Esther Laan was born in The Hague, The Netherlands in 1973. She bought her first camera at age 14 and started taking pictures of people & animals at home and on her holidays. Her talent and enthusiasm grew bigger every year.

She expanded her knowledge by taking several photography classes at the Amsterdam Center of Photography. She began experimenting with black and white printing which resulted in some great black & white prints which, combined with her creativity, turned into real pieces of art. She surprised everyone with her 'spoon portraits' and her 'painting' pictures. A workshop at ICP in New York in 2002 expanded her knowledge & enthusiasm for journalistic wedding photography. Everyone agrees that Portraits, Weddings & Wildlife are where her talents lie.

Esther Originals! is the name Maria Matteoli gave to one of Esther's portraits. And after that Esther started calling her favorite pictures Esther Originals!