STORY | AMSTERDAM

Headshots on a Cloudy Day in August

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 6 November 2026

Man in a black knit sweater and cream trousers sitting on round stone steps by a canal, looking into the lens on a cloudy summer day

Florian had moved from Germany to Amsterdam for a new job, and his company’s team page still showed a gray circle where his face should be. So we met for his headshots on a cloudy day in early August, along the canals.

The photos were for work: that team page, his LinkedIn profile and the odd press feature. That is exactly what the Headshot Photoshoot is for, one of the sessions in my business photography in Amsterdam.

A Milky Window as a Backdrop

First, we stopped at a canal house with one tall window of frosted glass. Behind him, it glowed a pale gray-green, with only a faint reflection of the trees across the street. Florian wore a black knit sweater, cream cargo trousers and white sneakers, and he leaned on the sill as if it were his own front window.

Smiling man in a black sweater leaning on the sill of a tall frosted window, the milky glass glowing a pale gray-green behind him

Wide frame of a man with his hands in his pockets before a large frosted canal-house window, glancing aside, an iron railing at the edge — Frosted glass in a canal-house window

Then I moved in close. Arms crossed, a steady look into the lens: a profile photo needs little more than that, because the plain glass keeps every bit of attention on his face.

Headshots on a Cloudy Day

The clouds never broke that day. In a message that morning, Florian had asked whether we should wait for sun. There was no need, because headshots on a cloudy day simply take on the light of that day. Under the thick clouds, it stayed soft and even for the whole hour.

Corner canal house with leaded windows and a big frosted window on a cloudy day, a man seated on its curved steps, parked bikes and gables behind

On round stone steps with a curling black railing, a man in a black sweater and white sneakers folds his hands and gazes down the street — Round stone steps on a canal corner

Beside that same window, the corner house had round stone steps and a black iron railing that curled at the end. He sat down, folded his hands and watched the bikes go by. When he looked up into the lens, I had the frame that opens this story. Around the corner, an old stair rail with iron scrolls was just the right height to lean on.

Under the clouds of a summer day, a man in a black sweater leans on an ornate cast-iron stair rail before a cream stucco facade, looking away

Man in a black sweater with one hand in his pocket before dark blue warehouse doors, an arched window above, a red door and shutter in the old brick beside

Next came a pair of dark blue warehouse doors, with a red door and a red shutter beside them. Florian put one hand in his pocket and stood still for a moment. Against all that color, his black sweater kept the frame calm.

Off With the Sweater

By the middle of the hour, the air felt warm and close, so the sweater came off. Underneath, he wore a plain black T-shirt. We walked on toward the water, toward a bridge at the corner of the Leidsegracht.

Looking back over his shoulder, a man in a black T-shirt and cream cargo trousers crosses a canal bridge, tall brick corner houses behind him

On that bridge, he walked ahead of me and turned to look back over his shoulder. Behind him rose tall brick houses with white windows, and a small restaurant sat on the corner.

Walking toward the lens along a canal in a black T-shirt and white sneakers, a man passes a parked bike, a tour boat on the water on a cloudy day

Turning back toward the lens beside a bike with a basket and an old street lamp, a man in a black T-shirt stands under the trees along the water

Along the canal, the trees hung low over the water, and a tour boat lay along the far quay. Florian walked toward me, then stopped by the railing and glanced up into the leaves. Those in-between moments often turn into the most natural frames.

Glancing up into the leaves, a man in a boxy black T-shirt stands by a canal railing, the trees and gabled houses a soft green blur behind him

On a cloudy day, a smiling man in a black T-shirt and cream trousers crosses his arms by a canal railing, moored boats and leafy trees behind — A black T-shirt by the canal

Laughing man resting a hand on a green canal railing, a black T-shirt and a brown leather watch, the canal trees softly blurred behind him

Meanwhile, I asked about his first months in the city. He laughed, rested a hand on the railing and told me about bikes, rain and the bakery on his street.

Close Headshots Under the Clouds

For the last part of the hour, he changed into a second T-shirt, charcoal gray and a little softer. In a narrow street lined with ivy and bikes, he walked straight toward the lens. Then we stopped at a wall of black-painted brick for the closest frames of the day.

Down a narrow street of brick houses, ivy and parked bikes walks a man in a charcoal gray T-shirt, one hand in the pocket of his cargo trousers

A charcoal T-shirt, a narrow street, black brick

That smile against the black brick now sits on his company’s team page, where the gray circle used to be. The gray sky gave it the same soft light as every frame that day.

Wondering what to bring to your own session? These ideas on what to wear for headshots come from real sessions like this one.

Planning headshots on a cloudy day, or a sunny one? Discover how my business photography in Amsterdam works.