In October, VII Insider hosted a three-week public lecture series on ethical literacy. When discussing photography ethics, we are talking about applying concepts like responsibility, power, and dignity to how to take and share photographs.
Savannah Dodd, founder and director of the Photography Ethics Centre, facilitates the lecture series. Each session explores what photography ethics is, why photography ethics matters, and how you can apply photography ethics to your practice. We look at case studies, share experiences, and reflect on the ethical decision-making process of photographers and photo-editors.
Lecture 2: Photography Ethics: Representational Power and Responsibility
In the first session, Savannah Dodd introduced a principles-based approach to photography ethics. In the second session of this series, Danielle Villasana discusses the power we have as image-makers to represent others. Through a discussion of her experience as a photojournalist, Villasana unpacks questions like: How can we think about our representational responsibilities? How can we plan for the impact of our images?
Video chapters:
00:00 – VII Insider in partnership with PhotoWings
00:43 – Welcome, Introduction by Danielle Villasana
02:31 – What are ethics, by Danielle Villasana
13:42 – Project presentation: A Light Inside
42:52 – Project presentation: Abre Camino
51:03 – Public Q&A
58:10 – Closing remarks
