Yana Skakun
Richmond TW9–TW10 · Richmond Park · Kew Gardens · Ham House · Thames Riverside · Surrey
Family Photographer
Richmond
Richmond Park — 650 free-roaming deer in 2,360 acres, the largest Royal Park in England. The Isabella Plantation's azaleas in May. Ham House on the Thames bank, its 17th-century garden perfectly restored. Kew's Palm House above its lake. Turner's view from Richmond Hill. Wildlife, history, and water — all within the same afternoon.
Richmond Park Royal · Kew Gardens UNESCO · Ham House NT · Petersham Meadows · Richmond Bridge · Thames Towpath · Bushy Park · Marble Hill · WWT Wetland Centre
Family Photography in Richmond — Deer Parks, World Heritage Gardens & The Thames
Richmond (Surrey TW9–TW10) — at the point where Surrey's greensand hills give way to the Thames floodplain, a Royal Park and a UNESCO World Heritage botanic garden within walking distance of each other — gives the most varied and most spectacularly accessible family photography landscape within the London area. The combination of Richmond Park's 650 free-roaming deer (the most remarkable proximity-to-wildlife experience available in any European capital), Kew's 326 acres of botanical diversity (the largest collection of living plants in the world, ranging from alpine to tropical), and Ham House's perfectly preserved 17th-century formal garden on the Thames bank gives a photographic range that takes a working week to exhaust.
For family photography specifically, Richmond gives qualities that more pastoral countryside lacks: the deer in Richmond Park are habituated to human presence and can be photographed from close range without specialist equipment, giving the images of child-and-deer proximity that are among the most emotionally resonant family portraits possible. The Isabella Plantation's azalea woodland in April–May gives colour and light quality available nowhere else within the London area. The Thames at Richmond Bridge (the oldest and most beautiful bridge in the London conurbation) gives a Georgian riverside setting that gives family portraits of both historical depth and natural warmth.
I cover family sessions across Richmond, Kew, Ham, Petersham, and Twickenham throughout the year. Richmond is approximately 70 miles from Cambridge via the A14 and M11/M25/A3 route.
Family Photography Locations
Richmond Family Photography Settings
Richmond Park — 650 Free-Roaming Deer
Richmond Park (Royal Parks, Richmond TW10, 2,360 acres — the largest Royal Park in both area and deer population, the largest enclosed space in any European capital city) — given to public access by Charles I in the 1630s as a royal hunting chase (the Richmond Park Act 1779 guaranteed public foot access in perpetuity after a legal challenge) — gives London's and Surrey's finest family photography setting: approximately 300 Red deer and 350 Fallow deer roam the park without enclosure, approaching visitors in the grazing areas (especially near Pembroke Lodge) to within 10 metres. The Isabella Plantation (the 40-acre ornamental woodland garden in the park's southwest, its azalea and rhododendron collection spectacular late April through May in the most vivid Surrey flower display), the ancient oaks of the Sidmouth Wood and Church Plantation (veteran pollards of 600–700 years, their hollow trunks and spreading crowns giving photography of primeval scale), and the Henry VIII's Mound (the hill giving a sightline to St Paul's Cathedral, protected by law since 1710) give a park of extraordinary diversity.
Kew Royal Botanic Gardens — UNESCO World Heritage Site
Kew Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew TW9, UNESCO World Heritage Site 2003, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew — the world's most important botanical institution, 326 acres on the south bank of the Thames between Richmond and Brentford) gives a family photography setting of unrivalled botanical and architectural variety: the Palm House (Decimus Burton and Richard Turner's 1844–1848 iron and glass structure, the most significant Victorian glasshouse in the world, its curved iron ribs enclosing tropical palms and tree ferns under 30 metres of glass), the Temperate House (Burton's 1859 temperate-climate glass pavilion, the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the world), the Great Pagoda (Sir William Chambers' 1762 ten-storey pagoda, now fully restored with golden dragons on each roof tier), the Treetop Walkway (18 metres above the ground in the woodland canopy), and the seasonal shows (the bluebells under the Queen Charlotte's Cottage Oak Wood in April; the cherry blossom avenue in March; the bamboo collection near the Waterlily House). For children: the Hive (the Wolfgang Buttress sculpture, a 17-metre high immersive sound and light installation) and the Children's Garden give specific child-engagement photography settings.
Ham House & Garden — The National Trust's Stuart Masterpiece
Ham House (Ham TW10, National Trust, immediately on the Thames bank 1.5 miles south of Richmond Bridge — the 1610 house extended in the 1670s by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, the most complete 17th-century house and garden in England) — gives the most historically intact and most atmospherically furnished Stuart period setting within London reach. The formal garden (restored to its 1670s layout from the Duchess of Lauderdale's accounts and surveys — the Cherry Garden with its clipped hedges and lavender, the Wilderness garden, the cut-flower garden, the kitchen garden) gives a formal 17th-century garden photography context of extraordinary quality. The house exterior (the brick south front with its stone quoins and parapet, the formal forecourt, the iron gate piers with stone flambeaux) gives architectural portrait settings of refined period character. The riverside walk (the Thames towpath passes through the Ham House estate, giving direct access from Richmond Bridge on foot or by bike).
The Thames Towpath & Richmond Bridge
The Thames towpath at Richmond (the south bank path from Twickenham Bridge west through Richmond and Ham to Kingston, the north bank from Richmond Bridge east through Twickenham to Eel Pie Island) gives continuous riverside family photography along one of the Thames' most scenic urban-to-suburban Thames reaches. Richmond Bridge (the 1777 five-arch stone bridge by James Paine and Kenton Couse — the oldest bridge over the Thames in the London conurbation, and widely considered the most beautiful) gives the definitive Richmond river photography: the bridge's warm Portland stone and Bath stone arches reflected in the still-water Thames, the riverside buildings above. Petersham Meadows (the flood-meadow immediately south of Richmond Bridge with its herd of cattle, the last remaining riverside flood meadow in inner London — managed as common meadow on the ancient strips-and-commons system) gives open meadow family photography with the Thames and the Richmond Hill beyond.
Richmond Hill — Turner's View
Richmond Hill (the high ground above Richmond, TW10, the viewpoint at the Star and Garter site and the Terrace Gardens — the only view in England protected by Act of Parliament, the Richmond, Ham and Petersham Open Spaces Act 1902) — gives the panorama that J.M.W. Turner painted repeatedly from this location: the silver loop of the Thames below Petersham, curving west to Twickenham and east to Kew, the flood meadows of Ham and Petersham in the middle distance, and the Surrey Hills rising to the southwest. The formal Terrace Gardens (the Victorian pleasure gardens cascading down the hillside from the Terrace Walk, with their rose beds, fountain basins, and herbaceous borders) and the avenue of horse-chestnuts along the Terrace Walk give formal portrait settings at golden hour with the Thames panorama directly below.
Bushy Park — The National Park with Chestnut Avenue
Bushy Park (Royal Parks, Teddington TW11, 1,100 acres — the second largest Royal Park in area, adjacent to Hampton Court Palace) — gives a deer park of comparable quality to Richmond Park (approximately 320 deer, a mix of Red and Fallow) with the specific addition of the Chestnut Avenue: the 1.16-mile-long avenue of horse-chestnuts and lime trees planted by Wren when designing the approach to Hampton Court, the chestnuts magnificent in full candle bloom in May (the Chestnut Sunday tradition — the first Sunday of May at peak flower) and in autumn orange and amber against the blue October sky. The Diana Fountain (the 1713 bronze Diana by Hubert le Sueur, at the centre of the avenue's rond-point) and the surrounding woodland garden (the Waterhouse Woodland Garden, planted with azaleas, magnolias, and flowering cherries, brilliant in April) give formal and informal photography settings.
The Wetland Centre & Barnes Bridge
WWT London Wetland Centre (Barnes SW13, 5 miles from Richmond Bridge via the A316 — the former Thames Water reservoir converted to a 105-acre wetland by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust 2000) gives the closest approximation to wild natural freshwater habitat available within the southwest London conurbation: shallow wetland pools, reed beds, mudflats, and the specific family photography appeal of close-range waterfowl — the ducks and geese approachable to arm's length by children, the otter holt (resident Eurasian otters), and the occasional Kingfisher on the reed bed fringes. Barnes Bridge (the 1895 lattice girder railway bridge, with its adjacent railway footbridge giving the Thames river walk from Barnes to Chiswick) gives the west London riverine character in a setting more intimate than the Richmond or Twickenham reaches.
Marble Hill House & Twickenham Riverside
Marble Hill House (Orleans Road TW1, English Heritage, on the Thames bank at Twickenham — the 1724–1729 Palladian villa of Henrietta Howard, the mistress of George II, the perfect small-scale English Palladian house in white stucco above a Thames-edge park) and the adjacent Orleans House Gallery (the 1720 riverside house, its spectacular Baroque Octagon Room, the only complete room surviving from the early house, now the Richmond Borough art gallery) give architectural portrait settings on the north bank opposite Richmond opposite Ham House, accessible by the Hammerton's Ferry (the hand-pulled chain ferry between Twickenham bank and Ham/Marble Hill bank, one of the last ferries operating on the Thames above London). The Twickenham riverside with its Georgian houses, the Eel Pie Island access, and the White Swan pub give a riverine character and photographic variety on the north bank.
Session Packages
Richmond Family Photography Pricing
Mini Session
45 minutes
£295
- 45 minutes in Richmond Park or Kew
- Perfect for 1–2 children or a couple
- 30+ edited images
- Private online gallery
Popular
Family Session
90 minutes
£495
- 90 minutes — one Richmond location
- Up to 6 family members
- 80+ edited images
- Private gallery — unlimited downloads
Extended Family
2.5 hours
£750
- 2.5 hours — two Richmond locations
- Deer park + riverside combination
- 150+ edited images
- Private gallery — unlimited downloads
- Print credit included
Richmond Family Photography FAQs
Where exactly should we go in Richmond Park for a family session?+
Richmond Park gives very different photography quality depending on time of day, season, and family interests: (1) Pembroke Lodge and the Henry VIII's Mound area (northwest park, near the Richmond Gate) give the most reliable deer proximity — the Fallow deer graze the open plateau near Pen Ponds most mornings, and the Richmond Gate area gives easy access for families with small children; (2) the Isabella Plantation (southwest park, Broomfield Hill Gate entrance) gives the bluebell and azalea photography in April–May — the plantation's enclosed-woodland character giving intimate light and stunning colour; (3) Pen Ponds (the two artificial ponds near the centre, the Red deer herd typically found on the ridge north of the ponds in morning) give water reflection and open sky photography; (4) the ancient oaks along the Sidmouth Wood track give the most dramatic ancient tree photography — the veteran pollards of 600–700 years giving children dwarfed by primeval trees. Morning sessions (arriving at Richmond Gate 1–2 hours after sunrise) give the best deer proximity and the most directional golden light.
Is Richmond Park safe during the deer rut?+
Richmond Park's deer rut (typically late September to mid-November for Red deer, the Fallow rut slightly later in October–November) gives spectacular photographic conditions — the Red deer stags displaying, calling, and competing create the most dramatic wildlife photography of any London park setting. However, safety requires proper distance: the Royal Parks guidelines recommend staying at least 50 metres from all deer year-round, and during the rut this distance increases to a minimum of 100 metres for Red stags. For family sessions during rut season, I photograph with long lenses from the safety distance, keeping children well behind me at all times. The rut-season family sessions give the additional context of dramatic wildlife behaviour as a backdrop to the portrait session; the deer are not a danger if the safety guidelines are observed correctly. I am experienced with rut-season Richmond Park photography and manage all safety considerations.
How far is Richmond from Cambridge?+
Richmond (Surrey TW9/TW10) is approximately 70 miles from Cambridge and 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes depending on traffic (the M25 and southwest London can be congested). Direct routing: A14 west, M11 south to Junction 8a, M25 west to Junction 10 (A3), A3 north to the Robin Hood Gate, Richmond Park entrance — this avoids central London entirely and gives direct access to Richmond Park's south gates. Richmond town centre (for Ham House and the Thames) is a further 10 minutes from Robin Hood Gate. Saturday mornings (departing Cambridge before 7am) give the best M25 conditions for reaching Richmond before any significant congestion.
Can we include Kew Gardens in a family session?+
Yes — Kew Royal Botanic Gardens (TW9, UNESCO WHS) is open daily year-round (closing in winter at 4pm, in summer at 9:30pm BST). Entry fees apply: adult £22.00, child (4–16) £9.00, under 4 free (2024 pricing; check kew.org for current rates). Professional photography on a commercial basis within Kew requires a Kew filming/photography permit, available through Kew's commercial activities team. For family portrait sessions at Kew, the permit process means pre-booking is essential. The most photogenic Kew settings for families are the Bluebell Wood (under the Queen Charlotte's Cottage oaks, late April — free-access zone), the Palm House exterior (the curved iron-and-glass structure photographed from the lake and parterre), and the Treetop Walkway (available extra-fee attraction). A Kew session works best as a standalone half-day rather than combined with Richmond Park.
What are the best months for a Richmond family session?+
Richmond gives outstanding photography in every season, but the peak quality months for family sessions are: (1) late April–May (Isabella Plantation azaleas, bluebells under the Kew oaks, spring deer calves born in May/June, evening light long enough for 7–8pm golden-hour sessions); (2) October (the autumn colour on the park's ancient oaks is among London's finest, the deer rut in full activity, the early-morning mist giving atmospheric park photography — morning sessions 8–10am give the maximum impact); (3) December–February (the bare-oak winter park gives a dramatically different aesthetic — the ancient pollard oaks without leaf are their most ancient-looking, the low winter sun gives long shadows across the grass, and the park has its lowest visitor numbers). The summer months (June–August) give the most consistent weather but also the highest visitor density — early morning sessions (7–9am) solve the visitor issue and give the most brilliant summer light.
Can we combine Ham House with a Richmond riverside session?+
Yes — Ham House and the Richmond riverside are ideal combination. The most elegant sequence: begin at Ham House (National Trust entry required; the garden gate from the riverside walk gives riverside approach photography; the forecourt and formal garden give the architectural portrait setting), then walk the river towpath northward to Richmond Bridge (approximately 20 minutes on foot, the path passing Petersham Meadows cattle and the boathouses), and conclude at the Richmond Bridge approach for riverside and bridge photography. This gives the 17th-century Ham House formality, the water meadow informality, and the Georgian bridge elegance in a connected 90-minute walk. The full Ham House to Richmond Bridge loop is one of the finest 2-mile Thames walks available in the London area.
Surrey and southwest London family photography
Get in Touch
Book Your Richmond Family Session
Tell me your children's ages and what draws you most — the deer in Richmond Park, Kew's azaleas, the Thames at Ham House — and I'll suggest the perfect time of day and season.