Emmanuel Berry was born in Sens (Burgundy) in 1971. A former student of Serge Gal, he learned with him large format photography and black and white laboratory technique. In 1992, he met Robert Frank during a workshop and participated with him in directing and editing a short film. During this period, he became friends with photographer Paolo Roversi and became his assistant. Since then, he has favoured the Polaroid, which was to become his only tool for several years.

Winner of the Ilford Prize in 1994, his first collective exhibition was held in 1999, alongside artworks by Jean-Pierre Pincemin. Other solo exhibitions have since followed in France and abroad including the Carré d’Art of Nîmes in 2004, the Museum of National History in Paris in 2006, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in 2010.