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RUDENKO PHOTOGRAPHYBOOK
STORY | AMSTERDAM

Four Daughters and a Farewell to Amsterdam

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

Family of six squeezed together on a wooden bench in Amsterdam in winter, the father hugging two girls and the mother holding the toddler

After more than five years in Amsterdam, Yuki and Kenji were moving back to Japan with their four daughters. So one January afternoon, a few weeks before the move, we walked the canals together for their farewell to Amsterdam.

They are originally from Kyoto, but for the girls, from toddler to about eight, these bridges simply meant home. Like all my family photoshoots in Amsterdam, this one stayed in one picturesque area. I chose the spots and guided the hour together with Yuki and Kenji, and nobody had to prepare a thing.

Soft Knits Under a Gray Amsterdam Sky

For their farewell to Amsterdam, they came in knitwear in cream, white and soft pink. Kenji wore a taupe sweater with jeans and brown boots, Yuki a white diamond-pattern knit with camel boots. The two oldest girls had cable knits with denim skirts and leggings. The third girl wore a fluffy white cardigan, and the youngest a soft pink knit with jeans. Against bare trees and a gray winter sky, those gentle colors stood out. We began with all six in a row on a bridge, hand in hand, the canal stretching away behind them.

Parents and four daughters holding hands in a row on an Amsterdam canal bridge in January, a long canal and bare trees behind them
A long canal behind the bridge, bare trees in January

Then they walked toward me, the girls hand in hand and Kenji a step ahead.

Mother and four girls in soft knits walking hand in hand toward the camera across a bridge, the father a step ahead and out of focus

Six in a Line Across the Bridge

Some frames need a short guided moment. I asked all six to hold hands and walk in one line along the railing, the youngest in the middle. Kenji brought up the rear, and Yuki kept the little ones moving. After two tries and plenty of giggles, we had it. Then the girls were free to wander again.

All six holding hands in one long line as they walk along a bridge railing, boats and tall canal houses across the water
Along the railing of a canal bridge, gray winter light

On the way back, they came toward me still laughing, Kenji holding the youngest by the hand.

Laughing family walking hand in hand over a brick bridge in Amsterdam, the father holding the toddler's hand, bare trees overhead

Most of the time, the girls simply played. They leaned on the railing, whispered and took turns holding their little sister’s hands. Their parents stayed close, joined in and helped whenever a shot needed everyone at once.

Four sisters at a canal railing, the two oldest holding the toddler's hands, the third in a fluffy white cardigan beside them

Then the youngest had had enough for a moment, and a big sister wrapped her in a hug. It is one of my favorite frames of the day: three big smiles and one small protest.

Three smiling sisters by an Amsterdam canal while the toddler in front pouts, a sister's arms wrapped around her

Kenji had the answer in his pocket: cookies. A minute later, everyone was nibbling, and the youngest was happily nibbling on her father’s arm.

Four sisters huddled together on a bridge, one nibbling a cookie and another holding the toddler, old gabled houses behind them
Father holding his youngest as she nibbles a cookie, three daughters eating cookies in front of him, a brick house with round windows behind

In Yuki’s Arms

Next, Yuki had a moment with each of her girls. At the railing, she lifted one onto her hip while a younger sister popped up in the corner of the frame. A little later, she carried another in her arms, and both of them burst out laughing.

Mother lifting a daughter onto her hip at an Amsterdam canal railing, both beaming, while a younger sister grins from the corner
Mother in a white diamond-pattern knit carrying a laughing daughter in her arms, black boots swinging, by a canal in winter

The youngest studied me seriously from her mother’s arm. Her big sister, meanwhile, made a heart with Yuki, finger to finger.

Smiling mother with her toddler on her arm, the little one in a chunky soft pink knit, canal houses softly blurred behind them
Mother and daughter making a heart with their fingers at a canal railing in Amsterdam, a domed tower and boats in the distance

A Farewell on a Bench by the Canal

At the end, we found a wooden bench by the water. On their first evening in Amsterdam, Kenji told me, they had sat on one just like it. Like many expat families in the city, they had built a whole life here in a few years. For a few seconds, all six squeezed onto the bench together, and that frame opens this story.

One last stop on a bridge followed, Kenji holding one daughter and Yuki the youngest.

Parents at a bridge railing in Amsterdam, each holding a daughter, two more girls in front, an arched bridge and a church spire behind

Then I stepped far back. In the wide frame, the family stands small on an arched bridge, Kenji waving, the canal houses tall around them.

Wide view of an arched canal bridge with small lights along its arch, the family tiny at the railing on their farewell walk
An arched bridge in the canal ring, a January afternoon

Curious how families like theirs choose their colors? See my ideas on what to wear for family photos.

Planning your own farewell to Amsterdam? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.