Uli Staiger was born in Tailfingen, Germany in 1966. In 1987 he decided to make his apprenticeship as a professional photographer in a studio for portrait and advertising photography. After having successfully finished his three year apprenticeship, Uli spent three month in Barcelona and the north east of Spain in order to learn spanish and to improve his style as a black and white landscape photographer.

In 1991 he went to New York and New Jersey, where he started working as a freelance assistant for numerous photographers. After six months he was hired by advertising photographer Neil Molinaro in Clark, New Jersey. Molinaro had developed an extraordinary style of lighting that was unique at the time. Uli was greatly influenced by Molinaro and the time spent in New Jersey helped him find his own style and creative direction.