Explain your goals as a photographer and allow those whose stories you tell to understand the photographic process, how their images may be used, and what their participation means for them.

Avoid stereotypes, simplistic narratives, and images that reduce people or communities to a single story.

Be aware of your own biases, assumptions, and privileges. Do not allow them to distort your reporting or the way you represent others.

Respect cultural values, traditions, beliefs, and local knowledge.

Seek meaningful, informed consent whenever appropriate, particularly when photographing children, vulnerable people, Indigenous communities, people experiencing trauma, or others who may have limited ability to understand or control how their image will be used.

Recognize that consent is not simply a signed release. Consider the power dynamics between photographer and subject and whether a person genuinely feels able to say no.

Be mindful that photographs can travel far beyond their original context and may remain publicly accessible indefinitely. Consider the potential consequences of publication for the people you photograph.

Do not alter images beyond traditional cropping, toning, color correction, and other adjustments that do not change the factual content of the photograph.

Do not add, remove, move, or alter people, objects, or elements within a photograph in ways that change what actually happened.

Do not use generative AI to create, add, remove, replace, expand, or otherwise alter content within a documentary photograph.

AI-assisted tools may be used for technical purposes only when they do not introduce new visual information or remove information captured by the camera, and when their use does not misrepresent the photograph.

When in doubt, disclose how an image was made or processed.

Do not mislead viewers about the circumstances in which an image was created.

Do not alter situations beyond anything that would occur by virtue of your being present. Do not move objects or stage actions, except when clearly participating in a deliberate reenactment. Any deliberate reenactments should be noted in caption information.

When photographing portraits, it should be clear that the photograph was a portrait and that direction was given. If it is not clear, please note it in caption information.

Captions should be truthful, accurate, and provide appropriate context. Do not use captions to imply facts, emotions, or circumstances that are not supported by what was observed.

Do not present an AI-generated or synthetic image as a photograph of a real person, place, animal, or event.

Do not combine photographs, AI-generated elements, or other visual material in a way that could cause viewers to believe they are seeing a record of something that actually occurred.

If AI or other synthetic techniques are used in work that is clearly presented as conceptual, artistic, educational, or illustrative rather than documentary, that distinction should be made clear to the audience.

Do not plagiarize.

Do not copy text from other sources verbatim or copy photographs.

Do not submit or present someone else's photograph as your own.

Credit photographers, writers, fixers, translators, researchers, local partners, and other contributors appropriately.

Do not use another photographer's work as the basis for creating an AI-generated imitation or derivative work without permission.

Do not upload photographs, recordings, or other creative work belonging to yourself or others into generative AI systems or other services that may retain, analyze, reproduce, or use that work for training without appropriate permission and an understanding of how the material will be used.

Respect copyright and the rights of photographers and the communities whose stories are being documented.

Consider whether metadata, GPS coordinates, names, locations, or other identifying information could put people, communities, wildlife, or sensitive places at risk.

Do not disclose the precise location of endangered or vulnerable wildlife when doing so could facilitate disturbance, exploitation, or harm.

Take particular care with photographs of people whose identity or location could expose them to danger, discrimination, harassment, or other harm.

Do not exploit another person's suffering for the sake of a compelling photograph.

Respect people's dignity during moments of grief, trauma, illness, displacement, or crisis.

Maintain a respectful distance between yourself and those you photograph, and understand when it is appropriate to put the camera down.

Do not do anything that would cause an animal fear, stress, injury, or disruption to its natural behavior.

Do not bait, chase, trap, corner, handle, feed, or otherwise coerce wildlife for the purpose of making a photograph.

Do not manipulate habitats or environments to create a photograph.

Tread gently and reduce any possibility of damage you may inflict on the natural world.

Follow established wildlife-viewing guidelines and the direction of local conservation authorities and experts.

Do not pay or offer other compensation to those you are documenting in exchange for their participation or testimony.

Do not accept payment, gifts, favors, or other compensation from people or organizations whose interests could influence the story.

Be transparent about who has funded or commissioned a project when that information is relevant to understanding the work.

Avoid relationships or arrangements that compromise—or could reasonably appear to compromise—your independence.

Learn about the places where you are working before you arrive.

Whenever possible, work with and listen to local photographers, researchers, fixers, translators, conservationists, and community members.

Credit and acknowledge the contributions of people whose knowledge, labor, access, or expertise makes a project possible.

Do not extract stories, images, or knowledge from communities without considering how the work may benefit, represent, or affect them.

Whenever possible, look for ways for the work to return value to the people and communities whose stories it tells.

The responsibility of a photographer does not end when the shutter is pressed.

Consider how an image might be interpreted when removed from its original context, translated into another language, shared on social media, or encountered years later.

Do not knowingly publish an image when the foreseeable harm to a person, community, or animal outweighs the public or storytelling value.

Follow all local laws, regulations, permits, conservation requirements, and cultural protocols.

Be respectful to fellow photographers, journalists, researchers, conservationists, filmmakers, and other documentarians.

Do not intentionally interfere with another person's work or access.

When an ethical situation is unclear, seek advice from trusted colleagues, local experts, editors, or others with relevant experience before proceeding.