Last Friday we had a bit of practice with taking photos of strangers. But prior to that the class had a debate over photographers rights in public spaces. Is it acceptable to take photographs of strangers and publish them as your own? What are the ethics of street photography? does privacy apply in public spaces?
Unfortunately I arrived to the class a bit late so I didn’t participate in the debate. But I remembered some of the things that we learned.
in an article written by Jessica Lake, she talk about many disputes that involves privacy, some to the favor of privacy and some don’t. She recognizes Privacy in the concept of law is “notoriously slippery and contextual” because it’s different case to case. It is hard to find a general consensus on the photography style popularized by Henri Cartier-Bresson. This is why ethics was created.
Ethic defined by Cambrige UK dictionary; “a system of accepted beliefs that control behavior, especially such a system based on morals”. It basically a code that defines what is wrong and right in an activity it is related to. Most corporations have codes of conduct but they don’t usually publicize it, but in the Media and journalism department, it is strongly highlighted.
I believed that ethics are created so that an activity does not benefit only one side of the participant. When you are doing media/journalism, your main work is with other people, sometimes peering into their personal lives. Ethics guide me how far I can go/ow should I go if I want to go that far.
Brian gave some articles to help consider the morals in street photography; one made by Eric Kim and by Nicholas Goodden. They give you question pointers to consider before you press the camera shutter and after, such as considering how would you feel if some stranger take a picture of you? and having a quick conversation with you subjects. One good suggestion from everyone, is to ask for consent. It is never wrong to ask permission first even though it takes away the candid aspect. But like Kim said, you can ask them to just continue their activity, and some of the best shots are stylized. Even Henri Cartier-Bresson talks with the people he photographed.
Even though ethics are a crucial pointer in a media practitioner’s life, codes of conduct are not legally binding because it is only a set of moral principles. ethics concern your own morals and later people’s perception about you. Taking a picture in public is not considered a breach of privacy. But then again, in the context of Australian law “public” and “privacy” have their own very specific definition. One example that I learn, you can take public photographs in the State Library of Victoria, because it is a public place (according to the law you must not be a nuisance). But listen to this, the train in the train station is not a public place. Metro train is not a government owned company. Law is interestingly confusing.
