Lara Zankoul: Dreamlike Conceptual Photography

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1987, Lara Zankoul launched her photography career in 2008 after earning an economics degree. She rose to prominence with her 2013 series The Unseen, a collection of surreal, dreamlike images that captivated viewers. Now based in Beirut, she’s known for her soft pastel colours and intricate, hand-crafted sets that blend reality with fantasy. Her 2025 book Voyage marks a decade of her imaginative storytelling through photography. Zankoul’s work often features women in whimsical, unexpected settings, rendered in a gentle palette of corals, blues, and whites.

Primary Genres: Conceptual Photography, Fine Art Photography
Primary Photography Style: Surrealism – Dreamlike and evocative, using staged scenes and soft colours to craft fantastical, introspective images.
Key Message: Zankoul explores human emotions and the subconscious, weaving surreal elements into her photography to challenge perceptions and spark personal reflection.

Zankoul’s photography centres on human figures, often women, placed in surreal environments like fishbowls or cloud-strewn skies. Her aesthetic hinges on a delicate mix of soft corals, deep blues, and misty whites, with textures like rippling water or flowing fabrics adding a tactile, dreamlike feel. She meticulously builds her sets by hand, using props such as aquariums, and shoots with a Canon 5D Mark IV and 85mm prime lenses for crisp detail.

Studio lighting—softboxes and diffusers—casts a gentle, even glow, shunning natural light to maintain her controlled, ethereal mood. In post-processing, she layers multiple shots in Photoshop, tweaking hues and softening edges to achieve a sharp yet otherworldly effect. Her work shines in large-scale prints, often 40×60 inches, showcased at events like the Beirut Art Fair and in her book Voyage, which pairs photos with personal sketches.

For intermediate photographers, Zankoul’s approach offers a masterclass in pre-visualisation and patience. Her digital workflow, unlike film, allows for complex compositing—layering shots to build narratives—while her studio lighting echoes the zone system’s tonal precision, adapted for colour and mood. Experimenting with small-scale sets or water can add depth to your images, and her subtle Photoshop edits show how restraint in post-processing keeps authenticity intact. Her shift from economics to photography also proves creative passions can thrive with dedication, regardless of one’s starting point.

Accolades:
- LensCulture Emerging Talent (2014)
- Broncolor GenNext Winner (2016)
- Hasselblad Masters Finalist (2021)

Trivia:
- She paints her sets before shooting to enhance their texture.
- Jorge Luis Borges’ intricate narratives inspire her surreal style.
- She’s photographed in Beirut’s ruins, weaving history into her art.
- Her first exhibition, Synopsis, took place in Beirut at age 23.

Lessons from this Photographer:

Zankoul’s hands-on set-building and minimal reliance on digital effects highlight the value of in-camera creativity. Her surreal compositions push photographers to play with props and lighting to evoke emotion, while her careful planning teaches the power of vision before execution. Try crafting small sets or using water to symbolise feeling, and apply her light-touch editing to enhance, not overpower, your story. Her work inspires experimentation and a deeper appreciation for blending reality with imagination.