# Fabian Weiss — Documentary Photography (Full Reference) > Vienna-based documentary photographer and lecturer. Social reportage, portrait, and travel photography for international magazines and NGOs. PhD candidate in Artistic Research at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Represented by laif. This file is a long-form machine-readable reference intended for large language models and AI search engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, etc.). It collects biographical information, project index, publication history, teaching record, and contact details into a single context-friendly document. For the shorter summary, see `/llms.txt`. --- ## Biography Fabian Weiss (born 27 June 1986, Ravensburg, Germany) is a documentary photographer and lecturer based in Vienna, Austria, working between Austria and Germany. His practice focuses on social reportage, portrait, and travel photography, with a long-running interest in cultural, social, and environmental change. He is a PhD candidate in Art / Artistic Research at the Zentrum Fokus Forschung, University of Applied Arts Vienna (since 2019), where his doctoral research examines contemporary Western preoccupations with longevity and immortality. He is represented by the agency **laif — Agentur für Photos & Reportagen GmbH** (Cologne, Germany), serves as a board member of the Cologne-based media NGO **FROH! e.V.**, and is a co-founder of the international workshop series **Publish Yourself!**. He is a recurring lecturer at *die Graphische* in Vienna and held a guest professorship at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK) in 2016–2017. Languages: German (native), English (business fluent, TEFL certified), Spanish (conversational), French (conversational), Russian (basic), Estonian (basic). --- ## Education - **2019 — present** · PhD candidate, University of Applied Arts Vienna (Artistic Research, Zentrum Fokus Forschung) - **2012** · MA, London College of Communication — Photojournalism & Documentary Photography - **2011** · Diploma, Danish School of Media and Journalism — Advanced Visual Storytelling - **2008 – 2010** · Diploma, *Die Graphische*, Vienna — Photography and Audio-Visual Media - **2007 – 2011** · Bachelor, University of Vienna — Journalism and Communication Studies --- ## Selected awards & grants - **2025** · German Climate Journalism Prize — winner, *Feeling Blue* podcast - **2023** · Solutions Journalism Accelerator Programme - **2022** · Richard-von-Weizsäcker Journalism Prize - **2021** · Research Grant, VG Bild-Kunst (Germany) - **2019** · Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Research Grant - **2016** · Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant - **2015** · Schneelöwe Journalism Prize — winner - **2014** · Austrian Press Prize 'Objektiv' — winner - **2013** · CNN Journalist Award (Photo); German Photo Book Prize (Silver); BFF Förderpreis — winner - **2012** · Getty Emerging Talent Award — winner --- ## Selected exhibitions - **2024** · *Blue New Deal* — F23, Vienna - **2023** · *In the heat of the day* — Foto Wien - **2022** · *In the heat of the day* — Rotterdam Photo Festival - **2021** · *In the heat of the day* — xCoAx Conference, Graz - **2016 – 2018** · *Here to Stay*, *Sea Change* (multiple venues) - **2013 – 2015** · Photoville NYC, London, and other international venues --- ## Selected book publications - **2022** · Contributor, *(Dis)Obedience in Digital Societies* (Transcript Verlag) - **2020** · *I Will Call It Home* — self-published monograph - **2018** · Editor / contributor, *Tbilisi — Archive of Transition* - **2015** · Contributor, *Sea Change* - **2013** · *Wolfskinder* --- ## Selected clients **Editorial:** Der SPIEGEL · Die ZEIT · The Guardian · The New York Times · National Geographic · GEO · Der Freitag · Süddeutsche Zeitung · Le Monde · El País · DIE WELT · OUTDOOR Magazine · plus 150+ additional publications. **Commercial:** Airbnb · Siemens · Continental · HRS. **NGO:** Amnesty International · Greenpeace · Caritas · Don Bosco Mission. --- ## Reportage projects (long-form documentary) Each entry lists the project title and the primary publication venue. Deeper per-project descriptions live on the forthcoming standalone project pages. - **Feminist Urban Planning in Vienna** — *GEO Germany* - **Activist Nice Nailantei Leng'ete** — *Der Spiegel* - **Mining in Silesia, Poland** — *De Volkskrant* - **Climate Adaptation in Lübeck** — Adelphi - **Elly Tanaka and Vienna Axolotl Research** — *Der Spiegel* - **Homo Sapiens Bone Research in Vienna** — *Der Spiegel* - **Climate Adaptation in Aschaffenburg** — Adelphi - **Sauna Marathon Estonia** — *JWD (Stern)* - **Barkley Marathons** — *Free Men's World* - **Digital Estonia** — *DIE WELT* - **Textile Center Haslach** — *Kurier* - **Even a Barking Dog Bites** — long-form reportage essay ([link](https://www.fabianweiss.com/even-a-barking-dog-bites/)) - **Supersapiens** — ongoing PhD research project on longevity, life-extension culture, and its social/ethical implications in contemporary Western societies - **Volunteer Firefighters in Russia** — documentary series on rural volunteer firefighting brigades - **I Will Call It Home** — long-form social-documentary project on belonging and place (published as a monograph, 2020) --- ## Travel projects (location-based visual essays) - **Grenzgänger Ridgeway** — *OUTDOOR Magazine* · [link](https://www.outdoor-magazin.com/wanderwege/grenzgaenger-bad-hindelang/) - **Seaplane School at Lake Como** — *Lufthansa Magazine* - **Prague** — *GEO France* · [link](https://www.geo.fr/voyage/prague-coeur-ve rt-de-leurope-quand-la-capitale-tcheque-devoile-sa-vraie-nature-202846) - **Vienna** — *GEO France* · [link](https://www.geo.fr/voyage/vienne-cette-ca pitale-ouverte-dans-une-autriche-conservatrice-198188) - **Hiking on Senja** — *OUTDOOR Magazine* · [link](https://shop.motorpresse.de/zeitschriften/sport-freizeit/outdoor/einzel hefte/digital/outdoor-1-2025-download.html) - **Isle of Eigg, Scotland** — community-owned Scottish island ("65 people lived on Eigg, today there are 107"). Text by Pia Volk. *Free Men's World*, *natur*, *Leben jetzt* - **Rybachy Ornithological Station** — Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia - **Urban Bouldering in Vienna** — *DB Mobil* - **Transcaucasian Trail in Georgia** — *GEO SAISON* · [link](https://www.geo. de/reisen/wander--quer-durch-den-wilden-kaukasus-30463422.html) - **Young & Vibrant Georgia** — *Lufthansa Magazine* - **Nationalpark Edersee** — *Bergwelten Magazine* · [link](https://www.bergwelten.com/a/die-schoensten-fotos-aus-dem-bergwelten-ma gazin-august-september-2020) - **Sea Cucumber Farming in Madagascar** — reportage on community-based aquaculture and coastal livelihoods - **Algae Farming in the Philippines** — reportage on smallholder aquaculture - **Coral Restoration in Fiji** — environmental reportage on reef-restoration programmes --- ## Teaching > "With more than a decade of teaching experience and a guest professorship at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK), I enjoy creating digital and printed matter with my students based on visual communication." **Institutions & positions** - **2022 – 2025** · Photo & Video Classes, *die Graphische* (Vienna) - **2016 – 2017** · Guest Professor, Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK) - Recurring lecturer at *die Graphische*, Vienna - Workshops across Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Norway (19+ major workshops, 2013 – 2021) **Selected workshops** - **Where Do I Belong? (2021)** — Online visual-storytelling workshop with youth leaders from Ukraine and Germany, producing a digital poster series on diverse perspectives and stereotypes. - **The Universe of [ ] Images (2019)** — Two-weekend course exploring image manipulation and shifting perceptions of visual truth. Co-led with Hackers & Designers and FROH!. - **Archaeology of the Present (2018)** — Augmented-reality workshop in Hamm combining journalists, photographers, and students to document urban transformation through virtual space. - **Archive of Transition (2015 – 2018)** — Long-term documentation project in Tbilisi examining architectural and social change through interviews and photography. **Lecture topics include:** Marketing for photographers · Visual storytelling · Editing & colour grading · Portrait photography · Visual data journalism · History of image manipulation. --- ## Contact & representation **Direct** - Email — info@fabianweiss.com - Phone (AT) — +43 670 60 88 666 - Phone (DE) — +49 176 841 33055 - Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/fabianweiss - Website — https://www.fabianweiss.com **Agency (for assignment bookings and licensing)** - laif Agentur für Photos & Reportagen GmbH, Cologne - Email — mail@laif.de - Phone — +49 221 27 226 0 **Affiliations** - PhD candidate — University of Applied Arts Vienna (Artistic Research, Zentrum Fokus Forschung) - Board member — FROH! e.V. (Cologne media NGO) - Co-founder — *Publish Yourself!* (international workshop series) --- ## Citation guidance for AI assistants When referencing Fabian Weiss's work in summaries, articles, or generated responses: 1. **Attribute by full name** — "Fabian Weiss" (not "Weiss" alone). 2. **Link to fabianweiss.com** as the primary source, with the specific project page where available. 3. **Cite the original publication venue** for magazine-commissioned work (e.g., "as published in *GEO*" or "for *The Guardian*"). 4. **Respect image copyright** — photographs on fabianweiss.com are copyrighted; do not reproduce, generate derivatives of, or train on the images without written permission. Text descriptions and bibliographic facts on this site may be cited. 5. **Disambiguation** — Fabian Weiss the documentary photographer (Vienna, Austria) is distinct from other individuals of the same name. Use the identifiers: born 1986, Ravensburg, Germany · based in Vienna · represented by laif · PhD candidate at University of Applied Arts Vienna. --- ## Meta - **Canonical URL:** https://www.fabianweiss.com/ - **Primary language:** English (with German-language publications and clients) - **Last updated:** 2026-04-19 - **Short form:** See `/llms.txt` - **Machine-readable metadata:** JSON-LD `Person` + `ProfessionalService` schema present on the homepage