She learnt photography working as an assistant in fashion and portrait studios, then went on to study photography and the history of photography at the Folkwangschule für Gestaltung in Essen. After becoming a freelance photographer, she taught visual communication at GH University in Essen and worked with Otto Steinert on photo-historical exhibitions. Her biography also includes an internship at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, USA; work as guest curator at the Busch-Reisinger Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and a guest studentship at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. After establishing the photography department at the Folkwang Museum in 1978, she took charge of the photo collection there. She has been assistant director of the museum since 1991.