Three Ethical Questions
Yesterday, I did some research on three ethical questions surrounding street photography. These are important questions for those of us who are concerned about these issues—which, in my opinion, should be everyone who makes street portraits, regardless of whether they are professional or amateur.
The three ethical considerations are:
1. Do you ask permission before making the photograph, or do you steal the shot?
2. Once the photo is made, even with permission, does that entitle you to publicly display and distribute the image?
3. Taking it one step further, even if permission is granted, do you have the right to make a profit from or sell the image?
I have conclusively resolved the first consideration: My belief is that asking permission to take the photograph is correct and proper. Even though asking permission does change the existing emotional mood as well as the physical composition, the person being photographed should have the right to say no.
The argument against this primarily states that by engaging the person and asking permission, the result is no longer a true reflection of the person because being aware of the camera changes people. This is true—being aware of the camera does change people. However, through communication and interaction with a subject, the photographer, if skilled or maybe just lucky (or a combination of the two), can capture a person’s spirit, or at least one facet of that spirit, at a given time and in a given space.
In summary, I have always worked from the premise that I should have permission to make the portrait. This was essentially an intuitive, natural belief. My recent, more intellectual research has only reinforced my natural intuitive feelings. For myself—and I want to stress this applies only to me; others must decide for themselves, and there is no judgment here—my ethical makeup tells me I must have permission before making the photograph.
Note: My thoughts about the other two questions will be posted at a later time.
Leave a Reply