New York City to Test Controversial AI Gun Detection in Subway Stations
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the city will trial a new artificial intelligence tool that detects guns.
Tech Companies Meta, Adobe, and OpenAI Join Responsible AI Consortium
More than 200 companies and organizations signed on to join the US AI Safety Insitute Consortium to advance responsible use of artificial intelligence.
ACLU Supports Man Wrongfully Arrested Based on Poor Facial Recognition
The national and New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in support of a man who was reportedly wrongfully arrested after facial recognition misidentified him.
The Baffling Allure of Staged Photos in Photography Competitions
Ah, the world of photography – where the line between candid images and artfully contrived scenes grows increasingly hazy. It’s as if the debate about staged photos and their place in photography competitions never quite loses its luster. But wait, we’ve got another gem to share: the revelation of a prize-winning staged photograph in yet another photography competition.
On ‘Protecting Your Subjects’ in Street Photography
It’s difficult to see how anyone other than the photographer is responsible for a photograph they may take, although I’m sure there are some specific exceptions – but usually, if a photographer is not responsible for their photograph, then who should be?
Police Make Wrongful Arrest Based on Bad Facial Recognition… Again
Since it has seen deployment by police, facial recognition has caused no less than six people to be wrongfully and accused and arrested for crimes they did not commit, yet the technology continues to be used.
Is it Ethical to Edit a Guest’s Pink Hair Out of Your Wedding Photos?
Yesterday, ethicist Kwame Anthony Appiah published his response to a parent of the bride's question: would it be ethical to digitally alter the hair color of a guest at the wedding? Appiah argues yes, but I think that answer misses the mark.
On ‘Exploitation’ in Photography
I recently wrote about the importance of discourse on the ethics around photography, where I offered my perspective on why rules and doctrines around decision making can diminish your ability to stand behind your work, justify your decisions, and really take responsibility and ownership over your vision.
Why Discourse on Ethical Photography Matters
Seeing is believing. This concise rhetoric goes a long way to explain the power of photography. Where a statistic can reduce an entire country to a few numbers a photograph can bypass the mind and head directly to the heart via the eyes. Emotional, heartbreaking eyewitness testimony is just another block of text compared to the medium which makes the viewer themselves an eyewitness to whatever the photographer wanted to show them.
Sony Named One of World’s Most Ethical Companies
Sony is one of 135 global organizations that has been recognized as one of the planet's most ethical companies. It is the only camera manufacturer to appear on the list this year.
6 Ethical Considerations When Doing Street Photography
I love street photography, I teach street photography, I promote street photography, I defend street photography, and want everyone to experience the fun of doing street photography!
Photographer Admits That Viral Snow Leopard ‘Photos’ Are Fake
The photographer who claims to have shot spectacular photos of snow leopards in the Himalayas has admitted that they are composite images.
The Thai Nursery Massacre and the Ethics of Reporting on Tragedies
“First do no harm…” Sometimes I think that there should be a Hippocratic oath for journalists due to the extremely sensitive stories that we sometimes encounter, and if there were such a text, it should start with those preceding four words.
Two Photo Contests, Two Conflicts of Interests, Two Different Responses
Photography competitions garner hundreds of thousands of entries per year and give away about as much money to a small subset of winners. But when those competitions are judged by well-known photographers —which is expected of any prestigious competition — this industry is small enough that it is mathematically impossible to avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest arising.
Meta Commits Additional $150 Million to its Oversight Board
Meta's Oversight Board has announced that the company has agreed to commit an additional $150 million, which is in addition to the initial $130 million when it was founded in 2019.
Woman in ‘Random Act of Kindness’ Video Says She Feels ‘Dehumanized’
A woman who appears in a viral TikTok video that's been watched over 60 million times, says she feels "dehumanized" by the experience.
Real or Photoshop: How Much Photo Editing is Too Much?
There is a lot of discussion these days about the pros and cons of post-processing. Is it good or bad, why do we do it at all, shouldn’t photography be representative of reality? Authentic? Isn’t the image out of a camera the real thing? Isn’t editing cheating?
Photographer ‘Disappointed’ That NBC Edited Lia Thomas Photos
NBC has sparked criticism for airing edited photos of transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas that softened the athlete's facial features. The photographer behind one of the photos says she is "surprised and disappointed" at what was done to her original shots.
Ethics Center Wants All Photographers to Publish an Ethics Statement
The Photography Ethics Center is asking all photographers to commit to publishing a statement of ethics on their websites. By doing so, the hope is that all photographers will think more proactively about the ethics of their work.
AP Cancels NFT Sale Amid Criticisms it Would Be Profiting From Suffering
After significant backlash, the Associated Press pulled plans to offer a video of a boat overcrowded with migrants as an NFT. The situation has called into question the ethics of selling photojournalism at all.
Photojournalist Caught Staging Photo of Child Burning a Mask
An independent photojournalist who contributes to Getty has been accused of staging a photo of a child throwing a mask into a burning barrel during an anti-mask protest in Portland, Oregon.
Is It Ethical To Make Money on Photos of Suffering?
There are many debates about ethics in photography. One such debate is around making money on photos that show human suffering. It could be appropriate, but there are a few caveats you should consider before selling such work.
Bug Photographer of the Year Under Fire for Drugging His Subjects
Macro insect photographers are up in arms this week after the title of "Bug Photographer of the Year" was awarded to a photographer who drugs his subjects for his ultra-close-up photos.
Controversy Swirls Over Photo Contest Winner’s Use of Children
The photographer who was recently awarded The Environmental Photographer of the Year title has come under scrutiny for his use of children in his portfolio. The controversy has raised questions about child protection in contests and the photography industry at large.
How Photos of Afghan Suffering Shown Over and Over Perpetuate Inequality and Harm
Devastating photos and videos emerged from Afghanistan as the Taliban regained control of the country and U.S. troops prepared to withdraw in August 2021.
Italian Photographer Dropped from Grant for Identifying Rape Victims
Italian photographer Marco Gualazzini has been dropped from a revered photography grant after he was accused of breaking child protection laws and putting underage victims of rape in danger by revealing their identities without their consent.
Student Plagiarizes African Artist, Gets Exhibited at the Milan Photo Festival
In 2014, curator Simon Njami engaged Ethiopian artist photographer Aïda Muluneh to interpret Dante’s Inferno for an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art entitled The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists. Muluneh’s “The 99 Series” featured a model set against a light grey mottled background, with her body and face covered in white paint, and her hands dipped in red.
An Important Lesson I Learned as a Photojournalist
I began working on a long-term project on child sexual abuse after receiving a three-day assignment from Marie Claire magazine USA to work with the Police Child Protection Unit in South Africa documenting infant rape. This was back in 2001, but I feel the lesson learned is still very relevant today.
Preying Eyes: Wildlife Photography as a Form of Paparazzi Intrusion
Do non-human beings have a need for privacy? And if so, is it comparable to that of human beings? Does wildlife photography invade privacy? This essay seeks to explore these questions by comparing paparazzi photography with wildlife photography regarding the concept of privacy invasion. To do so, two images will be studied in detail and compared to each other.
Facial Recognition Misidentifies Black Teen, Ignites Debate Over its Ethics
A Detroit-area skating rink is under fire for barring entry to a Black teenager after its facial recognition cameras misidentified her as a woman who was banned from the property. It has further ignited debate on the ethics of using facial recognition technology in the United States.
11 Tips to Achieve Better Street Photos
Street photography is one of my favorite ways to create photos because it affords so much variety and opportunities for different types of photos.
The Controversial History of Colorizing Black-and-White Photos
The ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) image colorization were recently brought to public attention when several historical images were altered using digital algorithms.
Subjects of World Press Photo Series ‘Paradise Lost’ Critical of Project
The mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which sits between Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been rife with tension and animosity for over three decades.
The conflict was reignited in September and quickly became an outright war, with drone strikes and missile attacks. Thousands died, and more have been displaced. In November, a peace deal was brokered, Azerbaijan declared victory, and captured most of the contested region, forcing Armenians to flee.
Study Says No Camera Brands are Ethical, Recommends Buying Used
The Ethical Consumer, an alternative consumer organization based in the UK, found that it could not rate any camera manufacturer as ethical, and as a result recommends buying second-hand instead.
Thoughts on a Framework for Photo Ethics
Ethics in photography is a topic that just keeps popping up. Whether it’s the latest dish on Magnum, or an argument about photographing the homeless, some days it seems you can’t turn around without stumbling across another disagreement.
Who Should Own Photos of Enslaved People?
In 1976 while rummaging through an attic of Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in search of old museum publications, editorial assistant Lorna Condon opened a drawer in a wooden cabinet. Inside, she found a number of flat leather cases which contained a series of daguerreotypes of partially and fully nude Black people.
My Response to David Burnett’s Open Letter to the NPPA
Dear Mr. Burnett,
I have some concerns I’d like to address in your recent open letter regarding the Photo Bill of Rights (BoR). I am a 36-year-old white female editorial and commercial photographer. I am a member of APA and a Houston chapter board member for ASMP.
David Burnett: An Open Letter to the NPPA on Ethics
World-renowned photojournalist David Burnett recently published an open letter to the National Press Photographers Association in response to the recent debates surrounding photojournalistic ethics and the controversial new Photo Bill of Rights that calls for, among other things, consent from subjects in public spaces.
Fox News Ran Photoshopped Photos of Seattle Protests
Fox News is being slammed for breaching journalism ethics after it published Photoshopped news photos of protests in Seattle. The outlet has pulled the misleading photos and apologized.
Yunghi Kim: Is Agreeing NOT to Show a Person’s Face Against the Ethics of Journalism?
Editor’s note: Veteran photojournalist Yunghi Kim (@yunghi) sent me the following thoughts after the publication of my article about the ethics of showing protestors’ faces.