Born in Dusseldorf, Ruff studied at the prestigious art school Staatliche Kunstakademie together with
fellow photographers Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer and Thomas Struth.
Ruff studied photography from 1977 to 1985 with Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy), where
fellow students included the
photographers Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Struth, Angelika Wengler, and Petra Wunderlich.