A man holds a giant pencil as he takes part in a solidarity march in the streets of Paris after the Charlie Hebdo shootings in France. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
Photojournalists work ceaselessly to capture these events and their effects on individuals, and photographers for Reuters were always on the scene, taking some of the year's most newsworthy and captivating photos.
But most of the time, we don't get the full story behind the photo; how it came to be and what the photographer had to do to capture that moment.
Here, a number of Reuters photographers reveal the stories behind some of 2015's most important pictures.
A note of warning: some of these photos feature scenes of injury or death.
Quotes edited for clarity.