Born in Peru in 1974, but mostly raised in Barcelona, Spain, Saman’s interest in photojournalism was stirred by images of the wars that ravaged the Balkans throughout the 1990s. One of his earliest photographic trips was to Kosovo, to cover the aftermath of the Kosovo War.
While he is predominantly known for his work in the Middle East, Saman has covered stories around the world. A full member of Magnum Photos since 2014, he has photographed the violent street gangs of El Salvador, internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the residents of a Californian homeless camp and the fallout of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.