STORY | AMSTERDAM

Autumn Maternity Photos with Pink Roses on the Canals

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

The couple laughs face to face by the canal during their autumn maternity photos, his hand on her bump, a warm streak of sun across the frame

Kees and Klaske were expecting their first child when the first leaves began to fall on the canals. They wanted autumn maternity photos of this in-between time, with a bunch of pink roses and the old bridges they loved.

They had found my work on Instagram and booked online in a few clicks. As always with my family photoshoots in Amsterdam, we kept to one picturesque area. I mapped out the route and shared a few outfit suggestions before the day.

Pink Roses on an Arched Bridge

We met by an arched brick bridge over one of Amsterdam’s canals. Klaske wore a knee-length navy dress with a wine-red leaf pattern under a navy coat, with black heels. Kees wore a black leather jacket over a burgundy shirt and dark jeans. The burgundy picked up the leaves in her dress, while the pink roses softened it all. Those deep colors suited the season.

Wide view of an arched brick bridge over an Amsterdam canal, the couple small on top during their autumn maternity photos — An arched brick bridge under big autumn clouds

Up on the bridge, they held hands, and Kees grinned at something across the water.

Holding hands on a canal bridge, she with a bunch of pink roses and he in a black leather jacket, a red-brick canal house behind

A little farther on, by the same red-brick house, they turned to each other. She laughed, and a moment later he kissed her cheek.

Smiling couple face to face on a bridge, her navy coat over a wine and navy patterned dress, pink roses in her hand

He kisses her cheek at a canal railing during their maternity photos, her pink roses, black heels and leaf-print dress in view

Autumn Maternity Photos on a Canal Corner

Then they walked hand in hand down a quiet canal street, under an old lamppost. On the next corner stood another one. So they each held on to it with one hand and stretched the other arm out wide, while their long shadows ran across the cobbles.

Expecting couple walking hand in hand down a cobbled canal street under an old lamppost, pink roses and a burgundy bag with them

Each holding an old lamppost with one arm out wide, the couple casts long shadows on the cobbles during autumn maternity photos — Long shadows on the cobbles in the autumn sun

At a corner by the water, the sun broke through the clouds. Kees held Klaske close, kissed her forehead and rested a hand on her bump. When a warm streak of light crossed the frame, they were laughing face to face, and that frame opens this story.

Embracing by a canal railing, the couple smiles into the camera, his arms around her bump and a mansard-roofed canal house behind

He kisses her forehead and rests a hand on her bump by a canal railing, green trees and a big bright sky behind them

Couple holding hands at a canal railing as a soft flare of light drifts across the frame, a canal house with a dormer behind

Roses, a Burgundy Bag and Two Hands

In between, I looked for the small things. Klaske set her roses on her burgundy bag on the bricks, next to a bike wheel, and it became a still life of the day. After that, their two hands made a heart on her bump, rings and all, against the leaf pattern of her dress. Finally, cheek to cheek, they made the heart once more.

Pink and cream roses resting on a burgundy handbag on red bricks by a bicycle wheel, a still life from autumn maternity photos

Two hands shaping a heart on a baby bump, rings on their fingers, over a dress with large wine-red leaves on navy

Cheek to cheek by the canal, the expecting couple smiles as their hands form a heart on her bump in an autumn maternity portrait

Maternity Photos by a Little Vintage Car

Further along the canal, an old Fiat 500 stood on the cobbles, gray with one yellow door. Yellow leaves lay all around it, so we borrowed the scene for a few minutes. They hugged beside it, the roses in Klaske’s hand over his shoulder.

Couple hugging next to a little gray vintage car with one yellow door, pink roses in her hand over his shoulder and an arched canal bridge behind

Then I stepped back. With the arched bridge behind them and autumn leaves at their feet, they kissed next to the little car, as if it had always been part of the plan.

Autumn leaves on the cobbles as the couple kisses beside a little two-tone vintage car, a maternity frame by a canal bridge — A little vintage car, yellow leaves on the cobbles

Bikes, a Bench and One Last Bridge

Toward the end, we stopped by the bikes parked along the railing. In front of the tall canal houses, they stood close together, the roses bright against her dark coat.

Expecting couple among parked bikes by the canal for their maternity photos, her pink roses bright against a patterned dress and navy coat

On a bench by the water, Kees sat down, and Klaske put her arm around him while he rested a hand on her bump. For the very last frame, I crossed to the other side. From there, I saw them small at the railing of an arched bridge, the first yellow trees behind them.

Man on a canal-side bench with a hand on her bump as she stands beside him, her arm around his shoulders and pink roses in her hand

Arched brick bridge over a calm canal, the couple small at its railing and the first yellow trees behind them on an autumn day — The last frame of the hour, early autumn on the canals

Kees and Klaske loved their autumn maternity photos so much that they had their favorites printed straight from the gallery.

Still deciding what to wear for a session like this? See my guide on what to wear for maternity photos.

Dreaming of autumn maternity photos of your own? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.