| Sign in: |
| Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features. |
|
|
|
|
|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
The Ethics of Photography without consent.
Scott Corron, Photographer
 |
Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 11:10 PM on 12.08.06 |
->> No doubt this topic has been discussed many times, but the top band picture story the last few days might introduce some new questions. In the medical world, generally there are a number of "C's" that make up consent. A few of the "C's" include being Currently, Capable, of Cogently ,Communicating, Conditions, and Consequences of a given course of action. In most western and free countries including the United States, a Patient Bill of Rights has been adopted. Because of this it might make sense that in a country with that general accepted principle, that we abide by a similiar respect for patients in our publications, whether photographed here or abroad.
It is not possible that we might fully or even partially understand the competency of the patients photographed in the picture story. The long caption however, if an accurate account of the patients condition, does shed light on the competence and consent issue.
Although the photographs are technically powerful, they may in fact exploit these individuals and not be in the best interest of good journalism. Had these persons been patients in the United States, there is no question that it would be inconsistent with the appropriate treatment of a medical patient not capable of consent. |
|
Wes Hope, Photographer
 |
Maryville | TN | USA | Posted: 11:44 PM on 12.08.06 |
->> I have to disagree Scott. I don't think Yana's photos are exploitative and I think they are a nice example of good journalism.
Yana writes in her description "I would love to shed more light on forgotten people in the rarely seen corners of the world."
Just because a subject doesn't necessarily give consent doesn't mean the story shouldn't be told. Should victims of natural disasters, wars, disease, etc. not have their stories told because they haven't fully given consent, or may not even understand what the word consent means? Their stories are equally important and only through good journalism, in most cases, will their voices be heard and their faces seen. Who knows what change may come from our photos?
I will recognize there is an ethical boundary between documenting stories like this for the purpose of good journalism and the collection of shocking photos that are gained by being exploitative with that as its sole intent. After looking at Yana's work and reading the story, I honestly don't see exploitation at work, just good documentary images. Whether these patients realize and are cognizant of that fact that Yana is taking their picture and that the story will be published somewhere in the world is irrelevant to me.
We aren't in the medical world. We're in the storytelling business. I don't think it's our responsibility to uphold America's limiting laws for the sake of "protecting" every citizen's privacy and right, be they on our soil or abroad. |
|
John Harrington, Photographer
 |
Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 2:19 AM on 12.09.06 |
->> Wes --
Yana's intent "I would love..." is not relevant. Oftentimes, patients, as a part of their intake, sign a release allowing them to be photographed. More often than not though, they do not. My former wife handled public affairs for a hospital with people capable of consent, and they had to sign off before any news media were allowed to photograph them. Period. No signature, no photo. Where there was a question of competency, the legal guardian (not always the spouse, sometimes an adult who is the subject's child has power of attorney) must sign off.
Stories can be told without photos, and without people's names used. Photos, and names, make the story more powerful. Further, these victims have an expectation of privacy while in a hospital. In a war, disaster, and such, especially outdoors, or in a common area, that expectation of privacy is diminished. Consent in a space where there is this privacy expecation is a requirement of law, and either a paper, or the hospital, can be sued for that violation, as could the individual photographer.
The supposed altriusm of the images -- documentary images rather than exploitive -- is not going to diminish the invasion of privacy. While facts such as consent are irrelevant to you, they are not irrelevant to those legally charged with the patients, or protecting them and their privacy.
And, sorry to say, this statement "I don't think it's our responsibility to uphold America's limiting laws for the sake of "protecting" every citizen's privacy and right, be they on our soil or abroad." is just plain irresponsible. Does this apply abroad to the privacy of the Abu Graib prisoners? Guantanimo Bay enemy combatants privacy? Even the Geneva convention has rules about prisoner and combatant treatment and public display. (Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention says that prisoners of war must at all times be protected against insult and public curiosity.) These aren't silly little laws that America put forth, they are internationally accepted laws designed to protect everyone. Citizens of the good 'ole US of A have an absolute right to privacy. To wit:
"The Constitution does not specifically mention a right to privacy. However, Supreme Court decisions over the years have established that the right to privacy is a basic human right, and as such is protected by virtue of the 9th Amendment. The right to privacy has come to the public's attention via several controversial Supreme Court rulings, including several dealing with contraception (the Griswold and Eisenstadt cases), interracial marriage (the Loving case), and abortion (the well-known Roe v Wade case). In addition, it is said that a right to privacy is inherent in many of the amendments in the Bill of Rights, such as the 3rd, the 4th's search and seizure limits, and the 5th's self-incrimination limit." (source: http://www.usconstitution.net/constnot.html#privacy)
So, diminish those rulings at your own peril. These are the cases that will be used against you, or anyone else, when you are sued in court. And that family, who wanted to protect the privacy of their family member who could not consent, and has had to become destitute before turning to Medicare to pay all the years of medical bills will welcome the opportunity for "found money" when they get a contingency lawyer from the late night commercials who will take their case on and sue the hospital, the publication, and the photographer, and they win because there was no consent document signed.
John |
|
Fredrik Naumann, Photographer
 |
Oslo | Oslo | Norway | Posted: 4:08 AM on 12.09.06 |
->> This is a problematic issue. It seems obvious photographers will adjust their ethics according to what they can get away with. (I'm guilty too..) At one time it was very popular with photojournalists to go to eastern Europe to photograph people at mental institutions. This include some very famous photographers. Do you think the patients were CCCC or C? Do you think their families were asked? While there are many good arguments for telling the world about some of these places, I am pretty sure noone would've dared do the same story in the US without consent and proper paperwork. Simply becasue one knows you can't get way with it. The laywers will have you for breakfast.
Today it is Iraqi hospitals, not Romanian mental institutions, and pretty much every day we see pictures we would never see from a western hospital. Why is that? Becuase Iraqis are prone to always give informed consent, or becuase we don't apply the same ethics when we photograph them (or publish their picture)?
In many parts of the world privacy and consent, the way we know it, isn't very well known consepts. If the chief has given the green light, all is good, you can photograph anybody anyway you like in the village. Noone will protest, becuase that's the way it works. What do most photographers do? Go with the flow and happily snap away.
Similarly, many pictures have been taken and published of Iraqi POWs, probably becuase western media know they can get away with it. But there is a big hoopla if you see a coalition POW in print.
So our western ethics are flexible it would seem. Principles in national laws, international conventions and normal journalistic standard, is regularly set aside by photographers when given the opportunity.
I am curios: is the principle of consent practiced very differently on TV than in print media in the US? I have seen many documentaries from the US where people on sidewalks etc are blurred, presumably becuase they didn't sign all the paperwork.
I hope it doesn't come to that with documentary photography, that you have to have an assistant run after you with legal papers, getting signatures, and then having to blur all the people who didn't sign. |
|
Melissa Lyttle, Photographer
 |
Tampa | FL | USA | Posted: 8:27 AM on 12.09.06 |
->> scott--
[sarcasm]
i hate when photographers exploit individuals and do things that aren't in the best interest of good journalism:
http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/photo/inferno/romania1.html
[/sarcasm]
why don't you send an email to yana, directly, instead of calling her photos exploitative here on the message board?
if you had, you'd know that she had permission to be in the hospital from the director of the institution. you'd also know that she has a vested interest in her home country and how it's changing as it prepares to enter the EU. and maybe after talking to her you'd learn about the tremendous amount of respect she has for her subjects.
-m |
|
Scott Corron, Photographer
|
Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 9:48 AM on 12.09.06 |
->> Melissa:
The question raised was not about the photographers permission to be in the facility or about her interest in her country or the European Union. Perhaps to your surprise the question was not about the photographer at all and in fact it was pointed out that the photos are technically very powerful. In short it is not about Yana.
The question was about the right to privacy of what appears to be a patient with considerable mental illness and the distress it could cause that patient to have their pictures and dire conditions published in a very public forum.
Melissa the information I am trying to share and questions I am trying to get folks to consider are not easy and there are often unclear answers. In another time in life, I spent three years as a patient advocate/representative in a major trauma center and completed a number of graduate hours as a graduate student at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston in medical ethics under Elizabeth Heitman, Ph.D. and Stanley Reiser, MD, ethicists who helped to fashion what later became the Patient Bill of Rights. When a topic stirs you up a bit, usually there is an ethical issue involved and sometimes there is not a clear answer. It is clear with your {sarcasm} that this topic might have stirred you up a bit.
With each question we raise there are benefits and burdens.
If a person is in a dire condition and this condition is brought to light in a forum that can change that condition then a benefit may be an improvement of the person's condition.
If we revisit the photos posting on this board as a question of what benefits and what burdens are created by them being the top story here we might better assess the question.
Who benefits from the top story and at what burden?
Is there any burden present at all and if so who has the burden at this point?
These are all very difficult questions to answer but they are good questions to ask. The photographer no doubt cares for her subjects or likely would not have been there and likely had very good intent. What then happened to the photographs to help the patient's condition? This is unclear. We do know they were posted on Sportsshooter. Will the posting help the patient? Will or has the posting helped the photographer?
The question is about privacy of a mental health patient from another country likely with different protections of patient rights than might be present here, and consent to photograph and publish the images and in what venue. The photographs stirred emotion in me.
The emotion stirred for me however, was concern not only for the patient's dire condition but for the lengthy description and quotes from the patient and the clear inability of the patients to have consented to have their story published in such a widespread forum, and the harm that could be caused to these persons in so doing. |
|
Melissa Lyttle, Photographer
|
Tampa | FL | USA | Posted: 3:57 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> When I was suggesting you actually talk to Yana, I was hoping you'd maybe come to understand what her motivations and intentions were. You say it's not about her, but when you say that her photographs "may in fact exploit these individuals and not be in the best interest of good journalism." It's the language you chose to use that stirred me up, more so than the topic at hand.
Your second post is much better worded, and gets at your point a little clearer.
We should be asking those questions of ourselves each time we go into a difficult situation. Who is this helping? Who is it hurting? I guess I just like to optimistically assume that most photojournalists act on a greatest good philosophy. |
|
Vasha Hunt, Photographer
|
Opelika | AL | USA | Posted: 5:48 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> The photos did not come across as exploitive to me; they captured the humanity of these patients who are forced to recover from an illness in very bad conditions. I can't speak for Yana, but it came across in the pictures that she wanted to shed light on the challenges these people faced in recovery under harsh circumstances. The photos also showed the great humanity of these folks despite the challenges of the surroundings.
The pictures also speak to Yana having rightly earned the trust of these men and women - I think they will be quite proud of the images if there is a way for them to see them and appreciate Yana's telling their story in the hope that these folks will not be lost in the cracks when their country joins the EU.
Scott said "The question was about the right to privacy of what appears to be a patient with considerable mental illness and the distress it could cause that patient to have their pictures and dire conditions published in a very public forum."
I did not believe these people to be suffering from "considerable mental illness" from the photos, and the captions explain that with proper medication the patients are able to function well and can go to their homes when they want to. Many of the captions quote the patients directly, showing self-awareness of their surroundings and what illness they are battling.
One of the 1900's most powerful photographs, Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/evanspegs/lange6a.jpg
showed a woman suffering from the poverty and desperation of the great depression. Lange was trying to explain, not exploit, the forgotten people suffering in our country. While this family may not have suffered from mental illness, they likely had no idea how widespread their desperation would be known, and so could not have known what they were really consenting to. Her subject probably had no idea her face would be one of the most recognizable of the century, but to not publish them for fear of possibly offending her would have been a huge mistake.
I bring up the Lange photo because I thought of the Farm Security series, and wondered if those works had inspired Yana when I looked at them a few days ago.
When we photograph people who are in bad conditions, or who are suffering, we may be photographing on a global scale - we may know it, we may not, but our responsibility is to photograph our subjects humanely, with a genuine concern for their humanity. If we do this, our images will more often than not be a positive force in the subjects’ lives. Even if they don't like the photos, or feel frustrated that many strangers see their plight, the photos may effect a positive change for the subjects.
Yana's photos may help these folks by effecting change, or by simply giving the subjects a good feeling in their hearts that someone cares. If either happens, Yana will have succeeded in her effort. |
|
Ron Erdrich, Photographer
 |
Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 6:58 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> My wife is a Bulgarian photojournalist also and we discussed aspects of her country's attitude toward mental illness and the deep public stigma that it carries.
Essentially, this is a case of whose rights are more important. Are these patients' right to privacy more weighty than the right of all the other Bulgarian mental patients to receive treatment in a modern, clean and humane facility?
I am certain these nurses and doctors care for their charges as well as they can, but do not expect the same level of acceptance, nor concern, for these patients' condition in Bulgarian society as there would be in America. This is a different country with different standards and different ideas about mental health. My wife has told me that being diagnosed with any kind of mental illness, even something simple like depression, is the worst thing that can happen to someone in Bulgarian society. The stigma is very reminiscent of what our country was like not too long ago.
That said, like any good journalism, Yana's work serves to change that society and to bring public opinion and concern around. I've been there three times in the last five years. Bulgaria is a poor country and many of the social services, like street sweeping machines and park maintenance, much less adequate mental health facilities, are non-existent or in short supply. The country is recovering from half a century of communist rule and everything that went with that, both economically and socially. There are many great stories like this one that could be told there.
-Ron- |
|
Trevor Frey, Student/Intern, Photographer
|
Bowling Green | KY | USA | Posted: 7:23 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> Hello all, I think this is a great thread. Ethics is something we should carry with us always.
My question is this: When is it an adversary to good journalism to tell the truth?
Also, I, like Melissa, like to believe that photojournalists "act on a greatest good philosophy," until I see otherwise. This may sound like a "slippery slope" question, but how can we apply the same standard of consent in an Iraqi war hospital, Romanian mental institution and the local hospital in America? Am I wrong in assuming there is a different standard of bureaucracy at work in these places?
Fredrik spoke of a different standard......this is what I am wondering about.
I don't for a second think we should or can apply a different standard of ethics to the subjects in those different places. I do believe there is a human standard we should all aspire to, I am just wondering how we can apply our privacy standards when they (I am presuming) have different standards (like Fredrik's reference to the village chief). I hope that's not to confusing of a question....
It's been below zero for few days in a row now in Kentucky.....hope it's warmer were you are....Best, Trevor |
|
Aaron Rhoads, Photographer
 |
McComb | MS | USA | Posted: 8:24 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> Different standards when it comes to how we Americans treat people from the third world?
It's simple....We Americans, as a whole are more valuable than people from other countries..
Or thats how we like to think.
Well, maybe its a human condition that everyone has..not just Americans.
In my opinion. |
|
Trevor Frey, Student/Intern, Photographer
|
Bowling Green | KY | USA | Posted: 8:38 PM on 12.09.06 |
->> I know there is a different way things happen in different places. I don't think that it's reflective of this overall world view you have assigned to American's (and anyone else for that matter...) and how they feel about others.
What I am questionong is this:
When photojournalists working in other parts of the world adapt to the ways of another place, why are we questioning their ethics and motivations?
If that's the way they give constent, if they did, then, as a person looking at the photos, that's good enough for me. Why should we go over to Romania or Iraq and start asking people in that country to sign waiver's before we shoot? Would tht not confuse and/or freak them out? I don't know...... |
|
Matthew Rosenberg, Photographer
 |
Charlottesville | VA | United States | Posted: 9:51 AM on 12.10.06 |
->> http://salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8LTIJ780.html
I thought this article was unfortunately timely. If only some horrible photojournalist had exploited these people and put on display for the world their living conditions. Maybe a few more of them would be alive. I think a re-evauation is in order here. Who really was exploiting the people in Yana's photos? The society that threw them away with the garbage or the person trying to shed a little light on the situation.
I was going to let this thread go as another "Hate Photojournalists First" thread until I read the linked article. What we do is important. Do I expect that everybody is now going to start caring for the under-privileged, no. I am not naive. But, at least somebody gave it a shot.
-Matt |
|
Yana Paskova, Photographer, Assistant
 |
Chicago | IL | USA | Posted: 5:09 PM on 12.13.06 |
->> First, I wish to thank everyone in this post. I appreciate that many of you understood my intentions to help my compatriots and believed in the essay’s positive impact, but I also value all the questions raised in this conversation I deeply respect. I am happy that Sportsshooter creates an environment to discuss such important topics, and I am glad to have been a part of it.
Before the inception of this thread, I took up an offer to write an article for SS detailing my experiences that would include more of the doctors’ and patients’ thoughts. I hope reading it will clarify some of your queries. If I raise any further concerns but you do not feel like responding here, please contact me at yanapaskova@gmail.com to ensure I receive them directly.
I am Bulgarian, which means I would never exploit for professional gain the country that I hold dear (or any other place or person, for that matter.) At the age of 12, I moved to America’s comfortable middle class from the limiting post-totalitarian regime of my country, and realized few people were aware of its realities. It has been my mission since then to change that blindness. And so, I find Melissa Lyttle’s example of James Nachtwey’s works very appropriate—because, while I am not comparing myself to his legendary work, it has been among the greatest inspirations for my mission. Few would label his photographs (such as Ceausescu’s legacy – the abandoned Romanian orphans, left alone with their screams – and the graphic images of famine-stricken Sudanese) as anything but an attempt to shed light on atrocities across the world.
Regarding obtaining consent: I had researched the laws of my native country, the most relevant of which stated that anyone who tells you not to publish their picture or information should receive this right. This is why, on more than a singular occasion, I explained to every single patient why I would be shooting there, where these pictures and any info they provided me would be published (without actually using their names in the published material,) and asked for their permission. Two people didn’t grant it, and their image never entered my camera; but everyone else did. And so, these pictures do not endanger anyone with a law suit, simply because it would lack the legal grounding. In addition, I had already received permission to shoot from the head psychiatrist, who in Bulgaria is responsible for granting it to photojournalists entering his jurisdiction—the psychiatry ward. I explained to him that I really meant to help the hospital by shooting this essay—by hoping that disseminating knowledge of Bulgaria’s shaky health care structure would raise questions about ways to strengthen it, and by sending this essay to several world charity organizations in hopes of attracting some funds to the hospital—and he trusted this was my main agenda. The patients did, as well. They approached me and asked me to “please tell them about us;” (“them” being the Western world) and divulged their life stories not only knowing many would hear them, but also hoping for it.
Regarding the patients’ ability to grant consent: I understand your concerns, but a patient’s ability to grant consent is something that is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Here, each patient was medicated and logical enough to grant permission for access to their likeness and any information they cared to share with me, and to understand my explanation of where, when and why the above would be published. I know this not only from observation that indicated all five of their senses functioned normally, but also because the hospital staff confirmed the state of their intelligence and lucidity during each of those times.
Regarding what is gained and what is lost in shooting a photo essay on a difficult topic: I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who simply sought to further their career to visit a psychiatry ward, because it isn’t a place you want to take home with you every day – and I inevitably did. It ate at the limited days I spent with my grandparents each year, and it often left me feeling confused and depressed. The only reason I kept returning to the hospital was the desire to tell this story better, to make the patients and staff feel as if they were not alone and forgotten, as they themselves told me they felt. They shared with me they were happy someone had finally started paying attention to their struggle, and that they felt less alone and more understood. On my last day there, I gave them each a picture of themselves. Many of the patients had never possessed one before. They asked me to return next year to shoot some more, and I said I would. That made me feel useful and human, so I confess that is something I have gained from this photo essay. I weighed what the patients would gain from my project—the feeling they mattered, a glimpse of hope, the possibility of a better life through funding they may receive from those who find them to be a worthy cause, or a political system that will slowly change to support them—against what they told me they wouldn’t lose—their dignity—and I pressed the shutter. It is a small step toward the improvement of their life, but one I hope will be followed by others.
I hope my response clarifies your questions and concerns, and thank you for raising and contributing to a dialogue on the topic of ethics. It has fascinated me for a long while. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me with further queries.
Sincerely,
Yana |
|
|| Sponsor Special Deals
Nikon D3 (refurbished demo!)
|
Available from:
Samy's Camera
|
Price: $3799.00 |
Notes:
We have 15 refurbished demo Nikon D3 cameras available. First come, first served! Comes with a 3 month manufacturer warranty, and extended warranties are available. Send an email to samys@sportsshooter.com, or call 866-726-9463 and identify yourself as a person from SportsShooter.
|
|
-- More Info -- |
|
Return to --> Message Board Main Index
|