Do photographers have any social responsibility?

Do photographers have any responsibility to reflect the true, but often ignored reality of society in their photographs? My answer is “yes” – especially if one is practicing photojournalism – “it would be the honest and fair” thing to do as a professional.

Of course, if you are engaged in the business of advertising, you are dealing in the art of persuasion, seldom real imagery reflective of reality, but instead designed to appeal to a populace and convince. And, that’s where reality images can often be detrimental, or at least not helpful. So, I don’t look to that part of the photographic industry to turn toward a more realistic outcome with their imagery. Yet, look at what some advertisers (like Nike) have been up to lately. The same would hold true if you are a wedding or portrait photographer. Your job is to portray your subject the best way you can, even to the extent of making them look better than they do.

If what photographers of all types strive for is only beautiful, idealistic images day in and day out, then, quite frankly, a true and accurate picture of life in our society will not be the result. What advertising, and too many journalistic work projects to the public is not reality for many, maybe most of society. The photographic images from advertising, indeed, have changed public perception of "what really exists" to "what we would like life to be like."

Too many Americans go home from work, drive into their garages not to emerge to interact with neighbors, but instead watch their large screens filled with shows and commercials that beam an ideal that is frankly unattainable, then encourage us to imagine that this is us – or at least what we can be. With the exception of PBS, I think most television networks produce this level of unrealistic imagery.

We are shown beautiful women, nice cars, astonishing homes, fit men, perfect children. But what is the reaction when we see an aged, homeless person, subsisting on handouts. For many communities, it is to banish them somewhere out of sight instead of helping them. Is there a link to the unrealistic images we are fed through media and seeing what the world actually looks like? Ismail Ferdous put it this way here: http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=7320

A good and accurate photographic image will help us experience, to some extent, situations, places, people we would never experience in person otherwise. These are empathy builders. Point your lens toward something real, capture its essence, and share it. That is when we will learn the reality of our society – the good, the bad and the ugly.

If you have never personally experienced the horror and brutality of war, the aftermath of a natural disasters, wondering where you will sleep tonight or if you will eat a meal today, or what it is like to be dying in a hospital bed all alone, then, at least, seeing images that portray and share these situations and emotions can be vital to your growth and maturing as a human being.

A photo of a bully pushing around a defenseless person is a good case in point. Why? Because bullies often operate when no one else is watching. That’s part of their power base. To see one at work (still or video images) will usually engage the viewer to take a side. Do they like what the bully is doing? Do they have compassion for the victim and instinctively want to come to their defense? That image might even cause you to ask, why couldn’t this person use his power to help his victim instead of hurting him? That’s the potential power of photography.

I believe that one of the weaknesses of the American society today is lack of empathy, brought on largely by lack of exposure to people and things different from what they have experienced in their lives. Hearing a foreign language, seeing someone dressed dramatically different than ourselves, hearing of a people whose culture emphasizes different values – though none of these things pose an existential threat to the other person’s way of life. We often react, first, in fear, then too often in aggression. In my recent (2018) exhibit, The One Project ( https://www.chuckramsay.com/one-project-introduction ), I explored diversity through seven portraits printed almost life size, so others might examine what was similar with each of these persons and different to themselves.

So my case is that photographers (and all artists) have some shared responsibility to train their images toward the less glamorous, the more unseemly side of life. The reality that some people are poor, not as well educated, not as privileged, not as well dressed, or even as polished can never live up to your standard doesn’t mean they are bad. I’ve met many individuals were, while not appearing to be the cream of the crop turned out to be the nicest, and some of the wises and more articulate people I know. They have also been the kindest, most generous, and most compassionate.

Our society has done a good job of criminalizing people for their skin color, their heritage, where they live, their level of wealth, and so on. But, in the end, we are all humans and all deserve to be treated with respect and compassion. That’s precisely what good photography can communicate.

When a photographer understands and embraces this and can capture images of truth in society, they are helping their fellow man understand that life is not a bowl of cherries. And, hopefully, with more empathy and understanding, we can create action to change many of our social ills for a healthier society some day. It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned pro, new to photography, young or old, or any other demographic. We have a responsibility to tell the truth. In the photographer’s case, it is in their images.

Responsibility of photojournalists (© 1993 American Society of Media Photographers)

1.Photograph as honestly as possible, provide accurate captions, and never intentionally distort the truth in news photographs.

2.Never alter the content or meaning of a news photograph, and prohibit subsequent alteration.

3.Disclose any alteration and manipulation of content or meaning in editorial feature or illustrative photographs and require the publisher to disclose that distortion or any further alteration.