As someone who studies photography in University, this is one of the ethics conversations we cover a lot. Personally, i don’t agree with taking photos of people in public and then displaying them anywhere (social media, ones website, an exhibition) because i think it is a breach of privacy especially when that person did not leave their house expecting their image and likeness to be used or posted on social media.I know other photographers who think that it’s okay because it is technically legal in many places.
You have to ask yourself as an Artist and Photographer how you want to engage with the medium.
Ethics is always an important part of photographic conversation, because our medium is one of the newer fine arts. When taking work in public that I intend to use for University or Exhibitions I ask myself;
Would I be okay with my image being seen/used/talked about?
Does this image possibly harm others?
(many people may have religious reasons or other concerns and are not on social media, will your image harm them even if they don’t know who you are?)
Is it fair to assume everyone in public has no right to privacy?
Keep in mind that every essential thing we need as people is in a public place (food, shopping, pharmacy etc etc) while in many stores it is not allowed to photograph, is it breaking someone’s privacy if they are just trying to get an essential item? If they have stepped out in public for five minutes, does that mean i can break their privacy just because i don’t know them?
All of this to say; one photographers approach differs from another’s. I know many photographers who think it’s okay and many who hate it. I would suggest that you think about how you would feel yourself, if you saw your image on someone else’s social media, if you saw it in a gallery etc etc.
A Rule of thumb that i ALWAYS follow; i will not take a photo of someone’s face/likeness without speaking to them. This can be hard in street photography, but I like to believe that speaking to your subject will benefit your art overall.
I hope this helps in some way, even if it’s to start a conversation/reflection around your practice. All the best for your portfolio and uni!!
As someone who studies photography in University, this is one of the ethics conversations we cover a lot. Personally, i don’t agree with taking photos of people in public and then displaying them anywhere (social media, ones website, an exhibition) because i think it is a breach of privacy especially when that person did not leave their house expecting their image and likeness to be used or posted on social media.I know other photographers who think that it’s okay because it is technically legal in many places.
You have to ask yourself as an Artist and Photographer how you want to engage with the medium. Ethics is always an important part of photographic conversation, because our medium is one of the newer fine arts. When taking work in public that I intend to use for University or Exhibitions I ask myself;
Would I be okay with my image being seen/used/talked about?
Does this image possibly harm others? (many people may have religious reasons or other concerns and are not on social media, will your image harm them even if they don’t know who you are?)
Is it fair to assume everyone in public has no right to privacy? Keep in mind that every essential thing we need as people is in a public place (food, shopping, pharmacy etc etc) while in many stores it is not allowed to photograph, is it breaking someone’s privacy if they are just trying to get an essential item? If they have stepped out in public for five minutes, does that mean i can break their privacy just because i don’t know them?
All of this to say; one photographers approach differs from another’s. I know many photographers who think it’s okay and many who hate it. I would suggest that you think about how you would feel yourself, if you saw your image on someone else’s social media, if you saw it in a gallery etc etc.
A Rule of thumb that i ALWAYS follow; i will not take a photo of someone’s face/likeness without speaking to them. This can be hard in street photography, but I like to believe that speaking to your subject will benefit your art overall.
I hope this helps in some way, even if it’s to start a conversation/reflection around your practice. All the best for your portfolio and uni!!