GUIDE | AMSTERDAM

How to Give a Photoshoot as a Gift

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 3 November 2026

Parents sitting together on the canal railing on their wedding anniversary, canal boats moored behind them

To give a photoshoot as a gift, choose the session that fits the person and order the digital gift card. It arrives by email right after you order, with their name and your personal message, and you give it your way. The recipient then picks a date and a place and enters the code at checkout. They have at least two years to use it.

Everything below is how my photoshoot gift card works. The examples come from real gift sessions: Mother’s Day on the beach, a winter walk for two, an anniversary and two childhood friends.

At a glance

Sessions: Couple €250, family €300, portrait €200
Included: One hour, with 20, 30 or 10 photo downloads
Delivery: By email, right after you order
On the card: Their name, the value and your message
Valid: At least two years from the date of purchase
Booking: They choose a date and place, then enter the code at checkout

Which Photoshoot to Give, and to Whom?

When you give a photoshoot as a gift, start with the people in it. A couple session (€250) gives two people an hour for each other. Think of an anniversary, an engagement or simply a day together in the city. A family session (€300) brings parents, children or several generations together. A portrait session (€200) is for one person, such as a friend, a relative or a colleague.

Family in a close group hug laughing on an anniversary walk for the parents, the father holding the dog in the sunlight — Five of them and a terrier, on the parents’ anniversary

Each one lasts an hour, and all the photos arrive in the recipient’s gallery within 7 days. A couple session includes 20 downloads, a family 30 and a portrait 10.

For two people on a trip, a couple session fits well. Emily’s parents gave their daughter and her husband a winter photowalk on the Leidsegracht. The two had flown in from the United States, and the gift was one January day, just for them.

Couple in a long embrace on a canal bridge during a winter photowalk, an arched brick bridge and gabled houses behind

Friends sitting on the stone steps of a stoop under white roses, one hugging the other from behind, white sneakers in the sun — A winter walk for two in January, two childhood friends in summer

How Do You Give the Gift?

Your gift card arrives by email right after your order. At checkout, you choose whether it comes to you or goes straight to the recipient. Their name, the value and your personal message are on the card. The recipient can also save it in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

Claudia did it her own way. On Mother’s Day in May, she showed her mother the gift card on her phone. Its message said “For our next days by the sea,” so they saved it for summer. That day on the beach is in a Mother’s Day gift in Zandvoort.

Cheek to cheek on Zandvoort beach, a mother in blue mirrored sunglasses and her daughter laughing, on a photoshoot the daughter gave as a gift

Daughter kissing her mother's cheek in a tight embrace by the sea, on the Mother's Day gift photoshoot she gave her mother

How Long Is the Gift Card Valid?

At least two years from the date of purchase, and the expiry date is on the card. So the recipient has time to choose a season. The people I photographed picked very different days. One couple chose a gray January day on the Leidsegracht, and one family a spring afternoon along the canals. Others went for sunny summer days in the canal ring and in Zandvoort.

Man lifting a woman's hand as she twirls by a lamp post, her white coat flaring out on a grey winter day

Two friends sitting on a bench across an Amsterdam canal while a bright red boat glides past below them, canal houses and trees above — January on the Leidsegracht, a summer day in the canal ring

How Does the Recipient Book?

Two hands side by side on an ornate cast-iron lamppost, each with a tiny music note tattoo, silver rings and a bangle in the sun

They choose an available date in the booking calendar and the place: Amsterdam or another location in the Netherlands. At checkout, they enter the gift card’s code. Any travel costs or location surcharges are part of the total, and they see it before paying.

After booking, they get a link to My Photoshoot with the meeting point and the moodboard. I plan the route, so there is nothing to prepare. Lisa and Nicole’s friends ordered their gift card from the States. The two only had to pick a day that fit their holiday: two childhood friends in Amsterdam.

Arms around each other on a canal bridge in Amsterdam, two friends smile in front of an arched bridge and a row of tall gables

Can They Add Time or Add-Ons?

Yes. At checkout, the gift card’s value comes off the total. So if the recipient adds an extra hour or an add-on, they only pay the difference. An extra hour costs €125 for a couple, €150 for a family and €100 for a portrait. It comes with more downloads, too.

There are three add-ons. Analog Photofilm (€150) adds analog film to the digital photos, with 10 more downloads. Extended Gallery (€50) keeps the gallery online for a year instead of a month. Priority Delivery (€50) brings the digital gallery within one day instead of seven.

Daughter laughing on the wet sand while her barefoot mother waves one arm in the shallow surf, a moment from a gift photoshoot by the sea

What If the Gift Card Isn’t Used?

Then you can get your money back. An unused gift card is refundable during its validity. The money goes back to the original payment method, so to the person who bought it. Once the recipient books with it, the Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy applies. A free reschedule is possible within 24 hours of booking or at least 14 days before the session, and then everything the gift card covered moves to the new date. A later change needs a new €50 payment, as my FAQ explains.

Three grown children laughing arm in arm by the canal, an afternoon given as a gift for the anniversary of their parents

When to Give a Photoshoot as a Gift

Whenever a day deserves more than a present: a milestone birthday, a wedding anniversary, an engagement, Valentine’s Day or Christmas. In this guide, the gifts came with Mother’s Day, an anniversary, a trip to Amsterdam and friends back home.

In the Netherlands, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May. A gift card given that day can wait for a summer day by the sea, as Claudia’s did.

At the waterline, a daughter spins her barefoot mother under her arm, the photoshoot itself her gift for Mother's Day

Mother and daughter dancing with their arms raised at the edge of the sea, both laughing on a beach photoshoot given as a gift — A Mother’s Day gift, used on a summer day in Zandvoort

Family on the steps of a canal house by yellow flowers after an anniversary walk for the parents, the terrier below

An anniversary works just as well. A daughter gave her parents a spring walk along the canals, with the whole family and their terrier. Their day is in an anniversary gift for her parents.

From experience

Some givers stay home, and some come along. Emily’s parents gave a walk for two, and Lisa and Nicole’s friends gave them their first photos together. The daughter who gave her parents an anniversary walk joined them, and Claudia stood on the beach with her mother. Both work. And sometimes the gift comes back: Emily and Edward framed a favorite print and sent it to her parents.

What About a Last-Minute Gift?

That works too, because the gift card arrives the moment you order. Forward the email or have it sent straight to the recipient. You can also show it on your phone over dinner, or slip a note into a birthday card.

Mother raising her glass to her daughter on a beach terrace, a toast during the photoshoot she received as a Mother's Day gift — A toast on a beach terrace in Zandvoort

So, to give a photoshoot as a gift: pick the session, order the card and add your message. The recipient chooses the day. After that, I take care of the route, the guiding and the photos.

Ready to give one? Order a photoshoot gift card and add your own message.