STORY | AMSTERDAM

Summer Maternity Photos by the Canals

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 26 October 2026

Expecting mother in a coral dress holding an ultrasound print against her belly, her partner beside her by a summer canal

Early summer on the canals: trees in full leaf, soft clouds, boats moored along the water. A couple expecting a baby came to the city center for summer maternity photos by the canals, with a coral dress, a white linen shirt and two small things they had brought along: an ultrasound print and a pair of tiny white sneakers.

Maternity sessions are part of my family photoshoots in Amsterdam, and I plan them around comfort: a short route with places to pause, steps to sit on and shade when the sun breaks through.

A Quiet Corner by the Water

Our maternity session began where the city feels slow, along one of Amsterdam’s canals: trees along the water, a narrow house with a black door and a bicycle leaning against the railing. Wide frames first, so the place could tell where we were, with the two of them small in it. Then closer.

Couple embracing on a canal bridge, his hands on her belly, trees in full summer leaf along the water — Early summer: trees in full leaf along the water

Couple small on the steps of a canal house, a tree-lined canal and a moored boat in front during their maternity session

Couple at a canal house door with a black bicycle by the railing, her coral dress bright against the gray facade

The News in Their Hands

The ultrasound print became the heart of these maternity photos. She held it against the coral dress, he held it up like a trophy, and both of them laughed every time. I didn’t ask for that; it happened because they were relaxed, and my job was to be ready.

The tiny sneakers came out next. Held together over her belly, they said more than any pose could.

Close-up of an ultrasound print held against a coral dress, her hand and his fingers framing the image

Smiling man in a white shirt raising one fist and holding the ultrasound print, a street lamp and canal houses behind

Couple holding a pair of tiny white baby sneakers over her belly, a canal bridge softly blurred behind them

Maternity Photos Up Close

Some photos are just about the two of them and the baby on the way: hands shaping a heart, his hand on her belly, a quiet moment sitting among the flowers by the water. I keep these simple, with soft light and nothing in the frame that pulls the eye away.

Close-up of hands shaping a heart on a pregnant belly in a coral dress with a gold ring belt

Couple smiling at the camera, his hand on her belly and hers on top, green trees by the canal in summer

Maternity portrait of a woman sitting by pots of flowers next to a canal, her coral dress spread out on the stone

A Summer Walk Along the Canals

Between the close-ups we walked: hand in hand across a bridge, around an old street lamp, down a street where he kept clowning around until she laughed. Movement keeps summer maternity photos by the canals light: it gives them the feeling of a real day out rather than a list of poses.

Woman in a coral dress walking across a cobbled street while her partner spreads his arms in the distance

Laughing couple on a cobbled street, he gestures playfully while she walks beside him in her coral dress

Couple walking hand in hand across a canal bridge, a tour boat below and leafy trees lining the water in summer

Couple standing by an old street lamp on a canal bridge, red-brick houses and green trees behind them

Couple playing around an old street lamp, each holding the post with one arm out, on a canal corner in summer

Couple posing on a canal bridge with black railings, a row of gabled houses behind them during a summer maternity session

One Last Maternity Photo

We finished on the steps of a canal house, the two of them sitting close while the city carried on around them. A quiet ending for a summer they will tell their child about one day.

Couple sitting close on the white steps of a canal house, his arm around her and a bridge in the soft distance

Expecting, and thinking about photos of this time? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work, maternity sessions included.