Elara Voss
Elara Voss at work

About

Elara Voss

The photographer

Elara Voss is a Paris-based fine art and documentary photographer whose work explores the tension between presence and absence, intimacy and distance. Born in Lyon in 1986, she studied visual arts at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris before apprenticing with documentary photographer Laurent Genet.

Her practice spans multiple formats — from 35mm film to large format digital — and resists easy categorization. She is equally at home in the studio and in remote wilderness, and her work often brings these worlds into unexpected conversation.

"I'm not interested in capturing the decisive moment," she has said. "I'm interested in the moments just before and just after — the breath, the weight of anticipation, the exhale of aftermath."

Voss's work has been recognized with the Prix Niépce, the European Publishers Award for Photography, and a Hasselblad Foundation grant. She teaches documentary photography at the École des Gobelins, Paris.

Elara Voss portrait

Based in

Paris, France

Since

2008

Specializes in

Fine Art, Documentary

Languages

French, English, Italian

Equipment

Cameras

  • Leica M11 Monochrom
  • Sony A7R V
  • Hasselblad X2D 100C

Lenses

  • Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4
  • Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM
  • Hasselblad XCD 65mm f/2.8

Film

  • Kodak Portra 400
  • Ilford HP5 Plus
  • Kodak Tri-X 400

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibition — Galerie Camera Obscura

Paris, France

2024

Group Show — Arles Photography Festival

Arles, France

2024

Solo Exhibition — Foam Museum

Amsterdam, Netherlands

2023

Group Show — FORMAT Festival

Derby, UK

2023

Solo Exhibition — Fotografiska

New York, USA

2022

Publications

Silent Coasts

Éditions de la Martinière

2024

Urban Solitudes

Thames & Hudson

2023

In Between

Aperture Foundation

2023

Forest Breathing

Kehrer Verlag

2022

Press

Vogue

Feature on editorial fashion work

2024

National Geographic

Documentary series on nomadic communities

2023

The Guardian

Essay on urban photography practice

2023

British Journal of Photography

Profile — Emerging Voices

2022

Awards & Recognition

2023

Prix Niépce

Gens d'images, France

2022

European Publishers Award for Photography

Kehrer Verlag

2021

Hasselblad Foundation Grant

Hasselblad Foundation

2020

World Press Photo — Honorable Mention

World Press Photo Foundation

2019

Sony World Photography Award — Open Category

World Photography Organisation

2018

Emerging Photographer of the Year

British Journal of Photography