Seven years ago, I moved from Lima to Amsterdam to build a life with my partner, Arun. It was not an easy decision. I had left a career in finance years earlier to become a full-time photographer, and it had taken time to build a name for myself in Peru. By 2019, I had been photographing weddings since 2011, with a documentary and lifestyle approach. I did not want to move countries and give up that work without a plan.

Before arriving in the Netherlands, I changed my website into English and began positioning my work for an international audience. By the time I arrived, I had four wedding contracts, including two small Dutch civil ceremonies. They found me through my website and Fearless Photographers.

I arrived with photography experience, booked work, and very little money. Looking back, these are the lessons that helped me build a business again:

1. You may be changing countries, but you are not starting from zero

Moving to a new place can make you feel like a beginner. But your experience still comes with you. I had a portfolio, years of client work, and the confidence that comes from having photographed real weddings. Even though I was new to the Netherlands, I was not new to photography.

Your previous work matters. The skills you built, the way you solve problems, and the care you bring to clients can travel with you.

2. Use your first income to create more freedom

The first two weddings I photographed in the Netherlands paid for my intensive Dutch classes. At the time, I thought I would quickly become fluent. I was very optimistic about that. Dutch is difficult. But studying was important for my inburgering and for building a life here. I passed all my exams on the first try when they reopened after Covid. I needed to pass, both because my residence depended on it and because I could not afford to repeat the courses and exams.

Early business income does not always need to become profit immediately. Sometimes it should pay for the skill, tool, language, or qualification that gives you more freedom later.

3. A disrupted plan is not a failed plan

Then Covid happened. I had more weddings and engagement proposals planned for 2020. My last proposal before everything stopped was on 8 March. A proposal planned for the following week was cancelled, and then the work disappeared almost overnight.

I contacted every client and shared clear updates on my website and social media. I told them I would hold their dates if they continued with their payment plans, and they all agreed. All of those weddings eventually took place in 2022 and 2023.

The plan I had for my first years in the Netherlands changed completely. But the work I had done was not wasted. Trust remained, relationships remained, and my clients returned when they could.

Sometimes the goal stays the same, but the timeline has to change.

4. A part-time job can be part of your business plan

In 2021, I took a 24-hour-a-week customer-service role for the Spanish and American markets of an online retail business.

It was a practical choice. One of the requirements for my inburgering was proof of paid work for a certain period. I could pay an accountant to help organise that evidence, or I could take a job, earn an income, and meet the requirement at the same time. The job gave me stability when I needed it. It also gave me a new skill I still use every day.

I learned how to listen quickly, find the real problem, and offer a solution. Today, that is a large part of how I work with photography clients. When someone contacts me, I try to understand what they need before I begin talking about a package. A job outside your main field is not always a step backwards. Sometimes it gives you income, structure, training, and breathing room to build properly.

5. Keep your main goal visible

The company later offered me a permanent, full-time contract. I was grateful for the offer, but I said no. The job had always been a bridge, not my final destination. I had been clear from the beginning that photography was my main work. Accepting a permanent contract would have made it much harder to give photography the attention it needed. Leaving meant a difficult winter with less financial security. But it also gave me time to prepare for tulip season in 2023.

That was the moment I began promoting vacation photography seriously. I realised that this was the work I wanted to build in Amsterdam.

6. Let your new business fit the life you have now

I did not recreate my wedding photography business from Peru. Instead, I built something that made sense for Amsterdam: vacation photography, surprise proposals, family sessions, solo sessions, lifestyle routes, and guided experiences around a city I had learned to love.

During Covid, Amsterdam was unusually quiet. I walked everywhere with my camera, read about its history, and paid attention. Every street, bridge, and canal felt like something to discover.

By the time visitors began returning, I knew the city deeply. That curiosity became part of my work. I was not only taking photographs. I was helping people experience Amsterdam and leave with stories, memories, and images that felt personal to them.

Your next business does not need to look exactly like your previous one. It needs to fit your current market, your skills, and the life you want to create.

7. Resilience is usually quiet and practical

By 2024, my business felt like a business again. There were consistent bookings, clients who trusted my work, financial stability, feedback, insurance, better equipment, systems, and numbers I could finally measure. It was a new stage of my career, very different from my wedding work in Peru, but just as real.

When people talk about resilience, they often make it sound dramatic. For me, it was mostly practical. If I could speak to the version of myself who arrived in Amsterdam with four wedding contracts and almost no money, I would say this:

Don’t be scared. Prepare, save what you can, and take your work seriously. It will not be automatic, and it will not always be easy. But keep learning, keep adapting, and keep working. The life and business you are trying to build can become real.

Building a business, more honestly

I have recently opened a Close Friends space where I share more of the business side of my work: the decisions behind the scenes, what I am learning, systems I am building, and the less polished parts of growing a creative business in Amsterdam. It will u

It is for photographers, creative business owners, and anyone building something of their own.

The founding-member subscription is €15 per month, or €149 per year.

New members will be accepted from January 2027.

Until soon,

Joanna Pantigoso

Amsterdam Vacation Photographer & Proposal Expert