Whether Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Die Ärzte or Rammstein – when a German band needed an album cover in the 90s, the people responsible usually called Olaf Heine. Born in Hanover, he is one of the most famous portrait photographers in the world. After training as a draftsman and dropping out of architecture studies, he moved to Berlin and studied photography at the renowned Lette-Verein.
The band Rammstein accompanied Heine on their first US tour and thus came into contact with the American music industry. He lived in Los Angeles himself for eleven years, where he ran a photo studio that was frequented by international stars. Musicians such as Iggy Pop, Sting, Snoop Dogg and the bands Coldplay, U2 and REM appreciate Heine’s unpretentious black and white photography.
Olaf Heine shot music videos for Die Ärzte and Westernhagen
He not only made numerous portraits of artists, but also designed rows of album covers, tour posters and shot music videos. Olaf Heine was awarded an Echo in 2000 for his clip for the single “Sometimes women” by the doctors. This year he shot the music video for the single “Zeitgeist” by Marius Müller-Westernhagen, which addresses current crises: the Ukraine war, climate change and the corona pandemic.
“It’s about knowledge, I take pictures in order to understand things, things that concern me, the camera is basically a key to doors that then open,” said the 54-year-old in an interview with the ARD magazine “ttt – title, theses, temperaments” about his work.
Those who are now curious can view Olaf Heine’s photographs until February 4, 2023 in the Berlin gallery “Camera Work” admire. Over 40 works created during his 30-year career will be presented there under the title “Human Conditions”.