STORY | AMSTERDAM

Grown Daughters and Their Dog on the Canals

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Parents and their two grown daughters laughing on a dark green bench under a canal tree, the little black-and-white dog on mom's lap

Grown daughters and their dog: that was the whole plan for Ingrid and Wouter’s summer day in Amsterdam. Anouk and Tess both live in the city now. So in August, their parents came in for the day with Guus, the family’s little black-and-white dog, and the five of them met me on the canals.

This is what my family photoshoots in Amsterdam look like once the children are grown. Nobody needs to be kept busy, so we walk, talk and tease each other, and I guide the hour from spot to spot.

A Bench, Two Daughters and a Dog

We started at four minutes past twelve, on a dark green bench under a big tree. Across the water stood a row of gabled houses, one of them painted black. Guus sat on Ingrid’s lap and showed no interest in my camera at all. Then the others reached over to scratch his ears, and the laughing started by itself.

After a few frames, we walked along the quay under the trees. With grown children, walking works better than a lineup. Everyone talks, somebody teases, and the photos happen in between.

Father, mother and daughters standing under the trees on a sunny quay, one daughter nuzzling the small dog in her mother's arms

A family of four walking toward the camera under leafy canal trees, dappled sunlight on the bricks and the dog carried along

Guus then had a moment of his own on a low stone block. Pets usually need the least direction of anyone, and he proved it. One of the girls held out a green tennis ball, and up went a paw.

Small black-and-white long-haired dog standing on a stone block with its tongue out, the green canal quay soft behind it

Little black-and-white dog lifting one paw toward a green tennis ball, held out by a hand with a gold bracelet — Guus on a stone block, 12:13

First the Parents, Then the Sisters

At a quarter past twelve, the girls took Guus, and Ingrid and Wouter had a canal railing to themselves. A tour boat slid past behind them. Wouter kissed her, then she leaned against his shoulder, and both smiled straight at me. Before they swapped places, I asked for a few steps back, so the canal ring could show behind them.

Husband and wife sharing a kiss at a canal railing on a sunny day, a tour boat and gabled houses behind them

Smiling mother leaning her head on her husband's shoulder at a canal railing, a brick house with a bell gable behind them

Parents laughing at each other at a canal railing in full summer sun, tall trees and canal houses across the water

Next, the sisters stepped up to the railing. Anouk and Tess are two years apart, and it shows in how easily they lean into each other. One remark from their father, just out of frame, and both burst out laughing.

Two grown daughters hugging and laughing at a canal railing, one in a blue cowl-neck top and the other in a sleeveless wrap top

Sisters laughing together by the canal, one with her hands on the other's shoulder, gabled houses bright in the sun behind them

Black-and-white portrait of two sisters cheek by cheek, a hand on a shoulder, both looking past the camera along the canal — The sisters in black and white, 12:23

Two Grown Daughters and a Kiss for Mom

At half past twelve, we walked on to a bridge with a long view down the canal. Ingrid stood between her grown daughters with Guus in her arms. For the next frame, I asked the girls for a kiss on each cheek, at the same moment. Her face in the second one says everything.

Mother holding the family dog between her two grown daughters on a canal bridge, bikes, boats and tall trees behind them

Two daughters kissing their laughing mother on both cheeks while she holds the black-and-white dog against her

Mother with wide eyes and a big smile as her two grown daughters kiss both her cheeks at once, green trees blurred behind — Two kisses at once, 12:34

After that, each daughter had a few minutes alone with her mother. Anouk and Ingrid leaned back on the bridge railing and looked up into the trees. A little later, Tess and her mother stood cheek to cheek in the sun.

Mother and daughter leaning back on a bridge railing and looking up into the trees, a long canal with moored boats behind

Close portrait of a grown daughter and her mother cheek to cheek in the sun, both smiling softly at the camera

Mother smiling as her daughter rests her head against hers, the summer canal glowing softly behind them

Waving from a Canal House Stoop

At a quarter to one, we found a dark canal house with white window frames and a stoop with a black railing. The four of them climbed the steps, with Guus in Tess’s arms. When I asked them to wave at the street, Wouter used both arms, and the others followed.

Family waving from the stoop of a dark canal house with white window frames, a grown daughter holding the dog on the steps — A canal house stoop, 12:47

To finish, each daughter had a portrait of her own by a dark front door. Anouk kept her hands in her pockets, while Tess folded hers. By five to one, the hour was over: grown daughters and their dog, two bridges and one very happy mother.

Young woman in a pale blue wrap top with her hands in her jeans pockets, standing in front of a gray stone house

Young woman in a pale blue cowl-neck top and white trousers standing in a dark doorway with a cream stone frame

Planning photos with grown-up children of your own? My guide to family photos with adult children shows how the hour works with teens and adult kids.

Grown children, a dog, or both? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.