We are a group of lens-based workers from grassroots organizations working toward dismantling harmful practices in the visual journalism and editorial media industries. We drafted the Photo Bill of Rights to outline the problems we face within our industries and offer actionable solutions to address them. As stated in the Bill: media institutions cannot claim to educate and progress public understanding of injustices while upholding practices that marginalize workers. Key changes must be enacted at the top levels of institutions and publications to create an industry that puts people and workers first.
For meaningful progress to take place the responsibility also falls on individuals — ourselves and our colleagues — to create a culture of collaboration, caring, and growth. Equity and mutual support are ethical necessities.
“Beyond the Bill” is a document to build conversation and understanding about the many ethical issues lens-based workers encounter. Through the sections below on “Fostering Community,” “Consent,” and “Implicit Bias,” we offer guidance for continued development of a more conscientious visual media practice.
These resources offer direction and an opportunity to address the problems within our industry. We provide prompts for reflection, and encourage you to draw your own conclusions, start conversations within your networks, and take action — beyond the Photo Bill of Rights.
A thriving industry is built on inclusivity, mutual support, transparency, and honesty. These principles can help us to build community and accountability for ourselves and among our colleagues.
Only through an authentic willingness and dedication to improving ourselves and our community will the industry evolve to be truly inclusive of all people. Fostering mutual support through individual action is imperative, and individual gains should be invested back into the industry through knowledge, resources, and time. This ensures that community-minded practices become the standard, leading to a thriving industry and community that benefits, protects, and supports everyone in their personal and professional growth.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR FOSTERING COMMUNITY:
How can I embody a culture of collaboration and care within the industry (as opposed to the competitive, “lone wolf” model)?
What privileges do I hold? How can I leverage my proximity to power?
Can I facilitate connections between industry members?
How can I use my privilege to speak up against injustices within the industry?
Who is already doing the work around the injustices in our industry? How can I collaborate with or support those organizations?
Am I accepting work conditions or rates that undermine industry standards? What will accepting unfair wages or conditions mean for my colleagues?
How can I use my time or resources to empower workers who are marginalized?
Do I have the capacity to offer mentorship to new and mid-career workers, without belittling their experiences?
Am I sharing resources — such as job, internship, and contract opportunities, calendars with deadlines for grants and contests, and email contacts for hiring parties?
Am I available to share my expertise, write recommendation letters, review portfolios or grant proposals, etc.?
Can I organize an initiative, such as a print sale or workshop, to support lens-based workers or organizations working around injustices in our industry?
How can I make space for my underrepresented colleagues?
If I am unavailable for work, am I prepared to recommend lens-based workers who have had fewer opportunities to take assignments? If I know someone else may be better suited because of their perspective or background, am I prepared to pass on work?
If asked to speak on a panel, judge a contest, or join a board, am I prepared to challenge the organization if they are not practicing inclusivity nor committed to accessibility? Am I prepared to explain why this is an issue and decline if actions are not taken to address the issue?
How can I promote other people’s work both in conversation and in digital spaces?
How am I holding myself accountable? How am I holding my peers accountable?
Am I meaningfully, constructively engaging in discussions with my peers and colleagues?
Am I centering the voices of Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC); the working class; women; people with disabilities; and nonbinary, transgender, and queer people?
Am I refraining from tone policing, gaslighting, discrediting, bullying, or otherwise harassing my colleagues?
Am I being silent or complicit in the abuse of colleagues because I am able?
NOTE: All conversations regarding consent operate within the understanding of the legal rights afforded to lens-based workers and should be read with this in mind. Anything raised in regards to engaging consent is meant to question the ethical — not legal — standards of documentation and how we choose to make imagery given those established parameters.
Lens-based workers documenting people/s who are vulnerable must ensure the safety of those people/s in order to maintain trust and credibility among communities. When feasible — especially with respect to sensitive stories that focus on people/s outside of a public space — lens-based workers shall aim to establish clear, informed consent with sources. Hiring parties shall provide lens-based workers with additional knowledge on how to establish and document consent according to their policies.
Consent by an individual is an affirmative decision to be documented and made public through words, pictures, sound, video, or other forms of media. Informed consent requires a full understanding of where and how that media may appear, as well as the potential consequences of publication.
While documenting in public spaces without consent is protected by law in the United States, hiring parties and lens-based workers shall adhere to an ethical framework when determining whether or not to identify a source, especially when that person’s life could be in danger as a result. When work is produced for commercial purposes, consent must be granted in writing with a release provided by the hiring party.
It is not always possible to secure informed consent in every situation — conflict, natural disaster, civil unrest, and many other scenarios can make it impractical or impossible to engage directly with people. In these scenarios, it’s possible to use body language, non-verbal communication, and eye contact to gauge the comfort level of those being photographed.
The previous actions are directed toward work produced for editorial and documentary use, in which the source is vulnerable and/or at risk of suffering repercussions as a result of publication. For example, this could include undocumented individuals, migrants, refugee populations, or people from communities systematically targeted by law enforcement; survivors of sexual assault or extreme trauma; and minors.
Getting informed consent, building relationships with sources, and respecting vulnerable populations should already be built into the practice of most documentarians.
Particularly when doing long term work, recognize that consent should be a continual process. Build relationships that re-establish consent throughout the reporting process and recognize that over time, willingness to consent may change.
When working internationally or in communities that are not your own, commit to upholding these same standards. Invest time into researching ethical, culturally-specific best practices; seek informed, continuous consent in the field; and be open to critique and advice that can better inform your work.
REFERENCES:
Authority Collective: Do No Harm
ACLU: Photographers’ Rights
National Press Photographers Association: Advocacy Resources
National Press Photographers Association: Code of Ethics
Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics
CONSIDERATIONS:
Do the people being documented have a full understanding of where the work could potentially appear — from print and digital publications to exhibitions, educational pamphlets, social media, and beyond?
Are you communicating with the person you’re documenting in their primary language? If not, how will you ensure their full understanding of the situation?
Does the person you’re documenting understand that by granting consent, their story, name, and other personal information might be made public?
If you publish certain images, what are the possible consequences? How can the image be used or misused? Who will be harmed? Who will be helped?
Does your source, especially if they’re from a vulnerable community, understand the potentially life-threatening and harmful consequences of being identified publicly?
When conversation between you and the person/s you are documenting is not possible or feasible, have you weighed whether or not it is appropriate to proceed? Have you considered consulting with hiring parties and/or colleagues for advice on best steps?
Is the person/s you are documenting indicating through body language or signaling (such as grimacing, covering their face, turning away, changing their tone of voice, expressing annoyance or anger) that they may not want to be photographed? If you did not receive verbal consent, acknowledge this is a sign that the person/s does not want to be documented and cease documentation.
Have you considered that sometimes the editorial process means you lose control of how the image may be used? Have you had this conversation with the editorial team/hiring party that commissioned you, and do you trust they will honor the original intention of your work? Do you have a strong contract in place that allows you to control any future use of your images?
Have you considered where and how these images might appear after publication? Are you comfortable or prepared to have images used by law enforcement, legal proceedings or hostile parties?
Our implicit biases may hinder our ability to do our best work. It is crucial we examine and address those biases in order to better serve the communities we document and be in community with each other. To dismantle white supremacy and extractive practices in lens-based work, we must consider how power dynamics and our perspectives affect our approach, and adopt an intentional, intersectional, and anti-racist lens.
Unlearning and addressing our biases is a lifelong process, full of ups and downs and mistakes along the way. Our progress does not absolve us from our errors.
We must hold ourselves accountable for those mistakes and position ourselves for growth. By centering the more under-resourced, under-represented, and under-supported workers within our industry, we can develop a stronger collective understanding of what an equitable, more ethical industry looks like.
RESOURCES:
Authority Collective x PhotoShelter: Guidelines for Inclusive Photography
CONSIDERATIONS:
What resources on anti-racism exist so I can educate myself?
Has someone pointed out a discriminatory action of mine? How have I reacted in those moments? Have I responded with microaggressions or defensiveness, or have I empathized with the person and internalized their concerns?
Have I committed to the lifelong process of unlearning and addressing any harmful attitudes I may harbor, such as racism, sexism, colorism, anti-Blackness, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, anti-Seminitism, etc.?
Do I understand how the white, Western, cisgender male gaze has been used to colonize, disenfranchize, and dehumanize through photography and image-making? Have I done the research to understand the history of these dynamics?
Am I transferring emotional labor onto my colleagues? Am I relying on colleagues from marginalized communities to educate me and others rather than taking responsibility for my own understanding? Do I expect my colleagues from marginalized communities to maintain a comfortable working environment for me at the expense of their own well-being?
Am I spending enough time with people and communities before documenting them? (A helpful way to know is if you feel accountable to anyone in that community. Will you have to answer to someone if your work is problematic or does harm?)
Am I perpetuating stereotypical narratives with my imagery?
How does my perspective or identity affect power dynamics between me and the people I photograph?
How does my identity shape my worldview and the way I’m afforded power and privilege?
Is there a difference between the intent of my work and the impact it may have on the communities I’m documenting?
Am I holding colleagues and the institutions I work for accountable for problematic hiring practices? Am I complicit in relegating certain narratives to the margin?
We hope our industry colleagues feel inspired to engage in thoughtful dialogue around these issues as well as establish ever-evolving practices of personal and institutional accountability.
“Beyond the Bill of Rights” is intended to be a supplement to the Photo Bill of Rights. We encourage you to also explore:
The toolkits, which offer email templates, guiding questions and considerations for workers and hiring parties, and detailed suggestions for action items. These toolkits are living documents that will change and expand over time.
The glossary, which expands on terms used throughout the Bill of Rights, to build better understanding of the importance of everyday language and how using language thoughtfully encourages critical, reflective thinking.
The list of resources, which offers additional references and literature that will help provide context for the issues that led to the creation of the Photo Bill of Rights, and all additional documentation.