After studying urbanism at Delft University Dolph Kessler worked as a regional planner and later as a municipal executive councillor of Leeuwarden. From 1995 on, when he started his own business as a consultant and organizer of study tours, he became intensely interested in photography. From 2003-2006 he studied at the Fotoacademie Amsterdam. At the end of December 2006 he graduated with a series about art fairs.
He is a member of the GKf, the most important professional organization for documentary and autonomous photography in the Netherlands