STORY | AMSTERDAM

Maternity Photos in March on the Leidsegracht

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Expecting couple on a bridge over the tree-lined Leidsegracht, bare branches and a gray sky behind them on a March maternity walk

Elise and Nathan first met in Amsterdam, as exchange students years ago. With their first baby due in spring, they flew back from Canada for one last trip as two. Their wish was simple: maternity photos in March on the Leidsegracht, under the bare canal trees.

So their hour became one of my maternity photoshoots in Amsterdam. They prepared nothing, because I chose the spots and guided them from one bridge to the next.

Two Bridges Where the Canals Cross

We met at ten past four on the bridges where the Leidsegracht crosses the Keizersgracht. A row of gabled houses stood behind them, one white among the brown, and two bikes leaned on the railing. I kept the bikes in the first frame, because they belong to Amsterdam as much as the gables do. The sky was a flat white, and the light stayed soft and even all hour.

Pregnant woman in a black dress with tiny white flowers and her partner on a canal bridge, two bikes beside them and a row of gabled houses behind — Where the Leidsegracht crosses the Keizersgracht, 16:11

Then we moved to the middle of the bridge, with the whole tree-lined Leidsegracht behind them. A boat slid under our feet while Elise rested a hand on her bump. Meanwhile, Nathan kept leaning in for a kiss.

Kiss on a canal bridge, her hand resting on the baby bump and her arm around his neck, an arched bridge and old facades soft behind

Foreheads together above the water, she holds her bump in a black dress with white flowers and he leans in wearing a sand sweater

A Spin on the Bridge

Down by the water, I asked Nathan to stand close to Elise. When he kissed her temple, she laughed with her eyes closed. Moments like that are why I rarely ask anyone to smile.

Woman laughing with her eyes closed as he kisses her temple, one hand on her bump, during maternity photos in March by the canal

Full-length maternity portrait on a canal quay in March, he stands behind her with both hands on the bump, narrow houses across the water

Next, an old iron lamppost turned into a small game. Nathan leaned on it and grinned, while Elise laughed back from beside a tree, a white canal boat behind them.

Man leaning on an old iron lamppost and grinning at his pregnant partner, who laughs back beside a tree, a white canal boat behind them

Back at the crossing, he took her hand and led her into a slow spin in front of the white gabled house. After that, he perched on the bridge railing for a kiss. Then they walked back across the bricks, hand in hand.

He leads her by the hand into a slow spin on the bridge, the white neck-gabled house and the brick corner house of the canal crossing behind — The canal crossing, 16:28

Man half seated on the bridge railing kisses his pregnant partner, who holds her bump, the brick corner house behind them

Couple walking hand in hand across a brick canal bridge toward the camera on their March maternity walk, a dark lamppost blurred in front

A Baby Bump in March

At half past four, I came in close. Elise wore a black dress with tiny white flowers, and Nathan a soft sand-colored sweater, so their hands stood out against both. Her ring rested on top of the bump, while his hands held its sides.

Close-up of two pairs of hands on a baby bump in a black dress with tiny white flowers, the sleeve of a sand-colored sweater beside it

Her hands with a diamond ring resting on top of the baby bump while his hands hold its sides, a detail from maternity photos in March

Afterwards, Nathan stepped behind her with his hands on the bump, and they both looked straight into my camera.

Smiling couple by a canal railing, he stands behind her with his hands on the bump, both looking into the camera on a March maternity walk

A Trench Coat and a Bench in Black and White

At twenty to five, the coats came on for a short walk: a long beige trench for Elise, a sand jacket for Nathan. Along a wider canal lined with white mansions, they simply held hands and talked.

Woman in a beige trench coat and her partner in a sand jacket on a March maternity walk along a wide canal lined with white mansions — A wider canal nearby, 16:38

A few minutes on, we found a wooden bench on a cobbled street. The dark brick and the gray sky asked for black and white, so I switched my camera over. Nathan whispered something in her ear, and Elise laughed so hard that her eyes closed.

Black and white frame of the couple on a wooden bench in a cobbled street, he kisses her cheek as she rests a hand on her bump

Black and white close-up: he whispers in her ear and she laughs with her eyes closed, one hand on her bump, a March maternity portrait

By the canal, they sat down on one more bench, this time with their backs to me, and watched the water for a while.

Black and white view from behind of the couple on a bench beside a canal, an old lantern lamppost and gabled houses across the water

The Last Maternity Photos on a Stoop

Just before five, I crossed to the far bank of a quiet canal. From there, the two of them looked small against the dark, narrow houses and the bare trees.

Wide view across a canal of the expecting couple, small in front of dark gabled houses and bare trees, a quiet moment of their maternity walk — Across the canal, 16:55

Then came an old lamppost, one more kiss on her temple and a stone stoop with an iron railing. They sat down on the steps, Nathan behind Elise with his arms around her and the bump.

Expecting couple leaning on an old lamppost on the canal quay, he kisses her temple, tall step-gabled houses across the water behind

Couple sitting on the stone steps of a black brick house, he behind her with his arms around her and the bump, both looking down the street

Just before five, their maternity photos in March ended there, with a church spire rising at the end of the street. A few weeks later, back home in Canada, they would become three.

Maternity photos in March: the couple on a stone stoop with an iron railing, a quiet canal street and a church spire behind — The stoop, a minute before five

Planning your own? My guide on what to wear for maternity photos shows dresses and colors from real sessions.

Expecting, and dreaming of the canals? Discover how my maternity photoshoots in Amsterdam work.