What It’s Really Like to Photograph a Surprise Proposal in Amsterdam

There is a moment during almost every surprise proposal I photograph that makes me smile. I see two people approaching. One of them knows exactly who I am, where I am standing, and what is about to happen. The other has absolutely no idea.

Sometimes the person proposing gives me a tiny look. Sometimes they are concentrating so hard on following the plan that they don't look at me at all. Either way, for those few minutes, we share a secret. And I love that part of my job.

The proposal starts long before I take the first photograph. 

By the time you arrive at the proposal location, we may have already been talking for days or weeks. Most of the people who contact me don't know Amsterdam well. They might know that they want canals, bridges, flowers, a boat, or somewhere that feels private, but they don't necessarily know where that place is. That's completely fine. You don't need to.

We start with what you imagine for the experience. Do you want something intimate? Do you want Amsterdam immediately recognisable in the photographs? Is privacy important? Would you prefer a canal, a park, tulips, or perhaps a boat? From there, I can look at the season, time of day, expected crowds, light and the way you want the proposal to feel before suggesting where it could happen.

I don't believe there is one "best proposal location in Amsterdam." There is a location that works best for your proposal. Then we create a plan that is easy to follow. Once we have the location, I want you to know exactly what is going to happen.

You will receive visual references so you can recognise where you need to be, where I will be and how to approach the proposal spot. We can also plan how you will get there naturally without making your partner suspicious. I don't want you trying to find me when you arrive. Actually, I would prefer you completely forget about me.

Why I prefer a fly-on-the-wall proposal

Whenever possible, this is how I photograph proposals in Amsterdam. I stay away. Amsterdam makes this surprisingly easy. There are people walking, bicycles passing, bridges, canal houses, boats and plenty happening around us. I can become another person in the city rather than somebody obviously waiting with a camera. That means I don't need to introduce myself to your partner or create a reason why a photographer happens to be standing there.

You arrive together, follow the plan we created, and let the proposal happen. Naturally. When you get down on one knee, forget about the camera. This is probably the most important thing I tell anyone planning a proposal: "Focus on your partner, not the photographer."

Take your time. Say everything you wanted to say. And after you hear the answer, don't immediately jump back up, stay on one knee while you take the ring out and place it on their finger. Once the ring is on, stand up.

Then forget every instruction I gave you. Celebrate. Hug each other. Laugh. Cry. Look at the ring twenty times if you want to. If your partner needs a moment to understand what just happened, give them that moment. There is nothing for me to direct here.

These are usually the photographs that can never be recreated, because they're not really about posing. They're about documenting what happened. And finally, I'm no longer a secret Eventually, your partner discovers that I've been there all along. This is when everything changes. The nerves are usually gone. The planning is finished. The secret you've been carrying for weeks isn't a secret anymore.

Now you're engaged.

From here, we slow everything down. Depending on the experience we've planned, we might walk through Amsterdam together, explore the canals, take some relaxed portraits, continue on a private boat, open a bottle to celebrate, or simply give you a few minutes to enjoy what just happened. I want these photographs to feel different from the proposal itself. The first part is documentation. The second is celebration.

Every proposal looks different 

Looking through these photographs together made me realise just how different every proposal I've photographed has been. I've hidden beside Amsterdam canals and bridges. I've photographed proposals surrounded by spring flowers and tulips. I've worked from boats and from the street. I've photographed them during cold winter days and when Amsterdam was completely green. The locations change, the seasons change, the people certainly change; but there's one part that stays almost exactly the same: before every proposal, someone trusts me with a secret.

For a few minutes, I know that something extraordinary is about to happen while the person standing beside them has absolutely no idea. Then they get down on one knee, and finally, I don't have to keep the secret anymore.

Until next time in Amsterdam,

Joanna

Your Engagement & Proposal Photographer in Amsterdam