Lifetouch, the volume photography company known across the US and Canada for its school photo program, has issued a statement after the name of a corporate investor was included in the Epstein files, telling parents that the company “does not – and has never provided – images to any third party.”
The statement comes after the name Leon Black was found in the Epstein files, the recently released 3.5 million pages of documents detailing the investigation into the disgraced former financier, Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison awaiting charges of sex trafficking. Black is the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, the asset firm that owns a majority share of Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch.
According to Business Insider, the files indicate that Black was investigated for sexual assault allegations from four women, but never charged. Black also paid Epstein $170 million for financial and tax advice over a six-year period, Forbes indicates. Black’s financial ties to Epstein first came to light in 2021; he stepped down as CEO two months later, citing health reasons.
The connection between the former CEO of the wealth management company created an online panic as parents took to social media to question the privacy of their children’s school photos.
Lifetouch, however, wasn’t directly mentioned in the files, and its parent company Shutterfly is one of hundreds of companies with ties to Apollo Global Management. “Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files,” wrote Lifetouch Group CEO Ken Murphy. “The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.”
“Funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management are investors in Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch,” Murphy explained. “Neither Apollo nor its funds are involved in the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and therefore no one employed by Apollo has ever had access to any student images.”
Murphy also pointed to the photo company’s longstanding relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, adding that Lifetouch was “the first school photography company to sign a voluntary and enforceable privacy pledge—reaffirming our deep commitment to protecting school communities.”
Lifetouch photographs over 25 million students a year at over 50,000 schools, according to the company’s website.
As of January 2026, Apollo Global Management's portfolio includes 158 acquisitions.
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