Integrity and Accountability

• All work submitted must be your own, and/or made in collaboration with people who consent to it being published publicly.
• Take responsibility for the accuracy of your work. Verify information. Strive to ensure the photographic imagery is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair.
• Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information.
• Clearly label posed and staged images as such.
• Never plagiarize. Always attribute.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favours or money; do not pay for access. Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not.
• Deny favoured treatment to advertisers, donors or any other special interests, and resist internal and external pressure to influence photographic practice. Work produced in collaboration with organisations should be clearly labelled as such.
• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Excellence

• Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.
• Seek Truth.
• Minimize Harm.
• Abide by the same high standards you expect of others.
• Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.
• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Communication

• Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about photographic practices, news coverage and content.
• Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness.
• Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Explain corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.
• Proactively seek consent wherever possible.

Ethical Practice

• Ethical photographic practice treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
• Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
• Show compassion for those who may be affected by the making of and sharing of photographic imagery. Be aware of power dynamics and use heightened sensitivity when dealing with vulnerable populations, juveniles, victims of sex crimes, and sources or subjects who are inexperienced or unable to give consent. Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.
• Respect and protect the interests of individuals — especially children — over any other consideration, including advocacy for issues and rights.
• Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of publication. Provide updated and more complete information as appropriate.
• Protect the identity of vulnerable people and populations if the revealing of their identity could reasonably be expected to compromise their right to safety.
• Understand that consent to be photographed at one time does not mean consent to be photographed in the future, nor does it mean that consent cannot be withdrawn, or that consent applies to all situations and locations.
• Recognize that legal access to information differs from an ethical justification to publish.

Guidelines and Resources

• What Are Photography Ethics? (The Photography Ethics Centre)
• Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
• National Union of Journalists Ethics
• NPPA Code of Ethics
• Pulitzer Centre Ethics and Standards
• UNICEF Guidelines for journalists reporting on children
• The Photographer’s Guide to Inclusive Photography (Photoshelter)

Further Reading

• Through a Glass Darkly: Have we been blind to the exploitation of children in photography? [Reshared on PhotoVoice]
• Authority Collective Resources