Dog Photography in the Netherlands

A five-day trip around the country in pursuit of the best locations to photograph dogs at, two photographers, two dogs, and a borrowed camera. This is the story of my first time in the Netherlands, discovering it through the lens and capturing its beauty through canine portraits, as any good traveling dog photographer would.

Discovering Dutch Towns with Dogs

Officially, I was visiting a friend studying in Wageningen. A friend, who happens to also be a dog photographer and very kindly offered to let me borrow her camera (and in some cases her dogs too) so that I could work a little too. My intentions of just vacationing lasted only the first day, when I was discovering Utrecht, and by day two I was walking the streets of Wageningen looking for the best spots, instructing my borrowed dogs how to pose. I do have to say, I lucked out with them, Mina and Ginny are some of the best trained pups I know.

The thing about these quaint Dutch towns is that wherever you turn, the cobblestone streets and the brown brick buildings of the old districts will provide you with a gorgeous backdrop, so we didn’t even really have to try. But to restore some balance and avoid having only city photos, we also added a pop of color to our gallery with these magnolia tree shots. Even though the Netherlands can be quite a cloudy place, that certainly doesn’t mean that all images must be gray and moody.

Photographing Stranger’s Dogs on the Beach of the Hague

The Hague was up the next day, ended up becoming my favorite place of the whole trip. The Hague is a brilliant place for dog photos because it combines all the aforementioned classic beauty of any Dutch city with its lovely beach. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen it on a bright sunny day, the clear blue sky and the warm sand were the perfect opportunity to capture some dogs, who were playing there. I had to ask some very kind strangers to let me photograph their dogs, since Mina and Ginny couldn’t join us this time, and honestly it was a super fun experience with its spontaneous nature. I had to be quick and adapt to whatever each pup was giving me, since of course none of them came to the beach that day prepared to participate in a photoshoot.

A Dog Photoshoot Over the Canals of Amsterdam

Finally, it of course would not have been a proper trip to the Netherlands if I hadn’t been to Amsterdam. As the conclusion of our journey, we set out to wander the streets of the capital. The sun was out again, and due to that so were locals and tourists alike – because of this it was a bit more challenging to get all the shots we wanted. It took a little more time to find some of the less busy areas where we could still get those iconic canals in the frame, but we were eventually successful.

There are of course still so many incredible sights to see and areas to visit in this country, and I’m aching to get back and this time meet more dogs and their owners, not just impromptu like in Hague but actual planned sessions where I really have the time to get to know your pets and create pictures that reflect their personalities and their relationship with you. So, if you’re also up for an adventure, please reach out, and we can certainly make this happen! You can also follow me on Instagram for any updates about where I’m traveling to your area again, and hopefully, not far from now, we’ll see each other on a shoot!