• Reihane Taravati

    Photographer

    A woman in a dim hallway facing a bright open door, from Reihane Taravati’s “Lost in Me” photography project, Mashhad, Iran, 2012.

  • Reihane Taravati

    Photographer

Reihane Taravati Nobel Oece Prize Exhibition Oslo

Reihane Taravati

Photographer, Social Media Expert, Videographer

Reihane Taravati  born in 1991 in Mashhad, is an Iranian  photographer, videographer, social media influencer, and activist known mostly for her work in the Iranian film industry, social media campaigns, and women’s rights advocacy. She has a bachelor of  industrial design from the Art University Tehran.

She began photography in 2007 and has worked professionally since 2015 through her own studio in Tehran, focusing on portrait, fashion, lifestyle, and industrial photography. Her work has featured  in leading international media, including Le Figaro, Libération, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, The New York Times, Getty Images, AFP, Reuters, The Washington Post, and TIME magazine.The New York Times is a newspaper based in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Times covers domestic, nationaThe New York Times is a newspaper based in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Times covers domestic, nationa

Taravati, as an influencer with over 230,000 followers on Instagram, has collaborated with international brands like Dior, Guerlain, Fila, and Samsung, and worked with acclaimed Iranian filmmakers and actors, including Bahman Farmanara, Abdolreza Kahani, Hedieh Tehrani, Payman Maadi, Bahram Raadan and Rakhshan Banietemad.

In 2016 she was named “Woman of the Week” by Elle Magazine for amplifying Iranian women’s voices.

In 2023 during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, her photograph of Narges Mohammadi with an empty chair symbolized her absence. Berit Reiss-Andersen, former chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, explained that the portrait was chosen for its vibrant, laughing depiction of Mohammadi.

My Persian Fridah

Mashhad l 2012

My Persian Fridah is a series of mixed-media works—collage layered with photography—born from the spirit of Frida Kahlo, the artist, the feminist, the relentless witness to women’s suffering. I carried her into Persian culture, into Iranian rooms, as if imagining how she might confront the constraints of a woman enclosed in a familiar but unyielding world. Kahlo lived inside the cage of her own pain, shaped by the accidents that marked her life. Here, another Fridah appears: trapped not by broken bones but by the quiet architecture of a society that holds her still. A world she knows, yet a prison nonetheless.

  • Black and white portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo, featuring a woman in traditional attire with floral headpieces and symbolic domestic settings. From the “Fridah Series” by Iranian photographer Reihane Taravati, Tehran, 2014.
  • Close-up of crossed legs and soft fabric folds, reflecting quiet sensuality and vulnerability. From Reihane Taravati’s “Mirrors & Women” photography project, Tehran, 2017.
  • A woman in a dim hallway facing a bright open door, from Reihane Taravati’s “Lost in Me” photography project, Mashhad, Iran, 2012.
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What does it mean to work as a photographer in Iran, a country ranked among the worst in the world for press freedom? When you photograph activists, does the act of looking itself become a form of activism? And how do you continue telling the stories of your homeland once exile becomes your only place to stand?

In this conversation with the Nobel Peace Center, Reihane Taravati reflects on the weight and necessity of image-making as a woman in Iran. In April 2022, the Iranian fashion photographer and activist photographed Narges Mohammadi in her home—one of those images later becoming the official Nobel Peace Prize portrait and a central piece of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize exhibition.

Am I invisible?

Iran l 2015

In a photo series titled Am I Invisible?, I explore the hidden pains of a woman trapped behind an unseen barrier—like a glass house no one acknowledges. The suffering is there, tangible, yet passersby look through as if it isn’t real. Her pain, her existence, her very life become intertwined: to live is to resist, and to resist is to live.

  • A woman crouching beside a glass door surrounded by houseplants, photographed in soft natural light - part of the “Mirrors and Women” collection, 2013.

Black and white portrait of a woman holding a flower pot in a garden, from Reihane Taravati’s early photography series “The Flower Girl,” Mashhad, Iran, 2012.
A black and white portrait of a woman partially hidden behind tree branches, sunlight filtering over her face — “Mirrors and Women” project, 2013.
Experimental mixed-media photo collage by Iranian photographer and visual artist Reihane Taravati, created in 2016.
Black and white portrait of a woman smoking beside a window, surrounded by soft reflections. From Reihane Taravati’s “Mirrors & Women” series, Tehran, 2016.
Minimalist indoor composition showing calmness and intimate space, from Reihane Taravati’s “Mirrors & Women” series, Tehran, 2017.

Portraits are windows

Every portrait tells a story. I capture moments that reveal personality, emotion, and the essence of who we are.

  • Actor Bahram Radan behind the scenes of “C Project” theater performance, Tehran, Iran, 2014 (Shahrivar 1393). Photographed by Reihane Taravati.
  • Actor Bahram Radan behind the scenes of “C Project” theater performance, Tehran, Iran, 2014 (Shahrivar 1393). Photographed by Reihane Taravati.
  • Close-up of crossed legs and soft fabric folds, reflecting quiet sensuality and vulnerability. From Reihane Taravati’s “Mirrors & Women” photography project, Tehran, 2017.
  • Black and white portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo, featuring a woman in traditional attire with floral headpieces and symbolic domestic settings. From the “Fridah Series” by Iranian photographer Reihane Taravati, Tehran, 2014.
  • Black and white portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo, featuring a woman in traditional attire with floral headpieces and symbolic domestic settings. From the “Fridah Series” by Iranian photographer Reihane Taravati, Tehran, 2014.
  • Black and white portrait of actor Bahram Radan photographed for RojaShop’s “Vintage Perfume” campaign, June 2018. Photography by Reihane Taravati.
  • Black and white portrait of actor Bahram Radan photographed for RojaShop’s “Vintage Perfume” campaign, June 2018. Photography by Reihane Taravati.
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Photographing Payman Maadi

Payman Maadi is an acclaimed Iranian-American actor, screenwriter, and director, celebrated for his compelling performances in both Iranian and international cinema. Born in New York in 1970 and raised in Iran, Maadi began his career as a screenwriter before gaining worldwide recognition for his acting in Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly (2009) and A Separation (2011), the latter earning him the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Beyond acting, Maadi writes and directs, bringing depth and authenticity to every project. He has appeared in international productions, including Camp X-Ray and HBO’s The Night Of, and continues to contribute to Iranian cinema through screenwriting and directing. Maadi divides his time between Tehran and Los Angeles, remaining a prominent voice in contemporary film.

Exhibitions & Art Projects

“My Persian Fridah” Collection at Aaran Art Gallery, Tehran, April 2012
“Angels, Saints And Co.” at Aaran Art Gallery, Tehran, November 2015
“Woman Life Freedom” at the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, December 2023

Cinema, Photography and Videography

Middle Floor Resident (2014) – Backstage Videographer, Directed by Shahab Hosseini
Voices of the World (2014) – Photographer, Music Documentary, Directed by Milad Rahimi
Duet (2015) – Backstage Videographer, Directed by Navid Danesh
Delighted (2016) – Photographer, Directed by Abdolreza Kahani
Azar (2017) – Backstage Videographer, Directed by Niki Karimi
Sheeple (2018) – Backstage Videographer, Directed by Houman Seyedi
Tsunami (2019) – Backstage Videographer, Directed by Milad Sadr Ameli
Ham Refigh (2020) – Photographer, Late-night Talk Show, Directed by Shahab Hosseini
Pishgoo (2021) – Photographer, Late-night Talk Show, Directed by Amin Entezari

A woman in a gray dress sitting on the steps of an old Persian house while a cat walks below. From “Lost in Me” by Reihane Taravati, Mashhad, 2012.