This week the questions of ethics and use of photographs were challenged, including examples of photos of Syrian refugees, that were used to differing ends. The photos of Alan Kurdi’s body on a beach that have been used to raise the plight of the Syrian refugees and the struggles they face in fleeing their homes. I found these to be hard hitting images that made me question as to the limits of photojournalism. This reminded how, in the 2013 documentary ‘McCullin’ when talking about the Congo conflict, McCullin describes how he chose certain scenes not to photograph. He effectively self censored the images accessible by the press. Certainly his description of the scene’s he didn’t photograph were of an extreme graphic nature, as such we have to speculate as to how (if) they would have been used by the media if he had shot those images.

We also looked at the Jeff Mitchell image of refugees crossing from Croatia to Slovenia in October 2015. In particular how the image was used by UKIP to (wrongly) illustrate refugees coming to the UK in their campaign material. This throw’s into question what control a photographer has over the photographs they release for commercial use. Very little it would seem.

I feel the best I can do in my practice is to be true and honest to the subject that I’m photographing. As such I have the following:

Statement of ethics

I aim to produce creative, thought provoking images and in my photography I act responsibly, integrity and in an ethical manner:

People & places:

• I seek consent before photographing an identifiable person.
• I will seek consent if photographing on private land prior to shooting
• I treat all people and property with respect and shall strive to portray in a respectful and appropriate way.
• If someone wanders into my shot, I am courteous and will wait for them to
  move. I will consider adjusting my own position.
• I will not knowingly miss-represent any person, persons or situation.
• I treat models with courtesy, repaying professionals with prints or fees for their work.

Conduct:

• I am respectful of boundaries, be it personal or physical.
• I take time to talk about what I do as a photographer and what I am looking to achieve with a shot
• I always welcome feedback.
• I will be aware of my surroundings and weather conditions to ensure I do not put myself or other in harmful situations.
• I am clear and open about post processing techniques used in my final pieces