Dino Lenger

Chief Photographer and Creative Director @ Lenger Atelier LLC / Based in New York

Dino Lenger is a Manhattan-based artist and photographer. He was born in Croatia as a younger twin brother. At 16, the casting manager for Croatian fashion week invited Dino to become a runway model for that season's fashion shows,... read on
Hire
About

Dino Lenger is a Manhattan-based artist and photographer. He was born in Croatia as a younger twin brother. At 16, the casting manager for Croatian fashion week invited Dino to become a runway model for that season's fashion shows, which sparked a huge interest in fashion but quickly became the base of Dino's life calling. Driven by his curious and amiable personality, he soon started making friends within the industry and discovered opportunities for work as a celebrity stylist and visual merchandiser for Zara. After the 2014 Cro-A-Porter fashion show, Croatian most influential modeling agent Tihana Harapin Zalepugin approached Dino after the show and offered him contracted representation under her modeling agency "Talia Modeli" as the first male model ever represented by that agency. 

After they signed the contract, Tihana introduced Dino to a photographer Darija Cikač to capture the agency's test photos for representation. Darija and Dino developed an immediate strong creative bond while capturing images. Right after, they became very close friends and a creative power couple in the Croatian fashion industry; she became his photography mentor; he was a photography director. Darija taught him many details about photography's lights, colors, and technical parts. He brought his remarkable ability to maneuver the model's body to sophisticated poses, which he accentuates by directing the model's gaze into baffling and cryptic emotional expression. He bought his first professional camera by following her suggestion, which led him on a journey of uncovering the artist within himself and learning new ways of examining the world with more compassion and fondness for his environment. Dino moved to New York in 2015 and started working as a portrait photographer for aspiring models and talents. He briefly moved to Los Angeles and established his photography studio there. After getting accepted to the Fashion Institute of Technology, Dino returned to New York to pursue a college degree, where he graduated in Fashion Design in 2021. Lenger Atelier established itself in Midtown Manhattan in the neighborhood Hell's Kitchen. His client base rapidly expands across the US and Europe and includes some of New York's most significant institutions, fashion creators, and global corporations. 


Dino finds his inspiration in the people he encounters throughout his everyday environment. He is a firm devotee of the natural beauty in the bodily expression of his subject's honest emotions that emerge before his lens.