Words and images by: Marianne Elliott
Today I was processing these portraits from a trip I made to Papua New Guinea when I was working for Oxfam. They got me thinking about how much I love to photograph people and about what makes a great portrait, but also about the ethics of photographing people who I don’t know and who I may never see again. Can travel portrait photography avoid exploitation, and be genuinely respectful?
I don’t have all the answers, not even close. But I have thought quite a lot about the questions, and I’ve come up with a few guidelines for myself, which help me take photos in a way that feels respectful.
1. Ask permission
Not everyone agrees with this, but if someone’s face is going to be recognisable in my photo then I like to ask their permission before I photograph them. In fact, ‘May I take your photograph?’ is one of the first phrases I learn in many languages. If I’m taking photographs for my website I try to make it clear that the images will be shared with others, usually saying something like “May I take your photo so I can show people what Afghans/Gazans/Timorese people really look like?”
Most people say yes, but some decline and I always feel quite empathetic. I’m not sure I would agree if the situation were reversed. This policy means that it’s harder to get ‘unposed’ portraits. But not impossible. Sometimes if I’m with a group of people for an extended period of time I can ask their permission to photograph at the beginning and then over time take photos of them relaxed and unconscious of the camera.
2. Don’t take a photograph of anyone in a situation in which you would not want to be photographed
I’m not a photojournalist for good reason. I know that I would not want to be photographed as I learned that a beloved family member had been killed, as I wept in grief or gaped in shock. I wouldn’t want to be photographed jostling for food from a UN truck to feed my starving family. So on those occasions when I have been witness to that kind of suffering I’ve left my camera in my bag. Or, if it was my job to capture images I’ve either photographed the scene without any recognisable faces or waited until people feel ready to be photographed, on their own terms.
3. Allow people to present themselves as they choose
I’m guilty of breaking this rule myself, but only when the delightful policemen who had been making me laugh for five days in a workshop suddenly became rigid and stern for all their portraits. I took the photos that way, so they could have those prints for their own walls. But then I joked and teased and basically tricked them into smiling for the camera as well. I can’t say I regret it, because I love those photos and the memories they represent. But I do generally try to allow people to choose how they want to present themselves in my portraits. If nothing else, it generally means they are more relaxed and comfortable, which makes for a good portrait.
4. If at all possible, provide people with a copy of the photo
This is harder if you are passing through places where there is no postal system. But whenever possible I try to make copies of my photos to either deliver or send back to the people in the photos. This isn’t essential for your photographs to be respectful, but it is a simple gesture of gratitude which might count for a lot in places where it is very difficult for people to obtain photos of themselves (despite, perhaps, being photographed by travelers all the time).
That’s it really. I’d love to say that I don’t take pictures of children without their parents’ permission (and perhaps that is a guideline I should adopt) but for now it simply wouldn’t be true. Every where I’ve traveled children approach me asking to be photographed and love to see themselves in the display of my digital camera. I generally oblige them. I simply apply the same guidelines to children as I do to adults.
How about you? What is your approach to taking portraits when you travel?
About Marianne: I’m a human rights advocate, writer and yoga teacher. Zen peacekeeper. Change-maker. Instigator of radical acts of kindess to ourselves and others. Creator of the 30 Days of Yoga course. Practicing Buddhist (trust me, it takes a lot of practice).
My sentiments, exactly. But take a photo release form in whatever language they speak, if intending to use the photos in a magazine or publication. This isn’t always possible – and sometimes, when children or without their parents and don’t read or write, certainly not – but magazines usually ask for the release.
Correction: …when children are without their parents and don’t read or write…what can I say, I just woke up. :)
Such common sense, respectful advice.
I grew up in PNG (my dad worked for the government for years until the late 70s); I absolutely love these photos. These folks look very happy to have had images taken – you can see by their relaxed poses and smiles.
Great addition Tara, I had that on my list and then forgot to add it!
Emma – I also lived in PNG as a child while my father worked there. So it was a real treat to go back with Oxfam.
this is such an interesting topic and one that I am very sensitive of. I’ve certainly taken pictures when I traveled (with and without permission, usually with). But I guess I’ve become more sensitive in my approach in Afghanistan. I’ve had non-Afghans take a picture of me thinking that I am a national Afghan (I’m Afghan American). Those people are terribly startled when I ask them in clear English to either not take my picture or remove the picture from their camera. They are startled b/c they thought I was a ‘native’ and therefore, common courtesy doesn’t apply. I can’t really judge them for it, I’ve done the same in the past but it’s sensitized me to the subject.
I also meant to add that I like your guidelines. if someone had approached me in that way, I would have appreciated it and probably would have allowed the photo to be taken.
Can we also talk about what to do with those photos? As in, photos of your national friends dancing at a wedding shouldn’t be posted on your public blog? I’ve seen a number of photos posted online of Afghan women that could be dangerous for them. Afghans have the internet too. Many of these photos seem to be taken of women relaxing in the privacy of their own homes, without a hijab or etc. I assume that the Afghan women thought that these photos would go in an album or only shared with close friends of the int’l who took it. NOT posted online in a very public manner.
It would be really nice if I consolidated all of my comments into one, wouldn’t it? Sorry about the multiple postings but wanted to make clear that I have never found you, Marianne, to post people’s photographs in the above-mentioned manner.
Wonderful post on a tricky topic, Marianne. I, too, feel like I cannot photograph in good faith moments of grief, worry or other instances of privacy. One of my favorite photojournalists is Lynsey Addario (who was recently captured and released in Libya). Her portfolio, as exhibited on her website, is full of moments at which I myself could never click and capture. Her photographs, with their dual beauty and intrusiveness, make me both admire and question the practice as a whole.
Wonderful post, Marianne, and beautiful pictures. I personally am hoping to learn photography and I think asking individuals whether their picture can be taken is very important. It’s difficult when you don’t know the language, but hopefully is a phrase that is easily learned :) This shows that you respect the dignity of the person. You wouldn’t take a picture of someone in the U.S. or Australia without asking their permission, after all. It’s just right that we acknowledge that poor people in other countries have the same dignity, as well! It’s also good to ask them whether they would be okay if the picture was used in marketing/promotional materials, or placed on a website.
Asiyah – great additional point about what you do with photos and whether it is appropriate. I have some beautiful images of Afghan friends in their own homes, without hijab and I’m fairly confident they would NOT appreciate me posting them on my public blog. I struggled to explain to people in rural Ghor what a blog was (the fault lay with my Dari), but always tried to make it clear that I wanted to show their photos to the world in a public way.
I didn’t have permission forms because I had no intention, at the time, of publishing my photos in a more formal sense. Now I wish I had. So Tara’s point on that is a very good one.
Roxanne, I know what you mean about the simultaneous admiration and questioning of some photo-journalism. But I think it can be done in a respectful way, allowing people the time to gather themselves and decide how they want to be represented, or choosing to capture images which don’t reveal identity. The former may not be acceptable to most news editors, but maybe we need to start changing those norms.
Thanks Akhila – I hope you do learn photography. It’s a beautiful art form and very therapeutic.
These are very respectful rules indeed-asking before shooting seems a common courtesy to me. I’ve been with other photographers at times who pooh-pooh this unwritten rule…and yet I feel that is an invasion of the privacy of the individual. Their image belongs to them unless they okay it.
As for the posed vs. non-posed portrait arguement, I think your “posed” portraits here look like a wonderful reflection of the souls residing in those bodies…to me the PNG photos show a side of that society that we don’t often see in North America, and that is a genuinity of self. Here we pose pose pose until we get the look we want or we delete. Those smiles and especially those eyes captured up there may well be posed but contain vastly different outlooks.
I just had to comment to say that the people in these photos have absolutely brilliant smiles. I love them.
I love your post, Marianne. And these images are stunning.
I love taking pictures of people too when I travel and my heart is always to be respectful and ask permission. When I haven’t known the language, sometimes I point at the camera and ask with my eyes and face. I also love it when the children run up and ask me to take their photos … What bliss now to be able to show them the photo right away in the digital camera screen and see their faces light up.
I like your idea of sending the photographs … It’s a big stretch for me, but I really like the idea and I would love to grow into doing that.
I so appreciate your thoughtful post.
On my last few travels with portrait photography part of my missions I have always asked permission to take photos of any of my subjects, if language is a problem normally holding up the camera and pointing at the person with whilst smilling normally gets the message across. There are those few occasions though when something maybe to good to let slip, the beauty of digital photography is you can show the person the photo afterwards, normally some compliments on how good they look in the photo get them on your side if there is any misunderstanding. (maybe not appropriate at a UN line for water). Release forms in the language of the place you are is a great idea, one I will use on my next mission.
I loved reading this and all the comments~ thanks for your insight! xo
This is so important and I am deeply appreciative of your insights and advice!
I think it can be. I have been in situations where I have asked people if I can take their photograph and they have declined. I’ve also had people asking me to take their photograph – beaming great smiles at me as I do. I love your tips here Marianne; such wisdom so freely shared is a beautiful gift. Thank-you
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I was in this dilemma earlier when I was going down the rice terraces in Sapa, Vietnam and randomly taking photos of Hmong children. Some of them got very upset. I would probably ask for permission but sometimes I love capturing people when they are unaware.. hmmm still confused. But your guidelines are very helpful! Thanks!
Very insightful. I try to do the same when I travel. Especially when I was in Pakistan, where there are issues with photographing women in the NW Frontier. Amusingly, when I was in the Punjab, several families me if they could photograph me–they had never seen a blue-eyed blond before! Of course, I said yes, and we had a good time connecting.