About

New Delhi, covering West & South Asia.

Elke Scholiers is an independent photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. Her home is in New Delhi. She covers conflict, politics, economy, climate change, and social injustice across West and South Asia.

She has been documenting Syrian minority militias fighting along the front lines amid the fall of Assad, how Bangladesh’s economy was siphoned dry under former PM Sheikh Hasina, and India’s working class chasing faith and fortune. Before that, Elke reported on social inequalities at the foot of the booming Chinese economy, where she lived for five years.

She works for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Getty images, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Esquire, Deutsche Welle, and more. Her work revolves around ideologies amongst societies dealing with oppression. She documents the underdog.

In 2025, Elke was awarded 1st place for ‘Story of the Year’ in the APAC Getty Images Editorial Awards, and she received honorable mention in the ‘Politics’ Category by National Press Photographers Association. Her work was exhibited at the ICP Museum in New York.

Elke studied Visual Journalism at The International Center of Photography in New York, Chinese language at the National University of Taiwan and majored in Graphic design at the University of Fine Arts in Brussels.

In reflection of her hometown Brussels' multicultural makeup, Elke wanted to explore dualities beyond the ones she grew up with. She moved to China when she was 24. There, she was challenged to assimilate, become fluent in Chinese, confront a new country’s profound culture, and navigate authoritarian politics, which prompted her career as a visual journalist.

Before turning to journalism, she worked as a graphic designer in China and ran a design studio. She hand-drewn the Chinese script for the multi-awarded children’s book Nian He Nan Hai book.

Certificates
Hostile Environment and First Aid Training by Pangolin, 2023

Education
Missouri Photo Workshop 2022
Eddie Adams Workshop 2022
Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, ICP
International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University
MA in Graphic Design, LUCA School of Arts, Brussels