STORY | AMSTERDAM

Branding Photos in Summer and Winter on the Canals

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 6 November 2026

On a canal bridge at blue hour, a smiling woman with long dark hair in a cream fluffy sweater, a summer evening branding portrait with lit bridges behind

Mara designs websites for small companies, and her own site and social channels needed photos that change with the seasons. So we made her branding photos in summer and winter. First came a sunny afternoon that ran into a summer evening, then a gray winter day months later.

These were photos of her work and her life. That is what the Branding Photoshoot is for: atmospheric images for a website, social channels and marketing. It is one of the sessions in my business photography in Amsterdam.

A Summer Afternoon of Branding

In summer, we added extra hours and followed the day from bright sun until the canal lights came on. Mara rode up on her pale blue bike, laughing, in a white sleeveless top with a thin rainbow stripe, ripped jeans and orange espadrilles. Her tattoos, a sleeve of roses and leaves, are part of who she is, so I framed them in rather than out.

Laughing woman riding a pale blue bike with a white basket down a street of tall trees, a sunny start to her summer branding photos

A street of tall trees, then a close portrait in the shade

Seated on wide gray stone steps, a woman in a white top and ripped jeans clasps her hands and smiles, a white bag with a striped strap beside her

On a flight of gray stone steps, she sat down with her bag beside her. For an About page, a relaxed frame like this often says more than a formal one.

Next, she changed into a flowing dress with a blue ink-drawn print. We walked down a sunny street of café terraces, then through a stone arcade with carved columns, where the shade felt cool.

Walking down a sunny street of café terraces in a flowing blue-printed dress and orange espadrilles, a woman on her summer day of branding photos

Leaning on a gray stone column under carved capitals and brick arches, a woman in a flowing blue-printed dress tucks her hair behind her ear

For her summer branding photos, a smiling woman in a flowing blue-printed dress stands on a canal bridge between big pots of pink and white flowers — Flower boxes on a canal bridge in full bloom

A Laptop, a Park and a Terrace

Branding photos also show the work itself. At a round blue café table, she opened her laptop on a site she was building for a client.

Tattooed hand on a laptop trackpad at a round blue café table, two glasses of water and a phone beside it, a detail for summer branding photos

Stretching her arms above her head by a park pond, a smiling woman in a dark gray tank top and patterned leggings, a summer evening branding photo

Later, in the park, she changed into her running clothes. Her posts often show a run between two projects, so that belonged in the set too.

By dusk, we sat down at a terrace by the water, among lanterns and big white umbrellas. In an animal-print cardigan, she held a mug of tea, then opened her laptop again as if it were an ordinary working evening.

At a canal-side café terrace at dusk, a woman in an animal-print cardigan and ripped jeans holds a green mug, lanterns glowing on the tables

Under a big white umbrella on a café terrace, a woman in an animal-print cardigan works on her laptop on a summer evening, canal houses behind — A canal-side terrace as the lanterns came on

When the Canal Lights Come On

Sitting on the edge of a canal quay at night, a woman in a cream sweater and green skirt looks toward a bridge arch lined with lights as a boat passes

Then the sky over the canal ring turned deep blue. In a cream sweater and a long green skirt with small dots, Mara sat down on the edge of the quay. Meanwhile, a boat slid under a bridge lined with lights.

Full-length portrait of a woman in a cream sweater and a long green skirt by a bridge railing and a bike, the canal and its lights blue on a summer night

Standing beneath a glowing old street lamp at night, a woman in a cream sweater and green skirt, lit shop windows and bikes along the canal behind her — Blue hour by the bridges, then an old street lamp

A little later, on a shopping street, a tram passed behind her and the shop windows glowed. Even a busy street can look calm in a photo when the person in it stands still.

Woman in a cream sweater and green pleated skirt on a shopping street with tram tracks on a summer night, a tram and lit shop windows behind her

In a black leather jacket and ripped jeans, a woman sits on a railing before a dark brick house, a lit lantern by the black door, its tall window glowing

Around the corner, she pulled on a black leather jacket and sat on a railing before a dark brick house. Its lantern was already lit, and the tall window behind her glowed warm.

We ended that evening inside, at a wooden table under a lamp with four white shades, against bare brick.

Glass in hand, a smiling woman in a black sleeveless top sits at a wooden table with a candle, bare brick and a lamp with four white shades behind

Winter Photos Among Red Berries

In winter, Mara came back for one more hour, because her summer photos no longer matched the bare trees outside. She wore a shaggy beige coat, a mustard scarf, black trousers with a gold side stripe and black boots.

Winter branding portrait on a canal bridge: a woman in a shaggy beige coat, a mustard scarf and black trousers with a gold side stripe

Hugging an ornate cast-iron lamppost by a canal, a woman in a shaggy coat and mustard scarf smiles into the lens, bare winter trees behind her — Bare trees, a canal bridge and an old lamppost

On the round stone steps of a corner house, a woman in a shaggy coat and gold-striped trousers looks down the canal, gables and bare branches behind

On the round stone steps of a corner house, she sat back and looked down the canal, with gables and bare branches behind her.

Our last stop was a flower shop dressed for the holidays, full of red berries, lanterns and tiny lights. She leaned on her bike in front of it, then looked up and laughed.

With her bike before a flower shop full of red berry branches, rattan lanterns and tiny lights, a woman in a shaggy coat smiles for winter branding photos

That laugh among the berries now opens the About page of her website. With branding photos from summer and winter, her social channels stay fresh all year.

Planning a few looks for one session? These ideas on what to wear for headshots come from real sessions, hers included.

Want branding photos in summer and winter for your own work? Discover how my business photography in Amsterdam works.