3 tips for writing your Statement of Ethics
What is a Statement of Ethics?
A Statement of Ethics is a declaration of your ethical principles and a description of how you enact those principles in your photography practice. The purpose of writing a Statement of Ethics is to explore what ethics means in your practice for yourself, and then to share your commitment to ethics with others, for example by publishing it to your website or social media pages.
Not sure where to start?
We have 3 tips that can help you get started writing your Statement of Ethics.
1. Engage in self-reflection.
Take some time to journal in response to the following prompts:
Why do you do the work that you do? What drives you?
What ethical principles guide you in your life and your work?
What photographers do you admire? What do you admire about them?
What people or ideas have shaped how you think about photography or about your role as a photographer?
What do you want to work toward or improve about your practice?
2. Do some research.
There are numerous resources available online that can help to build your thinking about photography ethics.
Read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and learn from others about how they approach photography ethics.
Read the statements of other photographers who have signed the pledge campaign for inspiration
But remember: Although your Statement of Ethics may overlap with others, it is important that you make it your own by putting it in your own words. This statement is all about you and your photographic practice, so feel free to take it in whatever direction feels right for you!
3. Start with principles, then identify actions.
For example, it is good to say that you value dignity, but it is far better to explain what dignity means to you, whose dignity you are talking about, and how you will uphold dignity in your practice.
Select the key ethical principles which you feel are central to your work.
Craft a definition for each principle you have selected.
Identify tangible actions for each principle that can help you to enact it within your photographic practice.
Ready to begin?
Make the pledge committing to write and publish your own Statement of Ethics.
Our Statement of Ethics campaign is for photographers, photo editors, curators, photo organisations, and any one else who maintains a practice working with photographs or other lens-based media.
