A triptych showing: a smiling person with a shaved head and rings, a person wearing a black gas mask and outfit, and a person in a black hooded top and denim shorts with tattoos on their arm.Still in the afterglow of their night out, these Berlin clubbers headed to Chris Noltekuhmann’s studio to have their portrait taken.

No club scene anywhere else in the world can match Berlin for its mystique, magnetism, and music. The city draws in creatives from all over — including photographer Chris Noltekuhmann, who has spent the past two and a half years taking portraits of ravers moments after they left the venue.

Inviting people into his studio, Noltekuhmann sought to capture his subjects in their “afterglow” by using a simple setup and a medium format analog camera.

“The idea for the series actually developed quite organically,” Noltekuhmann tells PetaPixel. “Three years ago, I moved to Los Angeles, and since then Berlin has become my second home. When it comes to going out, Berlin truly spoils you: endless possibilities, any day of the week, at any hour. The city’s club culture is world-famous.”

A person with tousled hair closes their eyes and covers part of their face with a tattooed hand, wearing silver rings and layered necklaces, against a plain light background.Cuong A person stands facing forward, wearing a green knit hood, green crop top, one-sleeved red leather jacket, black skirt, and glasses. They have green lipstick and a large tattoo on their exposed midriff.Lara A person with extensive tattoos on their back and arms stands facing away, arms raised and hands clasped behind their head. They wear layered dark clothing and a long, decorative chain draped down their back.Darren
A person with bleached hair, bold makeup, and facial piercings poses confidently with hands on hips. They wear a cropped black t-shirt with silver text, dark pants, sunglasses on their head, and have visible tattoos and jewelry.Magor A person with long, blonde, textured braids wears a black leather jacket over a dark top, revealing a large tattoo on their chest. They look directly at the camera against a plain, light background.Laetitia

Noltekuhmann got the idea after a night out at the city’s most famous club, Berghain, which often stays open all weekend. “Many of the clubs I went to when I first moved to Berlin don’t even exist anymore. The city is constantly in flux — nothing lasts forever. Berlin Night After Glow is my attempt to freeze a moment of this culture before it changes yet again.”

Initially, Noltekuhmann shot just his friends, but the project grew and grew. He ultimately photographed 350 people on over 400 rolls of film; 160 of those frames have been curated into a book.

Noltekuhmann captured DJs, musicians, actors, dancers, scientists, architects, and many others. “The beauty of Berlin is: everyone goes out. And that diversity was something I wanted to make visible,” he adds.

Berlin’s unique clubbing scene means that people leave the venue at odd times of day. Noltekuhmann would tell people to come to his studio whenever they leave the club, meaning people would come in the morning, or sometimes closer to noon.

“The timing was always unpredictable, which was part of the charm. People came from all over Berlin’s club landscape: iconic spaces like Berghain, KitKat, Tresor, ://about blank, Sisyphos, Renate, and many smaller underground venues,” he says.

A person with curly, reddish hair and heavy eye makeup stands against a light background. They wear a sheer black top, a bold red coral-shaped necklace, and have tattoos visible on their neck and arms.Tal A shirtless person with tattoos, large hoop earrings, a chain necklace, and black sheer shorts stands against a plain light blue background, looking directly at the camera.Thomas A person with short curly hair, wearing eyeliner and a necklace, stands against a light blue background. They have tattoos on both arms and are wearing a tank top featuring an anime-style character.Harrison A person with long dark hair wears a black bikini top and black pants, revealing bold, intricate black tattoos on their chest, torso, and arm. They pose with one arm raised behind their head against a plain light background.Jennifer

Noltekuhmann shot all of the photos on Kodak Portra 400 medium format film, using a single lens on a Mamiya RZ67 and HMI lighting to create a consistent visual language.

“I always gravitate toward an analog look because, to me, it feels timeless,” he explains. “Film has a cinematic feel, a texture and depth that’s incredibly difficult to replicate digitally. That was a big part of why I chose to shoot this entire project on medium format film.”

“I also believe people behave differently in front of an analog camera,” he continues. “Every frame feels precious. The Mamiya RZ67 is large, heavy, and has a loud shutter, which I used intentionally. I wanted people to feel slightly intimidated, to take the moment seriously. It creates a shift in energy.”

Kodak Portra 400 was “the natural choice.” Its properties are well-known: rendering smooth skin tones in a warm, natural way. “Portra 400 gave me enough ISO to shoot around f/5.6 at 1/125 to 1/60, depending on how far the bellows of the RZ67 were extended with the 110mm lens.”

A shirtless young man with light hair stands in black shorts against a light background, smiling and touching his eyebrow with one hand. He wears a necklace and sunglasses on his head.Karl A shirtless person with bright red hair, wearing a pearl necklace and earrings, poses with one hand touching their head. They have visible tattoos on their left arm and stand against a plain light background.Tetsumasa A person with a spiked hat, fur collar, and studded belt shows their back tattoo, which reads: “RIHANNA CONCERT INTERRUPTED BY A FOOTBALL GAME WEIRD BUT WHATEVER.”.Niclas A person with fair skin and wavy, shoulder-length brown hair looks directly at the camera. One eye is partly covered by hair. They wear a faint expression and a sleeveless, textured top. The background is neutral and plain.Danya

The film was developed at Noltekuhmann’s local lab in Berlin. “They still use a hanging development method for C41, which is quite rare today. Medium format film has no perforation, so it’s very fragile,” he notes. “This lab is one of the last I know that still develops C41 by hand, which gave me the confidence and consistency I needed for a long-term project like this.”

Noltekuhmann made handmade darkroom prints at Contact Photo Lab in Los Angeles. “They’re incredible — you can even book the darkroom yourself. I wanted the project to stay as authentic and analog as possible. But printing every single image by hand wouldn’t have given me the color consistency needed for a full book.

“The Mamiya RZ67 is a wonderful but tricky camera: the farther the bellows extend for close focusing, the more light you lose in the exposure. That meant I needed a workflow that allowed subtle corrections in post to achieve a unified look across the entire series.”

It meant everything was scanned on Noltekuhmann’s Imacon Precision 3, an old drum-style scanner. “It’s a diva and only runs on Windows XP, but it delivers results that are the closest thing to a traditional darkroom handprint,” he adds.

A person with black hair peers through their fingers pressed against their face, wearing statement rings and black mesh sleeves, with chipped dark nail polish and a patterned headscarf.Josefa A person with shaggy hair wears a red, long-sleeve, netted top with a crisscross pattern and black pants, holding a blue and gray bag, standing against a plain light background.Karma A person wearing a black leather cap, collar with "PIG" spelled in studs, sleeveless leather vest, and black leather shorts stands with hands behind their back against a plain light background. Tattoos are visible on their torso and arms.Ryan A person with long curly hair stands against a light background, shirtless and wearing black pants. Their upper body and arms are covered in various tattoos, and they wear a harness with a chain across their chest.Vladislav

Noltekuhmann is a very successful commercial photographer, having captured stars like Timothée Chalamet, Ewan McGregor, and Gisele Bündchen. He shoots all of his personal projects on film and clients love his analog look.

“Shooting a full commercial campaign entirely on film is tricky. I work a lot with celebrities for luxury clients, and their PR teams want to check images immediately on set and make quick selects,” he says. “But despite these limitations, clients still love the analog feel.”

Nevertheless, Noltekuhmann always brings an analog camera with him on commercial shoots as a visual reference tool. “I shoot a few frames on film, then develop and scan them. Those scans often become the foundation for the color grade and overall look in postproduction.”

A person with their back to the camera lifts their blue shirt, revealing a large, detailed back tattoo featuring a portrait, architectural elements, rays of light, and the word "JESUS" at the top.Dennis A smiling man wearing a furry jacket holds his hand to his forehead, showing rings and tattoos. He has short hair with shaved sides, gold teeth, and is looking down.DJ-MCR-T A person with long dark hair wears a sleeveless black hooded top and a short, frayed denim skirt. They have visible tattoos on their arms and stand against a plain light background, looking directly at the camera.Nadya

The book cover for "Berlin Night After Glow" by Chris Noltekuhlmann features four fashion portraits of models in edgy outfits against plain backgrounds, with bold red title text on a black background.

Berlin’s clubs have long been a sanctuary for outsiders, creatives, queer communities, and anyone seeking a space where identity, expression, and freedom are lived without inhibition.

“I travel a lot and spend time in many different cultures. It constantly reminds me how fragile the freedom is that we enjoy in Berlin — and in Europe in general,” says Noltekuhmann. “The openness, the fluidity, the ease with which people can express themselves here is anything but guaranteed. In many places, that kind of freedom either never existed or has slowly disappeared.”

To purchase a copy of Berlin Night After Glow, head to Noltekuhmann’s website. For more of his work, check out his Instagram.

Image credits: Photographs by Chris Noltekuhmann.