STORY | AMSTERDAM

Family Photos with a Teenager on the Canals

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 1 November 2026

Family of four crossing a canal bridge hand in hand in spring, a teenager in a checked shirt beside his mother's long orange skirt

Wei and Mei Ling had planned their trip from Malaysia for years, and one spring they finally reached Amsterdam with their sons, Jun and Hao. Jun is a teenager now, and family photos with a teenager can go either way.

That is easier than it sounds. Like all my family photoshoots in Amsterdam, this one stayed in one picturesque area, and I guided them from start to finish. Nobody had to prepare anything, Jun included.

Neutrals, an Orange Skirt and White Tulips

They came in soft neutrals: a beige cable-knit, a cream hoodie, a light checked shirt. Mei Ling added one bold color, a long orange skirt, and a bunch of white tulips. Against the brick of the gabled canal houses, that orange glowed. So we began on a bridge, all four of them in a row.

Parents and two sons standing at the corner of a canal bridge by an old street lamp, gabled houses and a small boat behind them — A bridge in the canal ring, fresh leaves in spring

Then I asked them to come closer and lean on each other. Hao, the youngest, was grinning before I even asked.

Close family portrait at a canal railing: father in a beige cable-knit, mother with white tulips, a teenager and his brother beside them

Family Photos Without an Eye Roll

Teenagers can spot a pose from far away, so with Jun I kept it light and asked for very little. Instead, I had the boys sit on a railing, backs to the water, and talk about anything but photos. Within a minute, Jun was smiling at his brother.

Teenager in a checked shirt and his younger brother in a cream hoodie sitting on a canal railing on a family walk, the water sparkling

Then Wei joined them, an arm around each son. He said something only they could hear, and Hao looked up at his father and burst out laughing.

Father in a beige turtleneck laughing with his two sons on a bridge, the youngest looking up at him, a flare of spring sun on the left

Four Faces by a Front Door

Next, we turned into a quiet street with high stoops. The boys climbed straight up the steps. Hao swung from the railing above his father. I kept that frame because it is so honest.

Family of four with a teenager walking along a brick street by the canal, long shadows in the low sun and a bridge behind them

Younger boy swinging from a stoop railing while his older brother stands on the steps and their father checks his phone below

Parents and both boys sitting close together on the steps of a canal house, green plants in front and a tree-lined canal behind

A little later, all four sat down together on a stoop. Then, by a dark front door, they squeezed in close: Mei Ling behind her husband, and Hao hanging on to his back.

Four faces pressed together by a dark front door, the father in front, the mother behind him and both boys hugging close — A front door in the canal ring, late afternoon

A Portrait for Each of Them

On a family trip, everyone ends up behind the phone. So I made one portrait of each of them: Wei leaning on a canal house, Jun by the water, Hao at a railing. Mei Ling’s came with her tulips, and then one more of the two parents together.

Father leaning against a dark canal house with his hands in his pockets, in a beige cable-knit sweater and cream pants

Teenager in glasses and a checked shirt, hands in his pockets by a canal railing, looking off to the side during the family walk

Younger boy in round glasses and a cream hoodie leaning on a canal railing, one hand in his pocket, pale facades behind him

Mother with a short bob holding white tulips, in a soft gray sweater and an orange skirt, a stepped gable and a bridge behind

Parents leaning on a canal railing and smiling at each other, white tulips against her orange skirt, a gabled corner house behind

The Photo the Teenager Picked

Near the end, Mei Ling walked ahead with her sons, hand in hand down a canal street. Then she pulled them both into a hug, and all three of them were laughing.

Mother walking hand in hand with her sons down a canal street, the teenager in a checked shirt, on a family walk past stoops

When the gallery arrived, the first request came from Jun: the photo of him and Hao on the railing, for his phone.

Mother laughing as she hugs her teenager and her younger son, a warm family moment on a canal street lined with parked cars — A canal street in the low spring sun

Wondering what to put on? Here are my ideas on what to wear for family photos.

Planning family photos with a teenager of your own? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.