Revisiting duty of care

Over the past few years, I've put duty of care at the front of my mind. During #metoo, we had some people within the imaging industry called out; many of my friends have been victims of sexual assault on set. Some of their stories ended up in Sydney Morning Herald in October of 2020. Yet to this day, this person is still working within the industry, working with significant publications and collaborating with other creatives, many of whom are considered industry leaders.

The truth is despite the widespread coverage of #metoo, most people seem not to care, and unfortunately, models and creatives have very little protection. Bill Cosby, after 60 women came forward with accusations of sexual assault, has been set free; Craig McLachlan is currently pursuing defamation cases after he has been accused of harassment on set. If you speak up about your experience with sexual assault, you're likely to be shamed for your experience rather than protected.

Now, this is absolutely shithouse, and it's beyond reprehensible we shouldn’t be in this position, but we are. There's no point denying it. We need a frank reality check that the industry we work in needs adjusting.

In photography, we work with young people, mainly women, who might not be sure of their boundaries yet. Let's face it, many great images as we here are done through exploitation. The only way to prevent that from happening is to present a contract that gives people control back.

For me, I think we can do that with duty of care and image release forms, and whilst many people talk about a code of conduct, whilst that's important, I don't think there is much in terms of liability; if someone breaks a code of conduct, there still is areas of grey.

I want the people I work with to feel safe; I want the women I work with especially to feel like they can speak up if they're uncomfortable, want images removed, or if they're concerned with how they're perceived, I want them to be able to change that.

It is incredible the number of apologies I get from women who set boundaries "I am sorry I'm not comfortable with this", "I am sorry that I don't want this posted", it's their body, their boundaries, no creative should be pushing to compromise; no apologies are owed.

Whilst it can be frustrating to bind your best work to someone else's standards, we should be doing it to protect the well being of the people who choose to hand us their careers. There are short and long term consequences of our images, and these can be far-reaching for things like careers; especially if you decide to become a lawyer, doctor or teacher, photos you take at 18 can still have a long term adverse effect at 30, we can still severely impact someone's career.

It's OK to hold ourselves to a higher standard, but if we want everyone to clear that hurdle, we all need to do it. We all need to be doing our bit to continue moving this dialogue forward.

My current duty of care form, which is included on every single shoot I do, is:

This may seem like an unusual element to include, but I do believe it's super important, and I want to help set a precedent with everyone I work with on how test shoots should be managed from a photographers perspective.

If there's a shot you're not comfortable with, a look or clothes you don't want to wear, or generally, you have a bad feeling, or you feel something is wrong. Please let me, the makeup artist, studio manager or call your agent. You can always walk offset if something isn't right.

The most important thing is you walk away from a shoot feeling good about the work. Shoots are a collaborative effort. You are always welcome to bring a friend, parent or guardian, and they are welcome to be on set at all times. There will always be a private space for changing, a bathroom, as well as food and water can be provided. I have included this as there needs to be a precedent set around how shoots are managed within the photographic industry, and any and all toxic behaviour needs to go.

And my posting guide, which I started including after reading Emily Ratajkowski article on reclaiming her image:

This is just a quick one; I don't mind how many of the shots you use; please do tag me; it helps me reach models, agencies, brands and new clients! That is in both the photo and the comments. It does help.

I have to include this for legal reasons, as it has happened in the past, and I'm not too fond of this part. Still, it's necessary: Please don't use images without prior consent for commercial usage (ads, brands, etc.); my policy is if you profit off my pictures, so do I —If you aren't forthcoming, I will charge a commercial day rate, by agreeing to be photographed you are legally bound to inform me. Much in the same way I would not do this to you, I expect the same courtesy.

Image ownership stays with me; however, all images involving nudity, or you would rather consent on posting first, will be respected. You are always welcome to ask for an image to be removed, whether it's a day, week, or years after the fact. Your body is yours, and I do not wish to exploit you or make your life difficult; and I have included this guide so that you always feel like you can talk to me.

I will not use your image without written consent for commercial usage; if any image were to run for print, or be used in a book, etc., you would ultimately get creative control and approval in this process; I will never run advertisements or give brands shoots without speaking to you first, and usually compensate you financially. You can always turn these offers down again; the point of having this in writing is to stop either of us from being exploited.

I don’t take these things lightly, and I believe we need to do more. If you see this, and want to talk about it more, or believe there’s more we could be doing, I’ll add to this, it’s about improving, about doing more, about looking after each other.