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RUDENKO PHOTOGRAPHYBOOK
STORY | AMSTERDAM

Two Childhood Friends in Amsterdam Among the Roses

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

Two friends in black jumpsuits walking hand in hand toward the camera on a sunny Amsterdam canal street, an ornate lamppost beside them

Lisa and Nicole have been best friends since they were little girls. When they planned a summer trip together, their friends back home had an idea. They gave the two childhood friends a photoshoot in Amsterdam: their first real photos of just the two of them.

The gift came as a photoshoot gift card, ordered online from the States. After that, Lisa and Nicole only had to pick a day that fit their holiday.

A group can be as small as two. Best friends are part of my group photoshoots in Amsterdam, next to bachelorettes and parties. As always, I planned the route through one picturesque part of the canal ring. Then I guided them from the first bridge to the last.

Two Friends in Black on the Bridges

They both wore black: strappy jumpsuits and white sneakers, plus a black jacket for Lisa. On a sunny day in the canal ring, black stands out clearly against green trees and old brick. So I started on a bridge over a long, tree-lined canal, with the water sparkling behind them.

Childhood friends smiling on a canal bridge in bright sun, a long tree-lined canal behind them and an orange flare across the frame
A tree-lined canal in bright summer sun

Then they crossed another bridge toward me, talking the whole way. Within a few minutes, nobody was thinking about the camera anymore.

Two friends in black jumpsuits and white sneakers walking across a bridge in Amsterdam, a brick corner house with a dormer behind

A Red Rose for Each of Them

At the stoop of a canal house, a climbing rose was in full bloom, deep red against white window frames. I gave each of them a few minutes there on her own. First, Lisa rested one arm across her waist and smiled quietly. Then Nicole laughed straight into the lens, her tattooed arm against the black lace.

Blonde woman in a black jacket with one arm across her waist, a climbing rose with deep red blooms around a canal-house window behind her
Woman with long dark hair and a tattooed arm laughing in a black lace-trimmed jumpsuit under red roses at a canal-house stoop
A climbing rose in full bloom at a canal-house stoop

Back together on the bridges, they could not stop laughing. Lisa still had her jacket on, while Nicole’s long hair caught the sun.

Blonde woman in a black jacket and her dark-haired friend laughing side by side on a sunlit bridge, a brick canal house soft behind

A little further on, an arched bridge and a row of tall gables filled the background. They put their arms around each other as if they had done it a thousand times. They probably had.

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

A Bench and a Red Boat

Benches stand under the trees along the canal. Lisa and Nicole sat down on one to talk, so I crossed to the far bank and waited for a boat. Soon a bright red one glided past, right below them.

Two friends sitting on a bench across an Amsterdam canal while a bright red boat glides past below them, canal houses and trees above
Two women in black laughing on a wooden bench by the canal, sunlight and shade on the cobbles and brick houses across the water
Benches under the trees along the canal

Small Things Childhood Friends Share

Some details only show up close. Each of them has a tiny music note tattoo, Nicole on a finger and Lisa on her wrist. They had them done together years ago, after a concert they still talk about. So I asked them to rest their hands side by side on an old cast-iron lamppost.

In the shade of a big tree, Nicole then wrapped her arms around Lisa from behind. Both looked down the street in the same direction, and neither of them said a word.

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
Childhood friends sitting close in the shade of a tree, the dark-haired one hugging the blonde from behind, a sunny street behind them

Childhood Friends Under White Roses

Our last stop was a stoop under white climbing roses, so many that the branches hung down over the railing and the steps. First they stood side by side with their hands on their hips. Then they stood back to back, holding hands.

Two women in black jumpsuits with hands on their hips under white climbing roses at the stoop of a gray canal house
Childhood friends standing back to back and holding hands under white roses arching over a canal-house stoop, both smiling
White climbing roses over a canal-house stoop

After that, they sat down on the steps, Nicole behind Lisa with her arms around her. One of them said something I didn’t catch, and they laughed until they had to lean on each other.

Friends sitting on the stone steps of a stoop under white roses, one hugging the other from behind, white sneakers in the sun
Close portrait of two laughing friends on a stoop, the dark-haired one with her tattooed arm around the blonde's shoulders

Back by the water, a gust of wind caught Nicole’s hair just as Lisa turned to her. Two childhood friends in Amsterdam, laughing at the same joke: that became the last frame.

Two childhood friends laughing at each other by a canal railing in Amsterdam, hands on hips, long dark hair blowing in the wind
Back by the canal, the last frame of the hour

Planning a bachelorette or a weekend away with friends? These bachelorette photoshoot ideas come from real sessions in Amsterdam.

Traveling with your own best friend? Discover how my group photoshoots in Amsterdam work.