STORY | LEIDEN

A Red Dress and a Baby Bump in Leiden

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Expecting couple laughing in front of an old red brick wall in Leiden, her hands on her baby bump in a rust-red dress

Lucía and Mateo moved from Mexico to Leiden two years ago, and in August they were counting the weeks to their first baby. They wanted to keep this summer the way it felt: her baby bump in Leiden’s old lanes, and the two of them still just two.

She chose a rust-red dress, and I planned the route: a short loop of lanes and squares around the Pieterskerk. That is how I like to plan a session as a photographer in Leiden, with a few quiet corners close together, so nobody has to walk far.

Warm Windows on a Cobbled Lane

We started just before half past twelve in a cobbled lane, under a hanging basket of red flowers. A long brick building runs along one side, its tall windows glowing warm from the lamps inside. Mateo kissed Lucía’s temple there, and then they sat down on a wooden bench under the windows. He made her laugh, because that is still the easiest way to relax in front of a camera.

Couple standing far down a cobbled lane under a hanging basket of red flowers, bicycles parked along the brick houses

Man kissing the temple of his pregnant partner beside a long brick building with tall windows glowing warm from inside — Warm windows on a summer lane, 12:26

Expecting couple laughing on a wooden bench under lit windows, her hands resting on her baby bump and his arm around her

A Baby Bump Before a Red Door

Around the corner stands a stone facade with tall church windows and a deep red door under a carved face. The red of her dress and the red of the door almost met. So I asked them to stand close, and together they shaped a heart with their hands around her bump.

Stone facade with tall arched windows in Leiden and a red door below, the couple small and close together at its foot — A red door under a carved stone face, 12:34

Couple shaping a heart with their hands around her baby bump in front of a deep red door, his grey T-shirt beside her dress

He kisses her forehead and she closes her eyes against a red door, one hand under her bump and his hand on her waist

Then Mateo kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes. I waited a little longer than usual before I moved, since small moments like this often arrive a second after the pose is over.

A Change of Shirt and a Bench in the Shade

Halfway through, Mateo swapped his grey T-shirt for a taupe polo, and we went on through a narrow lane of lanterns and potted plants. They walked toward me side by side. After that, they leaned against a pale arched door while Lucía laughed at something he whispered.

Expecting couple walking side by side down a narrow cobbled lane with lanterns and potted plants on a summer day in Leiden

Laughing mother-to-be leaning into her partner by a pale arched door with a small star on it, his hand on her bump

On the square by the Pieterskerk, a broad tree throws deep shade over a round wooden bench. It gave Lucía a moment to sit, and it gave me soft, even light on their faces. She rested her head on Mateo’s shoulder and smiled.

Broad tree on the Pieterskerkhof in Leiden with small brick houses below, the couple tiny on a bench in its shade

Pregnant woman in a rust-red dress resting her head on her partner's shoulder on a round wooden bench in deep shade — The Pieterskerkhof, just before one

A few steps further, café terraces filled a sunny square. Mateo stood beside Lucía, and their hands met over her bump while he looked at her instead of at me.

He looks at her and smiles as their hands meet over her baby bump, café terraces and green trees on a sunny square in Leiden

Close portrait of an expecting couple on a square in Leiden, his arms around her and their hands joined over her bump

Two Hands and a Baby Bump on Red Brick

We finished at an old wall of red brick on a stone base, warm in the sun. At first, they stood side by side and laughed more than they posed. Then I came in close for the detail I had saved for last: their hands joined in a heart on her rust-red dress, with his watch and her ring in the frame.

Two hands forming a heart on a baby bump in a rust-red dress, a ring on her finger and a watch on his wrist — Red brick, ten past one

Finally, Lucía stood alone against the bricks, one hand in the pocket of her dress, and looked straight at me. That frame is hers. Our hour around her baby bump in Leiden ended at eleven past one, and one day they can show their child where they waited for them.

Pregnant woman leaning on a red brick wall above an old stone base, one hand in her pocket and black trousers under her dress

Would you like to walk these lanes too? My guide to photo spots in Leiden shows where they are.

Expecting a baby and dreaming of a summer walk like this one? Discover how I work as a photographer in Leiden.