Berlin's documentary photography practitioners

Documentary photography is more than a record of what stands in front of the lens. It grows from a photographer’s curiosity, their relationship with place and the care they bring to the people they meet. On our Documentary Photography programme, students learn to approach the world with this same blend of awareness, technical skill and critical reflection. They explore how images can inform, question and connect, building a practice shaped by research, lived experience and an honest engagement with the communities around them.

Berlin offers a vibrant backdrop for this way of working. The city is home to practitioners whose careers show how documentary photography can stretch across borders, disciplines and industries while staying rooted in human stories. In this article, we spotlight four photographers based in and around the city whose practices range from long-form social narratives to environmental reportage. Their work reflects the variety of paths documentary photographers can take, offering inspiration for anyone looking to develop a thoughtful, grounded and socially engaged photographic voice.

Joakim Eskildsen’s interest in photography began at age fourteen, experimenting with printing pictures in his garage with his brother. Over 30 years experience and more than 10 publications in multiple languages later, Joakim is one of several documentary photographers that calls Berlin home. A recurring theme in his work is portraying human existence in relation to nature. He has been developing this visual approach for as long as he has been photographing.

He utilises a unique and powerful process within documentary photography – whenever possible he tries to live with the subjects of his photos. This deeply personal process centers on a genuine interest in who is photographing and helps him understand them better. It also provides the space to capture them naturally.

Joakim’s work can be seen as socially critical. However, these elements often develop later in the process and are secondary to his personal vision. Initially, he is striving to depict people and landscapes without agenda or socioeconomic labels. Get to know Joakim better in this interview below.

Jan-Christoph Hartung and Miguel Hahn form the Berlin-based duo Hahn–Hartung Fotografie. Their work combines storytelling with conceptual and technical precision. Alongside editorial and commercial projects, they pursue independent stories driven by social themes. Each project is self-financed, carefully researched and produced over long periods of time. Their focus often lies in the quiet tension between people and their surroundings, where reality can feel both ordinary and surreal.

The series 'Mother of Water' featured below portrays communities living along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. They show the river’s cultural significance, and the changes it is going through caused by  climate shifts and human impact. Hahn–Hartung document how this transformation is affecting daily life. Their images show both resilience and fragility, revealing the deep connection between people and their environment.

Other notable projects include a high contrast collection of moving portraits depicting Berlin’s shifting mood, a look at German emigration to Hungary and an exploration of firearm culture in Germany. 'The Last Summer' captures moving portraits of Berliners in bright public spaces while an unspoken tension sits beneath the city’s familiar summer ease. 'Den Bach runter' follows German emigrants seeking security in Hungary, revealing lives shaped by isolation, disillusionment and a desire to watch Germany’s supposed decline from afar. 'Firearms and Soap Bubbles' examines Germany’s firearm subculture, showing a tightly connected community whose interests blend sport, nostalgia and advocacy influenced by global media.

Astrid is a freelance photographer living in Brandenburg and Berlin. Her practice spans editorial, fashion, portrait, travel and reportage photography. Her approach to documentary photography is about “showing life as it is, in all its diversity and complexity”. For this showcase, Astrid has selected the series 'Im Kopf waren wir schon in Deutschland' and 'We Are Here'.
Commissioned by the Goethe-Institut in 2011, and published with a book of the same title, 'Im Kopf waren wir schon Deutschland' reveals individual stories of immigration. It features portraits and interviews taken in Turkey, Morocco, Cameroon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Thailand. 'We Are Here', on the other hand, is a series taken entirely in Uganda. Across multiple LGBTQ+ non-profits, communes and private shelters, this project documents the stories, hopes and daily struggles of the LGBTQ+ community and the relationships between class and persecution.

Astrid's photography practice has taken her all over the world. She has shot scenes in the heat of Tanzania, the height of the Dolomites, and every extreme in between. Below, readers can see a glimpse of 3 projects. '1737 meters above sea level' documents the development of Schutzhaus Tschafon, a refuge nested in the Italian Dolomites. 'Saving Selous' shows the people protecting Tanzania's largest game reserve. 'Hagen's Insel' will give our international community a taste of winter in the Spreewald, Berlin's neighbouring area of natural beauty.

Markus Altmann specialises in corporate, advertising and editorial photography. Now based in Berlin, Markus grew up in southern Germany and has spent a lot of time in the U.S. He has over 20 years of experience working, and has a large portfolio of client based work – including many major car brands, housing associations and a range of agencies and magazines.

Although Berlin has been very important for some of his more commercial work, our focus for this article is Markus’ documentary projects which are often beyond the city limits. One stellar example is the collaboration with Terra Mater magazine on a feature about plastic-eating microbes. After a previous project photographing a Berlin laboratory for the magazine, Markus was invited to cover this related project, documenting the work of Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne in Banyuls-Sur-Mer, France. The main research goal is to study microbes capable of decomposing plastic and to improve plastic biodegradability. They seek to understand how marine organisms respond to and decompose plastic pollutants. Markus documented the laboratory’s environment, processes and atmosphere to visually support the article’s narrative.

Two other notable series depict the lives of artisans in Fès, Morocco and communities in the Mojave Desert, U.S. 'Fès Artisans' explores Morocco’s long tradition of craftsmanship, published in October 2025. The series focuses on the artisans themselves, their hidden workshops in the medina and the quiet dedication behind each handmade piece. While 'Friendly Skies' tells the story of Mojave's Air & Space Port amid the stark Mojave landscape.