Maurice Kohl studied communication design with a focus on sustainable design at the Akademie für Gestaltung/Ecosign as well as photo design at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. He has been a freelance photojournalist and portrait photographer since 2010. Based in Cologne, he works for clients such as stern, Die Zeit, Focus, Der Spiegel, 11 Freunde, as well as Aktion Mensch, Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, Allianz Versicherung, Wirtschaftsförderung Köln, Bundesagentur für Arbeit and many more.

Maurice at laif Archiv

Both photo jobs were super interesting, but underground in the Ruhr area was much more intense for me. My family comes from Upper Silesia, my mother’s name is Barbara (like the patron saint of miners) and my great-grandfather was a miner by trade. I was born in Essen and studied in Dortmund. With this background, it was like a dream come true for me when I was allowed to visit the last active coal mine »Prosper Haniel« in Bottrop before coal mining in the Ruhr area became history.

Together with a journalist from Der Spiegel, I put on the miner’s outfit: blue and white striped shirt, duster, helmet with lamp and fine rib underwear. Wonderful. I was allowed to accompany a buddy who was called »Everybody« by everyone because he was simply »Everybodys Darling«. Together with him and dozens of other miners, we took the elevator several hundred meters underground. Once at the bottom, a train was already waiting for us to travel down the tunnel to the place where the coal is mined. Once there, »Everybody« poured a portion of snuff onto the back of his hand and took a big drag. Smoking is not allowed down here because of the explosive gases and the snuff is supposed to cleanse the mucous membranes of coal dust.

I wasn’t allowed to use my digital camera underground because of the risk of explosion. I was handed an analog Leica camera with an oversized flash unit. The round, green metal housing of the flash was reminiscent of Jules Verne’s »10,000 Leagues Under the Sea«. It was about the size of my dog and I had to carry it with a strap over my shoulder. As I had no idea how to set the flash intensity, I just took pictures at random. Unfortunately, the pictures were all overexposed and unusable. Fortunately, I had taken a lot of good pictures in the changing room, in the elevator, at the beginning of the tunnel and on the train, so it wasn’t so bad in the end. I sent some nice portraits to »Everybody« a few weeks later. He was very pleased with them.

My focus is on people – in very different contexts – that’s what I do best and what I enjoy the most. They are both models for advertising campaigns, but even more often they are people who are not used to being in front of the camera.

I love this variety in my job! It’s always exciting to get involved with completely different people and situations. With the advertising jobs, the motif, model, location and styling are fixed in advance. I work with a whole team of make-up artists, producers, stylists, photo assistants and art directors on the photo set. I like the team spirit and the fact that everyone is part of the whole.

For reportages and smaller portrait shoots, I often don’t even know how the shoot will go, what the location will look like, what mood the people are in and what stories they have to tell. It’s always exciting – and it’s just my job to take a great portrait in a short space of time. Full responsibility, but also maximum freedom! Of course, there is also a greater closeness when I am alone with the person.

For me, it’s simply important to treat everyone equally with openness and respect – whether I’m shooting Harald Schmidt, Laura Wontorra, a miner, a woman with Down’s syndrome, a top manager or the kids in my photo workshops. For me, it’s about being authentic and appreciative. If I am, the people I have in front of the camera will be too. At least that’s my experience.

Since 2020, I have been giving photo workshops for children, teenagers and young adults on exciting topics such as: »Lightpainting«, »Film Noir«, »Foto Morgana«, »Medusa Reloaded«, »Horror-Trash der 80er Jahre« or »Alles wird sich gendern«. Most of the workshops take place as part of »Kulturrucksack NRW« – a free offer for children and young people that is funded by the state of NRW.

The workshops are primarily about helping the kids to develop their personalities through cultural education, in my case through photography. The younger ones between the ages of 10 and 15 experiment more, enjoy dressing up and slipping into different roles. The older ones between 16 and 26 often work in a more considered and conceptual way.

My job is to pick up each participant where he or she stands and then continue to support them in implementing their ideas. It’s particularly nice when, at the end of a workshop, the pictures are so strong that they can be shown in an exhibition. In the youth center »FREEZE« in Witten-Heven in the Ruhr area or in the »Youth Office of the City of Cologne« at the »Alter Markt« parallel to the CSD, there have already been two photo exhibitions on the topic »Everything will be gendered«. In these workshops, the participants playfully explored gender roles, clichés, self-presentation and their own identity. Seeing themselves on 1×2 meter photo banners in an exhibition is very impressive for the participants. Friends and family come to the vernissage and the participants are super proud.

The joy and courage to experiment, to simply try out new things without fear, to be in the flow – that’s what keeps giving me energy and inspiration for my own photography. The exciting thing about working with children, teenagers and young adults is the enthusiasm and curiosity – perhaps doing something for the first time, daring to do something crazy even at the risk of it not looking so great in the end. But you have tried it out. That’s what it’s all about for the kids – having new experiences.

This direct enthusiasm can sometimes get a little lost when you’ve been doing the job for a long time. Through cultural youth work, I stay connected with young people. Sometimes the kids show me their favorite influencers or prompt a picture with AI, which we then use as a background image for a beamer photo shoot, for example.

book Maurice