Elise Blanchard if a French freelance photojournalist who has been based and working in Afghanistan for seven years, focusing mainly on how women and girls have been impacted by war, the humanitarian crisis and climate change, as well as on the Taliban and their governance.
She worked for AFP's Kabul bureau for two years, covering the Fall of the country in 2021, before returning to freelancing.
Her work has since been published in outlets such as TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Die Zeit, Guardian, Figaro, and others. She is a regular contributor to Getty Images.
As one of the very few journalists still in Afghanistan, she tries to document the realities on the ground, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Her most recent work focused on access to maternal healthcare.
Asides from Afghanistan, she has also reported from Myanmar's rebel-held areas and from Ukraine for Getty and other outlets.
A series she produced on the experience of girlhood across Afghanistan was awarded the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award in 2025.
Elise also regularly collaborated with NGOs and UN agencies shooting photo stories and video for organisations including MSF, Handicap International, Action Against Hunger, the World Food Program, amongst others.
In the last few years, her pictures have been shown in several group exhibits in Europe, and a book she wrote over the past three years will come out in 2026.
She graduated with a dual degree in Journalism from Columbia University, in New York, and Sciences Po, in Paris.
