Frederik Rüegger is a German documentary photographer. He was born in 1993 in Worms and lives and works in Berlin.
He moved to New York in 2012 and worked there as a model for more than five years. His documentary style developed during that time. He studied photography at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin and finished in 2025.
His first book is I Am a Stranger in This Country (Kehrer Verlag, 2025). It was his graduation project. For more than two years he visited horse fairs in Britain and Ireland, including the Appleby Horse Fair in England. He photographed Traveller families who meet there.
Boxer Tyson Fury first drew his attention to the Traveller community. Rüegger has practised combat sports for many years. He prefers analogue photography and mainly used a Leica M6 and a Contax G2 for the book.
In 2024 he was shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize and was a finalist at the Sony World Photography Awards. In 2025 he was shortlisted for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.
He also works in fashion. His clients include Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Puma. He says he brings a documentary approach to fashion.
