Meeri Koutaniemi is a freelance photographer who was born in Lapland and currently lives around the world. She began her career as a photojournalist shooting independent projects abroad, and now does documentary stories on issues concerning human rights and minorities, combining her work with political activism. Meeri has worked as a photographer and a journalist in over 30 countries.
In 2012 and 2013, she was chosen as Photographer of the Year by the Finnish press photographers’ association. In 2014, she won the Freelens Award at the Lumix photo festival in Hannover, and the Visa d’or Daily Press Award in Perpignan, with her exhibited documentary work ‘Taken’.
Meeri is a founder member of the Italian Echo Photo Agency, and belongs to the Finnish collective 11 (Yksitoista).