History

The european pressphoto agency (epa) was founded by seven major Western European photo agencies and officially started on January 1, 1985. The vision of the founders was driven by the demand for an independent quality world picture service originally designed for the needs of the European media market. In 2003, epa took a second step forward and went global.

Today's epa picture service is based both on the broad network of epa's staff photographers all over the world and on the daily production of its member agencies, which are all market leaders in their respective countries.

The service is managed from epa's editorial headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. From there, a professionally edited timely selection of highly reliable and competitive international pictures are delivered to clients all over the globe.

The european pressphoto agency has always been based on integrity, independence and responsibility. During the first 18 years epa built up a high reputation for its unique European photo coverage. From May 1, 2003, when epa launched its new international photo service, its strength has also been to cover global events from a different perspective.

epa's images reflect a continual commitment to reduce standard shots of pre-arranged events and to allocate a maximum of resources to creative, unique photography producing images that speak for themselves.