About - laif

laif – Over 40 Years of Photography with Attitude.

Pictures tell stories! Stories that are exciting, profound, truthful, perplexing, or entertaining. Stories that arouse interest, question established truths, and present new perspectives.

Our pictures portray people and capture social, political, and historic events. We provide deeper insights and use the visual power of images to tell stories.

laif shares this aspiration with its photographers around the world. Founded in 1981 as a photography firm in Cologne’s south, the agency continued to grow over the following decades. Forty years later it has evolved into an international business with a close-knit network of partners.

We are photojournalists. We focus on the essence of the story. We take a stand.

Over the past four decades, this approach has made laif into a premium brand in reportage and portrait photography. Numerous prizes including World Press Photo Awards and Pulitzer Prizes testify to out photographers’ quality and experience.

Over 40 international partners, not least our syndication partners the New York Times and the Société du Figaro, place their trust in us.

You can also use our expertise and our network for your corporate communications: laif provides access to over 400 renowned photographers around the world. Let us showcase you and your business!

Change your perspective.

With laif.

Contact Services Archive laif Cooperative

History in Images

Over 400 photographers are working on the visualisation of the world. Every one of them with a distinct position and high standards regarding their own photography. This is a selection of iconic shots taken during the past 40 years.

In Good Company

Axel Springer Corporate Solutions

Bertelsmann Stiftung

Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung

C3 Creative Code and Content

CARE International

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

FUNKE Mediengruppe

Handelsblatt Media Group

Heinrich Bauer Verlag

Hubert Burda Media

Philipp und Keuntje

Profilwerkstatt

Solutions by Handelsblatt MEDIA GROUP