Born in Paris in 1936.

He studied at the Ecole Nationale de Photographie and embarked on his career as a reporter photographer working for France-Observateur, La vie catholique illustrée and Réalités.

Since 1962 he has been a freelance reporter.

As a photographer Herschtritt worked in the American movie industry, among other things, on Cleopatra.

In 1963 he made a trip across Africa, from where he brought thousands of photographs which were exhibited at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris and then in many countries the world over.

Herschtritt’s photographs were published by newspapers and magazines of more than fifty countries and were also distributed by the London-based Camera Press agency, for which Herschtritt served as a Paris correspondent.

In 1966 Herschtritt won the Gens d’images Prize for Au hasard des femmes and La célébration des putains .

In 1968 he was responsible for the Olivetti advertising campaign in France, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.

From 1969 he combined reporting photography with film directing.

In the early 1970s Herschtritt opened a bistrot in Paris, where monthly photography shows were staged for four years and where to this day photographers meet collectors.

Between 1976 and 1993 Herschtritt was an antiques dealer, specializing in photo and camera collectibles.

In 1991 he opened the first photography gallery in Paris at the Paul Bert flea market.

In 1998 he helped his son Laurent to open the Laurent Herschtritt gallery at the heart of Saint Germain des Prés.

Together with his son, he became an expert of the first specialized photography auction at the Salle Drouot in 2001.

In 2004, together with his wife, he assumed supervision of the Nicole et Léon Herschtritt gallery.

In 2006 Herschtritt published several books of his photographs, including Paris des années 60, Portraits connus et inconnus, Au hasard des femmes, and Noël à Berlin .

Herschtritt’s works are in many museum and private collection the world over.

Herschtritt lives in Paris.