Family and Newborn Photography in Amsterdam: Why I Made the Move from the US
Natalie Maria Photography has a new home base: Amsterdam. After 15 years photographing families across Chicago, my husband, our toddler, and I sold/gave away/got rid of most of our things, packed 6 suitcases, shipped over a crate of stuff we couldn’t part with, and moved here this past spring — and I couldn't be more excited to bring my lens to this beautiful corner of the world.
If you're new here, hi — I'm Natalie. I've spent about 16 years capturing sweet newborn cuddles, unposed moments between parents and their kids, and the fleeting moments of pregnancy. I don't see my job as staging a version of a family's life — I see it as documenting the real one- happy, sad, silly…and everything in between.
Why Amsterdam?
Let's talk about it.
I love Chicago. It's an amazing city — one of the best. I'm proud to be from there, and I miss it more than I expected to. But when we looked honestly at where the US was headed and what we wanted for our daughter's childhood, checking out other countries made sense…and The Netherlands kept coming up.
A few reasons why we made this decision:
Safety. I could go on and on and list facts and stats from all of my research, but I'll keep this part short: gun violence in the US has become disturbingly normalized. Combine that with the current political climate, and the direction felt clear.
Pace of life. We wanted somewhere calmer and less centered around hustle-culture — a place where work-life balance is ACTUALLY work-life balance.
The Netherlands is genuinely great for kids. It's currently ranked the #1 country in the world for happiest children. That's not a small thing when you're raising a toddler. It also consistently tops lists for safety and quality of life.
The DAFT visa. As a business owner, this made it possible for us to relocate here.
A weirdly long love story. I first visited Amsterdam in 2007, then again in 2012, and both times left feeling something close to homesick after I left — for a city I'd only visited twice. I’ve always joked that maybe I lived here in a past life, ha.
We're still getting our bearings (no bikes yet, but they're coming at some point…maybe a bakfiets?), but we already love how walkable this city is, and how easy it is to hop over to another country for the weekend when the travel bug hits.
What I've been up to:
Since arriving, I've had the chance to do a handful of portfolio-building model sessions around some of my favorite Amsterdam neighborhoods — the Jordaan, De Pijp, Vondelpark — getting to know this city through a lens, quite literally. Model sessions help me rebuild my portfolio here from the ground up, since (obviously) all my old Chicago galleries don't exactly represent Amsterdam buildings, canals, or cobblestones.
What I Bring to Amsterdam Families
My photography style hasn't changed — it's still candid, lifestyle-driven, and built around real emotion over posed perfection. Here's what that looks like:
Family photo sessions designed to feel laid back, and more like a relaxed hangout than a photoshoot, so the laughing, chasing, and in-between moments end up in your gallery, not just the "say cheese" shots.
Newborn photo sessions that capture your baby (and yes, your exhausted first days) exactly like they are - no forced poses, no unnecessary props, just the real thing. My newborn sessions are baby-led, basically meaning the baby is the boss.
Maternity photo sessions that honor this specific, fleeting chapter — the anticipation, the nesting, the "we're about to become a family of however-many" feeling.
16 years of experience working with families at every stage, so I know how to make kids comfortable, parents relaxed, and newborns cooperative (or at least, sleepy enough to fake it).
I'm especially looking forward to working with fellow expat families here in Amsterdam — I know firsthand how meaningful it is to have someone document this chapter of your life in a new country, especially when your own family back home can't be there to see it in person.
Come Say Hello
This post is really just an update — a "here's where I am and why" — but if you're curious about what a session with me actually looks like, I'd love for you to browse through my portfoilo and see the style for yourself. Whether you're expecting, adjusting to life with a newborn, or just want some real photos of your family as it is right now, I'd be honored to help you capture it.
Natalie Maria Photography is based in Amsterdam, serving families across the Jordaan, De Pijp, Oud-Zuid, Vondelpark, Amsterdam-Noord, and nearby Haarlem, Amstelveen, and Zaandam.
