The Best Documentary Photography Portfolio Examples of 2026

Born in Paris in 1988, Thomas Fliche lived in the city suburbs until he was twenty years old. He began photographing the inspired urban culture of the 1990s. At the same time, he immersed himself in the various communities and made a series of portraits in traditional dress. He then developed a passion for life stories, often linked to the history of territories, and developed his own documentary style.

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Terna Iwar is an abuja-based photographer. Terna studied Computing and Digital Media at Galway-Mayo Institute of technology but spent most of his time that time working in design and photographing the world around him. His work encompases fashion, documentary and portraiture. Terna contributes to publications including NPR, The Guardian UK, and The New York Times, among others.

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Born in Waterford Myles Shelly is currently based in Dublin and studied photography at the Belfast school of art and fine art at the Limerick school of art and design. He works on personal projects about our relationship with the natural world, in addition to photographing a diverse range of commissions. Myles loves to photograph people, places, and still lifes and create abstract, painterly images.

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Armony Dailly is a French photographer and videographer originally based in Sevran, in Seine-Saint-Denis (93). This territory plays a central role in her work. Guided and influenced by her emotion, cinema, dreams and photos from her childhood, her work explores intimacy, human relationships, and memory. The female gaze is a very important value in her work. She portrays strong women with beautiful vulnerabilities.

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Conor Beary is a London based documentary and portrait photographer. He has worked with clients such as New York Times, Vogue, Hunger Magazine, Mother London, Gup Magazine, Gieves and Hawkes and more.

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Douglas Almeida is a photographer, visual artist, and photography researcher based in São Paulo, Brazil. He holds a degree in Social Communication with a focus on Advertising and also completed a Photography program at the Panamerican School of Arts in São Paulo. As a photographer, he has taken part in several group exhibitions, including *"New Flights Connection Between Art, Photography and Design"* at the Art Hub Gallery in Dubai.

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Born next to the Bosphorus, Özge Sebzeci is a documentary and portrait photographer based in Istanbul, Turkiye, focusing on stories about gender, migration and ecology. Her approach revolves around establishing trust and intimacy with the people she photographs. She is deeply committed to diverse perspectives in visual storytelling. Özge Sebzeci is a National Geographic Society and Magnum Foundation grantee.

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Freelance photographer on Reunion Island since 2006, Romain Philippon is a member of the Inland cooperative, and works regularly for Liberation, Le Monde and Le Monde Magazine. For several years, his work has focused on themes related to insularity, in its geographical and human forms, mainly in the Indian Ocean territory.

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Alex Dinaut is a photographer and filmmaker. For over fifteen years, he has navigated the divide between still and moving images, creating short films, music videos, and over a thousand corporate films. Curious about territories and wandering, he focuses on childhood (Movies with Toys), the streets (Ducasse), and then resilience with his first photo book, TUMUR, born from a six-week immersion in Mongolia. His work blends visual poetry, sometimes absurd humor, and inner quest.

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Emmanuel Guillén Lozano is a Mexican photographer and photo editor based in New York City. His work focuses on social issues, human rights and the effects of violence, and has been published in the New York Times, Vice, the Washington Post, and the Deutsche Welle, among others.

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Roshni Khatri is a New York City-based documentary photographer focusing on gender, culture, and identity. Originally from New Delhi, India, she brings a global perspective to her storytelling. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, NBC News, and Reuters, and has been exhibited at Photoville. A graduate of the International Center of Photography, supported by the Wall Street Journal Scholarship, Roshni is a member of Women Photograph and Diversify.

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Jonty Wilde was born and raised on the Wirral, near Liverpool, Jonty Wilde’s future was set from age 15, when his father bought him a Ricoh KR-10 SLR camera that led him to a weekend photography course in which, for the first time in his school life, he excelled. Photography became his obsession and initially, with very modest means – buying and selling camera gear and constantly upgrading – he gradually built a body of equipment that allowed him to work professionally.

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Tina Babakishvili is a 33-year-old from Tbilisi, Georgia, now based in Los Angeles. With a background in the film industry and a passion for photography, she has been fortunate to combine her two interests over the years. Tina's love for photography runs deep, rooted in their family history - her grandfather was an avid photographer during World War II, and both her parents shared a passion for the art form. Tina feels the connection is ingrained in her genes.

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David Sládek is a Czech independent photojournalist living in London and a former reporter for the Czech News Agency. Since moving to London more than a decade and a half ago he has been focusing his photographic work on people, their lives and emotions. His main topics are: Protests in the streets of London, British car boot sales, ordinary life of people in the Slovak village Šumiac, people of South Bohemia

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Nicky Quamina-Woo is a Black and Native Hawaiian documentary and portrait photographer who divides her time between East Africa, Southeast Asia, and New York City.

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James Barkman is a photographer who draws much of his inspiration from the mountains and the sea. No stranger to the open road, his work, travels, and expeditions have taken him from the Arctic Circle to Afghanistan. His passion for honest storytelling and drive for genuine adventure has led him to work with a diverse and unique range of clients. A climber, motorcycle enthusiast, and writer, James is based on the Central Coast of California.

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Giovanni Capriotti specializes in long-form post-documentary explorations that examine how time and the inevitability of compromise shape individuals, communities, history, culture, and the human condition. Through the integration of photography, moving images, audio, experiential prose, and personal testimonials, he strives to deepen his understanding of worldly affairs and the role of contemporary documentary practice.

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Amr Alfiky is an Egyptian award-winning documentary photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. He studied medicine at Alexandria University in Egypt and assisted as a field medic during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Shortly afterwards he began photographing and in 2013 Amr co-founded one of the prominent visual arts studios - Janaklees for Visual Arts, in Egypt.

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As a native New Yorker Aaron had the privilege of being exposed to artist from all walks of life, from graffiti to Neoclassicism and everything in between. These interactions had a profound impact on him and led him, in his own right to become a multi disciplined artist. Aaron is an accomplished musician, sound designer, photographer, painter and programmer.

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Alex is a photographer from the UK. The foundations of his work lies in personal narratives exploring his family and the past. His work is often research focused and linked to conceptual ideas from various critical thinkers and philosophers.

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Mano Svanidze is a Georgian photographer currently based in Tbilisi. In 2009, she discovered her interest in photography. Mano is a member and co-founder of Georgian Photo Collective - 90’x Collective. Her work has been published and exhibited worldwide.

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Debbie Naylor is a documentary photographer and lecturer with over twenty years of experience in practicing, sharing, and developing design and photographic practice across both the creative industries and education sector. Sitting within the editorial and documentary genre, Naylor's practice explores concepts of identity and mental health as well as hegemony within a current contemporary landscape. Recently completed a MA in Documentary Photography at the University of Westminster, London

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Ebti Nabag is a visual artist who works with photography, video, and installation. She is a digital and analog photography instructor. She teams up with galleries and community centers to develop art programs that provide opportunities for creative self-expression and aid in the development of identity. Her work is motivated by stories from the average human and hopes her documentations serve as bridges between people and communities.

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Marissa Leshnov is a portrait and documentary photographer based in Oakland, California. Her images explore identity and belonging in the contexts of social, political, and cultural issues. She frequently contributes to The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Guardian.

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