STORY | AMSTERDAM

LinkedIn Photos Along the Canals for a New Consultancy

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 3 November 2026

Laughing man in a black blazer striding along a canal by a bridge railing, people in a boat below, during a spring session for new LinkedIn photos

Matthias needed new LinkedIn photos along the canals of the city he calls home. He had just left a senior role at a global firm to start his own strategy consultancy in Amsterdam. His old profile photo no longer fit that new chapter.

Originally from Berlin, he has lived in Amsterdam for years, and we met at the canals near his favorite café. The Headshot Photoshoot, one of the sessions in my business photography in Amsterdam, covers exactly this: portraits for LinkedIn, a company website or the press.

Old Gables Along the Canal

We started on a canal bridge, with a row of old gabled houses across the water. The sky was a soft, even gray, and the trees on the quay were fresh green. Matthias wore a black blazer over a gray band-collar shirt with fine stripes, dark pinstriped trousers and leather boots.

He told me he never knows what to do in front of a camera. I hear that a lot, so for headshots I give clear, simple directions. Nobody has to figure it out alone.

Man in a black blazer and gray band-collar shirt on a canal bridge, old gabled houses and a tree in fresh spring green across the water

Relaxed, he leans on a black iron railing beside a parked bike, an arched bridge with lamps and tall gabled houses behind him — A canal bridge with old gabled houses across the water

LinkedIn Photos Along the Canals

From there, we walked slowly along the water. We stopped wherever a railing, a bridge or a tree gave him something to lean on. While we talked about his new company, his shoulders dropped a little more at every stop.

Glancing back over his shoulder, one hand on a canal railing, a young man in black with brick houses and green trees behind, for LinkedIn

Hands in his pockets, a man in a black blazer and pinstriped trousers stands by a railing along the canal, leafy trees on the far quay

Man leaning on a railing along a quiet canal with an arched bridge, brick facades and spring trees, a full-length LinkedIn photo

Standing on a bridge with folded hands, a man looks into the lens, the canal and moored boats stretching behind him, a calm LinkedIn photo

For LinkedIn photos along the canals, I look for quiet spots just off the busiest bridges, so we can work at an easy pace. On one bridge, the canal stretched out behind him, lined with boats and trees. He stood still, hands folded, and looked straight into the lens. Calm, direct and friendly: just right for the top of a profile.

Close Headshots by Brick and Leaves

The profile photo itself needed to be closer: head and shoulders, a clear look into the lens. By a stone stoop next to a wall of green leaves, he crossed his arms with a hint of a smile.

Arms crossed and a slight smile, a man stands beside a stone stoop and a wall of green leaves, pink and red flowers in the foreground

Waist-up portrait of a man with crossed arms in a black blazer and gray band-collar shirt with black buttons, green leaves behind

Then a dark brick wall and the soft green of the leaves became plain backgrounds. Against them, nothing pulls the eye away from his face, which is what a small profile photo needs.

Head-and-shoulders portraits for the profile

A Lighter Look for the Website

At a quiet corner with a red-brick house and a row of bollards, we made two versions: one in the blazer, one in just the gray shirt. The second one now greets visitors on the About page of his website.

Man in a black blazer walking toward the lens on a cobbled sidewalk with black bollards, a red-brick corner house and leafy branches

Without the blazer, in a gray shirt and dark trousers, a man stands with his hands in his pockets by a bollard on a quiet cobbled street — One corner, with and without the blazer

A Stoop to End On

Man sitting on the stone steps of a house beside a black door with a brass mail slot and a pot of white hydrangeas, a dark brick wall

We finished on the stone steps of an old house, beside a black door and a pot of white hydrangeas. He sat down, rested his arms on his knees and laughed at something I said. It was the most relaxed frame of the walk.

When his gallery arrived, he put his new profile photo online that same evening. Never done it before? LinkedIn explains how to add or change your profile photo in a few steps.

His photos were for his company, so the Headshot Photoshoot was the right choice. For portraits of yourself rather than for a business, a portrait photoshoot suits you better.

Need LinkedIn photos along the canals for a new company of your own? Discover how my business photography in Amsterdam works.