later date
Gown portraits at a Surrey landmark after the ceremony
If your gown is yours, or you can keep the hire for longer, a separate date can be calmer than the ceremony itself. Family flying in can join without the ticket limits of the hall, and nobody is watching the clock for the next cohort. In Guildford, the castle gardens surround the 11th-century keep with floral displays, and Guildford Cathedral on Stag Hill gives a long, clean brick backdrop with views over the town.
Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, on the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit, suits an engineering graduate who wants something with character, and Reigate's Old Town Hall of 1728 on the High Street has the weight of a formal portrait. These are public and managed places, so check any terms for photography with the site, and expect to share the space with visitors.
The session
The studio session, and the trip in from Weybridge or Guildford
Every graduation session starts with the graduate alone in the classic formal portrait, then moves to relaxed frames and the family groups. The gown and hood are arranged before every frame, because the hood shows the colours of your subject and institution and slips easily. Keep the gown in its bag on the journey up from Surrey, since creased sleeves show in a formal frame.
The studio at 21 Joel Street in Northwood Hills is the most controlled option: no weather, no crowd and time to get the cap and gown right. From Weybridge or Esher it is about 16 miles; from Guildford, about 25. Bring the full set, cap, gown and hood, and anyone who is joining the photographs.
School leavers
Sixth-form and school leavers across Surrey
Graduation is not only a university event. Sixth-form and school leavers mark the end of school too, whether with a leavers' ball, a final assembly or simply a portrait before everyone scatters to university, an apprenticeship or work. A leavers' portrait can be taken at home in Surrey, in a local park, or at the studio, alone or with the friends who got you through exams.
For a group of friends from the same school in Epsom, Woking or Camberley, one session for several leavers is easier to arrange than several separate ones. Tell us how many people are coming and what the pictures are for, and Kaushik will suggest where and how long. For any session away from the studio, travel from Northwood is quoted up front and set out in writing before you book.
Planning
Planning around Surrey
Ask the university
Rules for outside photographers on campus differ by institution. If you studied at Royal Holloway in Egham, ask the university before planning pictures there.
Runnymede for a calmer setting
The National Trust meadows at Runnymede, beside Egham, give open space and a story of their own for a graduate portrait away from the ceremony crowds.
Woking's Martian tripod
A 7-metre Martian tripod sculpture has stood at one end of Crown Square in Woking since 1998, an offbeat backdrop for a literature graduate.
Leavers in a group
Several sixth-form leavers from one Surrey school can share a session; send the number and the purpose and the timing is planned to suit.
Graduation backdrops in Surrey
Surrey landmarks and open spaces with the character for a graduation portrait, and what to check before you choose one.
- Reigate Castle and Barons' Cave: Reigate Castle was built in the late 11th or early 12th century, most likely by William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey; a gatehouse folly was added around 1777, and the Barons' Cave tunnels beneath were first dug for silver sand. 1
- St John's Church, Redhill: St John's Church in Redhill was built in 1843 and has work by the architect John Loughborough Pearson. 2
- The Cotmandene: The Cotmandene in Dorking is common land with views across the town to Box Hill and Ranmore. 3
Sources, facts checked October 2026
Town by town
Graduation portraits across Surrey
Graduation and leavers' portraits are available on location in every Surrey town below, or at the Northwood studio; distances are from the studio.
- Staines-upon-Thames (12 miles from the studio)
- Egham (13 miles from the studio)
- Weybridge (16 miles from the studio)
- Esher (16 miles from the studio)
- Cobham (19 miles from the studio)
- Epsom (20 miles from the studio)
- Woking (20 miles from the studio)
- Leatherhead (21 miles from the studio)
- Camberley (23 miles from the studio)
- Guildford (25 miles from the studio)
- Dorking (26 miles from the studio)
- Reigate (27 miles from the studio)
- Redhill (27 miles from the studio)
Good to know
Graduation photography in Surrey: questions answered
Yes, subject to what your university allows. Kaushik can photograph the graduate and family around the ceremony, outside the venue or nearby. Ask the university about outside photographers on the day, and send the ceremony time and gown return time when you enquire.
Royal Holloway's Founder's Building is a Grade I listed Victorian building in 135 acres of parkland, and it is university property. Ask the university about photography there first; Runnymede, close by, is an alternative open setting.
Yes. If the gown is yours or you can keep the hire longer, a later session in a Surrey setting such as the Guildford Castle gardens, or in the studio, can be calmer and easier for family to attend.
Yes. Each session has frames of the graduate alone and with relatives, some formal and some relaxed. Tell us who is coming so there is time for each group.
Yes. Leavers' portraits can be taken at home, in a Surrey park or at the studio, on your own or with friends from school. A group session for several leavers can be arranged.
The studio on Joel Street in Northwood Hills is about 12 miles from Staines-upon-Thames, about 16 from Weybridge and about 25 from Guildford. Graduates without a car can take the Metropolitan line to Northwood Hills, two minutes on foot from the door.
A graduation price is a phone call or WhatsApp away on 07956 505383. For a session on location, travel from Northwood is shown separately in your written quote.
Graduation in Surrey
Graduating this year?
Tell us your ceremony date, your gown return time, where in Surrey you would like the photographs and who is joining, and we will reply with options and a written quote including any travel.
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