Between 1929 - 1931 Elsa Thiemann studied at the Bauhaus, Dessau. Among her teachers were Josef Albers, Joost Schmidt and most importantly Walter Peterhans for photography. The New Objectivity movement and the emphasis on advertising photography in the classroom greatly influenced Thiemann. The concern for structure and innovative composition evident in her work, originated here. She also met her future husband, the painter Hans Thiemann, at the Bauhaus in 1930. She returned to Berlin in 1931 and worked as a freelance press photographer until 1960, when she moved to Hamburg with her husband, who was appointed Professor at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste.
