Elias Weiss Friedman

Elias Weiss Friedman

Friedman attended Boston University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Elias Weiss Friedman is a producer, bestselling author, creative director, and photographer who founded The Dogist, which would become a wildly successful online platform.

Friedman founded the platform in 2013 when he lost his job as a brand strategist. Much of what the blog is he drew from street style blogs, even as he took photographs of dogs in New York streets. He would then become popular with an Instagram following that has topped 11 million.

Over about 10 years, he took pictures of more than 50,000 dogs across the globe as he pioneered a documentary-photo style that humanized his canine subjects. He achieved this unique portrayal through lighthearted storytelling, expressive portraits, kneeling vantage points, and playful dog sounds.

Elias Weiss Friedman’s work has been featured in prestigious publications such as CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME, and The New Yorker, among several other publications.

Aside from his photography, Elias Friedman runs The Dogist Fund through which he advocates canine welfare. Through the years, he has raised more than $500,000 for organizations such as the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, and the ASPCA.

Elias has photographed several events such as the Puppy Bowl, the White House visit with Commander President Biden’s dog, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The Dogist has since gone into the production of live city tours.

In 2015, Elias Weiss-Friedmann published the work The Dogist, a collection celebrating dog personalities through more than 100 photographs of dogs he took over the years.

Every photo captures the canine’s spirit, including its style, stance, and eyes. Elias shoots his photographs from the dog’s eye level while making eye contact to make for a better connection.

The work is also a tribute to rescue and shelter dogs, as the author also includes stories of adoption in addition to the canine portraits.
In The Dogist Puppies, Elias Weiss Friedman compiled a photo collection that celebrates the charm of puppies.

This time around, Friedman photographs puppies from a year old, as he captures their playful antics, oversized paws, curious expressions, and floppy ears. Friedman scoured the streets of New York to find puppies with different personalities and breeds.

The work details intimate moments such as pups wearing the so-called cone of shame, cute outfits, and puppies alongside their siblings.

Next, Elias Weiss Friedman published This Dog Will Change Your Life, in which he looks into the bond between dogs and humans.
Finding inspiration from his years of experience interacting with and taking pictures of dogs, the author shares sentimental and sometimes witty stories of dogs to show how dogs can make us all better humans.

Through personal anecdotes, he celebrates dogs who enhance our world through offering lessons in identity, patience, purpose, and love. Friedman also shows how dogs offer joy, companionship, and comfort in a world full of pain and all manner of challenges.

Elias Weiss Friedman: F.A.Q