After studying law in Italy, Nikos Economopoulos worked as a journalist and photographer in Greece. In 1990, Economopoulos joined Magnum, and his photographs began to appear in newspapers and magazines worldwide. The same year, he started to take photographs in the Balkan region. His work there gained him the Mother Jones Award in 1992, which was followed by the publication of his book "In the Balkans" in 1995.