Manfred Rieker was born in 1939 in Ihringshausen near Fuldatal, Germany. In 1969 became a self-employed advertising photographer. He has worked with national and international companies and individuals such as Kodak, Siemens, Zumtobel, Interstuhl or the Jazz musician Charly Antolini, Mercedes, and Audi. Audi had an exclusive agreement with Rieker starting 1985 for which he created a custom made light concept.
In 1973 the Professional Association of Freelance Photographers and Film Creators (BFF Berufsverband Freie Fotografen und Filmgestalter) honored him with a membership and thereby officially recognized him as a freelance artist. He is also a member of the creative elite organisation Art Directors Club Germany.
Manfred Rieker works without any software-based photo editor programs but uses direct and indirect lighting instead. For his contract with Audi he had a special lighting concept and technology developed.
In 1990 he worked with Zumtobel, a German supplier of integral lighting solutions, on the study project “Aesthetics of Light – The Beginning of a New Dimension“ («Lichtästhetik – Aufbruch in eine neue Dimension»). The project’s goal was to use direct and indirect lightning as a fourth dimension in order to create a harmony through its impact on diverse objects. More specifically, while the action of light covers the light fixtures’ dimension the factors such as basic components and various, idealistic fundamental types were sufficient for the spatial concept in to implement the architectonical open-space planning.
Audi
In 1972 Rieker opened his first photo studio in Magstadt near Stuttgart followed by the outdoor studio “Ilios Fotodesign“ in Porto Heli, Greece in 1986. He designed the villa and photo platform himself. This location was setting for ad campaigns and works for i.e. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ergoline, or Bugatti. In 2012 Rieker sold the property to the Dutch.