Discover French photographer Bettina Rheims

In this article, we will discover the personality and the art of French photographer, Bettina Rheims, a key figure.

Brief biography

Bettina Rheims was born in Paris in 1952 and started her career in photography in her twenties though she also had a career in modeling and as a gallery owner. 

Today, she is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work extends beyond the boundaries of photography. In 2002 she even received the French National Order of the Legion of Honor. 

Bettina Rheims has always challenged societal norms. First as a woman in the photography industry at a time when men used to be in majority, especially in photographing women, but also by featuring women from all backgrounds as models behind her camera.

As the years passed, she collaborated with many renowned magazines especially in the fashion industry and high-end luxury brands. Her photographs have been exhibited in prestigious galleries, museums, and cultural centers, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

"One of her early series, Modern Lovers (published in 1990), served as an introduction to Rheims’ style. The photographs depict the androgyny of young men and women. 

A unique style 

If people call her a portraitist, she prefers to create fiction by crafting unique scenes and moments to tell a story, moving beyond ordinary and realistic portraits. There is a real work of creation between the photographer and the model. 

In 1978, she photographed striptease dancers, seeking to tell different stories and represent diverse individuals. 

One of her most recent series, which began in 2014, culminated in a 2018 book. One of her latest series portrays women inmates, started in 2014, she published the book in 2018. She traveled across France to photograph women, focusing on their lives beyond the past that led them to where they are now.

Throughout her career, Rheims has explored themes that could be considered provocative or unusual, such as nudity and eroticism. Yet, in all her work, she has consistently explored femininity and gender, always playing with aesthetics, scenes, and lighting—from dark to bright, and from black-and-white to color—while staying true to her storytelling vision.

Iconic photography 

Rheims’ photographs have not only depicted strangers but also featured numerous successful collaborations with celebrities, such as Madonna, blending glamour with provocation, Monica Bellucci, French singer Mylène Farmer, and French writer Marguerite Duras.

Perhaps more surprising, in 1995, Bettina Rheims collaborated with former French President of the Republic Jacques Chirac. At the time, Chirac was campaigning for the presidency, and she eventually took his official presidential portrait.