The Agency

Middle East Images is a photo agency that presents Middle Eastern photography by accomplished local artists who seek to share their deep understandings of home through visual storytelling. Their technical expertise and cultural fluency guide an intimate mosaic of a geographic region that has been plagued for decades by war, terror, injustice, and violence. Mainstream images of the Middle Eastern region draw heavily from this suffering and violence and are broadcast around the world on a daily basis. Our team of experienced photographers is committed to portraying these subjects from a culturally responsible point of view, incorporating aspects of the Middle Eastern experience that reach beyond what mass media typically allows.

Middle East Images brings together photographers, spanning first-hand experiences in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq, among others. Our goal is to uplift a visual narrative of the Middle East from within, where local photographers with a global vision can continue to document their homeland on a long-term basis, sharing their lens with the rest of the world.

HISTORY 

Middle East Images is an independent photo agency with a team of over 100 local and award-winning photographers. Starting in 2017, Middle East Images started regional workshops in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey to train young and talented photographers. In  2019, the agency was officially registered as a company and started to share its internal archive with prestigious agencies such as Laif and Redux. Officially launched in 2020, the agency has an extensive archive of photographs and footage documenting the history, social issues, and culture of the last 20 years of the Middle East.