# Sophie Elgort
**Sophie Elgort** is an American photographer, director, and television host based in New York City, known for her fashion and portrait photography and as the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS/ALL ARTS series *Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort*[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press). She is the daughter of fashion photographer [Arthur Elgort](https://www.edgepedia.org/arthur-elgort) and the sister of actor [Ansel Elgort](https://www.edgepedia.org/ansel-elgort)[2](https://avenuemagazine.com/qave-sophie-elgort/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Based in | New York City[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) |
| Education | B.A. from Brown University; comparative literature major who later switched to the pre-med track[3](https://theeverymom.com/career-profile-sophie-elgort-photographer/) |
| First professional work | Photographed a friend's vintage clothing e-commerce brand around 2010; the photos ran in Teen Vogue with her photo credit[3](https://theeverymom.com/career-profile-sophie-elgort-photographer/) • [4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) |
| Publications | Vogue, ELLE, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, PAPER Magazine, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, Cultured, Vogue Greece[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) • [4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) |
| Gallery representation | Staley-Wise Gallery, New York[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) |
| Television series | *Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort*, an ALL ARTS/PBS series; host and executive producer[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) |
| Recognition | Gracie Award as host; all four first-season episodes received New York Emmy Award nominations[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) |
## Early life and education
Elgort grew up in New York City in a family of artists. Her father, Arthur Elgort, is a fashion photographer known for taking models out of the studio and for championing models including [Cindy Crawford](https://www.edgepedia.org/cindy-crawford), Linda Evangelista, and [Christy Turlington](https://www.edgepedia.org/christy-turlington); her mother is opera director [Grethe Barrett Holby](https://www.edgepedia.org/grethe-barrett-holby); her brother Ansel Elgort is an actor, and her brother Warren Elgort is a film director[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) • [5](https://time.com/4800146/ansel-elgort-baby-driver-style-evolution/) • [6](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6482032b2c0b8c65b11b87e3/t/6547dbc51e7bb17aaa2b5fc3/1699208133904/foxes.pdf). Cameras were everywhere in the house, and she photographed friends at school and summer camp from about the age of eight, but she did not consider photography a career path because it was what her father did[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) • [7](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148).
Before photography, her ambition was ski racing. She trained for over a decade, competed at the Junior Olympics, and represented the sport at [Brown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-university)[8](https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/sophie-elgort-steps-in-front-of-the-camera-for-season-two-of-portrait-mode/). At Brown she was a comparative literature major, then moved onto the pre-med track after a year of visual arts and literature courses, treating it as a backup path[3](https://theeverymom.com/career-profile-sophie-elgort-photographer/). She has said she realized during the pre-med requirements that she did not actually want to be a doctor[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/).
## Photography career
Elgort's entry into professional photography came through her friends' e-commerce vintage clothing brand. They asked her opinion about photographers, then asked whether she would shoot for them in exchange for clothes; the resulting pictures appeared in [Teen Vogue](https://www.edgepedia.org/teen-vogue) with her name attached, and commissions followed from there[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/). Her editorial work has appeared in Vogue, ELLE, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, PAPER Magazine, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, Cultured, and Vogue Greece[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) • [4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/), and she has photographed subjects including [Brooke Shields](https://www.edgepedia.org/brooke-shields), Elizabeth Olsen, Naomi Watts, Bowen Yang, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, John Waters, Rose Byrne, and [Clive Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/clive-davis)[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) • [2](https://avenuemagazine.com/qave-sophie-elgort/) • [4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/). Brand collaborations include De Beers, Victoria's Secret, Adidas, Maybelline, Rosewood Hotels, and Saks[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press).
Her fine art photography is represented by Staley-Wise Gallery[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/). She is also the founder of [ClickHouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/clickhouse), a creative agency providing photography and video coverage for corporate events and brand experiences[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press).
## Away We Go
In summer 2023, Lafayette 148 exhibited Elgort's series *Away We Go* at its SoHo flagship in New York, running from May 10 to August 4, 2023[7](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148). The series, photographed between 2019 and 2022, shows coastal scenes referencing [Cinque Terre](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinque-terre) and Hawaii. The images are double exposures created in camera on film rather than in post-production, which Elgort describes as introducing an element of chance, so that each frame can only happen once[7](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148). The exhibition included a section printed on fabric, a first for her, produced with Laumont Photographics in [Long Island City](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island-city) on a thin fabric called samba[7](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148). She has said her fine art is drawn from personal work, and that her on-set style is snapshot-like: she puts people in situations and captures them as they move[7](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148).
## Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort
*Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort* is an ALL ARTS/PBS television series in which Elgort interviews and photographs artists while a portrait session unfolds, taking viewers behind the scenes of the shoot[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press) • [9](https://www.pbs.org/show/portrait-mode-with-sophie-elgort/). It grew out of an Instagram series she started during the pandemic, when she and her father were both out of work: she propped a phone on books and recorded short conversations with Arthur Elgort about one of his photographs each week, under the name "Behind the Lens with Arthur Elgort"[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) • [10](https://petapixel.com/2025/03/13/portrait-mode-with-sophie-elgort-honors-bond-between-photographer-and-subject/).
Elgort pitched a series to Diane Masciale at WNET, America's flagship PBS station; the pitch was declined, but Masciale gave feedback, they stayed in touch, and after Masciale saw Elgort's work at the Lafayette 148 exhibition, the two developed *Portrait Mode* together[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/) • [8](https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/sophie-elgort-steps-in-front-of-the-camera-for-season-two-of-portrait-mode/).
The first season featured musician and producer [Nile Rodgers](https://www.edgepedia.org/nile-rodgers), EGOT winner [Rita Moreno](https://www.edgepedia.org/rita-moreno), American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Skylar Brandt, and Arthur Elgort; each episode ends with the guest taking Elgort's portrait[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/). Episodes run under 20 minutes[4](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/). Season two includes the comedian [Hasan Minhaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/hasan-minhaj), ballet dancer India Bradley, jazz saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, and the model and actress Hari Nef[8](https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/sophie-elgort-steps-in-front-of-the-camera-for-season-two-of-portrait-mode/) • [9](https://www.pbs.org/show/portrait-mode-with-sophie-elgort/). Elgort is the host and an executive producer and received a Gracie Award for her hosting; all four episodes of the first season received New York Emmy Award nominations[1](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press).
## Approach
Elgort describes conversation as central to how she makes a portrait: getting to know the subject helps her decide what to capture, and the interviews that happen on her sets became the basis of the series[11](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-sophie-elgort). Early in her career, Anna Wintour reviewed her work and told her that as the director she was responsible for all of it, including makeup and styling; Elgort has said that advice changed how she thought about her work[8](https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/sophie-elgort-steps-in-front-of-the-camera-for-season-two-of-portrait-mode/). Commentators have drawn a line between her work and her father's: where his photography is built on movement, spontaneity, and fashion reportage, hers is built on conversation, warmth, and process[12](https://www.roamandroses.com/article-sophie-elgort-portrait-mode-and-photographing-creative-legends.html).
## References
1. [Bio and Press, Sophie Elgort official website](https://www.sophieelgort.com/bio-press)
2. [Q&Ave: Sophie Elgort, Avenue Magazine (February 22, 2025)](https://avenuemagazine.com/qave-sophie-elgort/)
3. [Career Profile: Sophie Elgort, Photographer & Director, The Everymom (August 20, 2019)](https://theeverymom.com/career-profile-sophie-elgort-photographer/)
4. [Photographer Sophie Elgort Opens Up About Art, Business, Connection and Rejection, Observer (March 2025)](https://observer.com/2025/03/arts-interview-photographer-sophie-elgort/)
5. [In the Spotlight: Ansel Elgort on Fashion and Becoming Ansølo, TIME (2017)](https://time.com/4800146/ansel-elgort-baby-driver-style-evolution/)
6. [Feature on the Elgort family, Squarespace PDF](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6482032b2c0b8c65b11b87e3/t/6547dbc51e7bb17aaa2b5fc3/1699208133904/foxes.pdf)
7. [Interview: Sophie Elgort's "Away We Go" photo exhibit at Lafayette 148, Cool Hunting via Staley-Wise Gallery (May 24, 2023)](https://www.staleywise.com/news/interview-sophie-elgorts-away-we-go-photo-exhibit-at-lafayette-148)
8. [Sophie Elgort Steps in Front of the Camera for Season Two of "Portrait Mode", Surface (October 7, 2026)](https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/sophie-elgort-steps-in-front-of-the-camera-for-season-two-of-portrait-mode/)
9. [Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort, PBS show page](https://www.pbs.org/show/portrait-mode-with-sophie-elgort/)
10. ['Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort' Honors Bond Between Photographer and Subject, PetaPixel (March 13, 2025)](https://petapixel.com/2025/03/13/portrait-mode-with-sophie-elgort-honors-bond-between-photographer-and-subject/)
11. [In Conversation with Sophie Elgort, Numéro Netherlands](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-sophie-elgort)
12. [Sophie Elgort: Portrait Mode and Photographing Creative Legends, Roam & Roses](https://www.roamandroses.com/article-sophie-elgort-portrait-mode-and-photographing-creative-legends.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Photographers › Fashion and portrait photographers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license