Tolga Akmen was born in Eskisehir, Turkey in 1991. He moved to London, UK as a teenager to study a Photojournalism degree at the University of the Arts London.

After graduating from the London College of Communication with a First Class BA (Hons) Photojournalism degree in 2013, he began freelancing for London News Pictures.
In 2017 he was awarded Getty Images Young Photographer bursary in 2017 and became a contracted freelance photojournalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in London.

In 2018, he was highly commended for the Bloomberg Business Photographer of the Year award, and in 2019, he was awarded the Fixation News Photographer of the Year award by UK Picture Editors' Guild.

In 2022, Tolga joined EPA as a staff photographer and video journalist to cover news, sports and entertainment, and features across the United Kingdom.