Born in London in 1986, von Bismarck first explored his passion for art and photography through studying at Parsons. His career in photography began after working for Annie Leibovitz for three years in New York, where his appreciation for extensive research for sittings was established.
Nikolai von Bismarck’s unique, richly toned, and labour-intensive photographs are the result of a wide range of experimental processes, archival techniques, and a deep passion for seeking out printers and rare film across the world. Working across fine art, portraiture, travel, reportage, still life and fashion, von Bismarck’s photographs vary in subject and scale – from 3 x 3 inches through to 4.8ft x 6.5ft - all share an other-worldly quality and an atmosphere combining both the past and the present. His current extended series of botanical photographs sees him using expired Polaroid to photograph flowers in his Soho studio, as well as rare and beautiful, striking species found while shooting on location around the world – from Sissinghurst to Villa Medici. Since a commission to Rome, a new fascination with statues has found him researching and photographing grand marble sculptures in locations including Villa Borghese and Castle Howard. Von Bismarck travels the world as much for his landscapes, still lives and portrait sittings as he does for his printing techniques and film. The collodion wet plate, expired Polaroid, Fresson, screen-printing and Super8 film are just some of the ways von Bismarck creates his intriguing, atmospheric photographs. Through his lens, flowers, statues, and portraits take on a dramatic intensity. Often cropped unconventionally and featuring the undeveloped edges of expired film, von Bismarck treats his still lives as intimately as his models, creating his signature images which break from tradition.
Crediting Sir Don McCullin as a mentor in his early work, von Bismarck has travelled the world for his fine art and reportage portfolios and exhibitions, which have taken him from Ethiopia, Cuba, and India to the gorillas of Rwanda and, to highlight the effects of the people displaced by war, the Ukraine.
Having photographed the world’s leading cultural figures, from Sir Ben Kingsley to David Bailey, Tilda Swinton and Naomi Campbell, von Bismarck’s work has been featured in the pages and on the covers of publications including Vogue, Self Service, W, Harper’s Bazaar, World of Interiors and Cabana. His fashion portfolio features shoots for brands such as Celine, Dior, Fendi, Maison Margiela, and Chanel.
His work has been exhibited at London’s Royal Academy and has been published in two Rizzoli books: 2019’s The Dior Sessions, and 2022’s The Fendi Set.