World Photography Day: The Hidden Cost of Beautiful Pictures for Children
On World Photography Day, celebrated on 19 August, photographers and social media users celebrated the power of images with this year’s theme: “HOME.”
Many people said that they enjoyed the beauty of photography, but the day was also dedicated to an examination of the effects of photography on children. Whether a photograph is beautiful, powerful or worthy of sharing is not the only question, it is also whether it protects the child in the photograph.
Photography can capture memories of childhood, honour creativity and provide children with a voice. However, an image can also reveal a child’s identity, whereabouts, body or personal situation and can follow them for years.
Children should not be photographed in circumstances which may be compromising to their dignity, privacy or safety. Photographs of children in situations of abuse, displacement, illness, poverty and other vulnerable situations must be handled with special care. Sharing such photos without proper protection can lead to stigma, exploitation, unwanted attention or additional harm to children.
The worry is even greater online, where photos can be copied, edited, downloaded and shared with a much larger audience than the original.
That’s why adults who take pictures of children have a responsibility greater than just taking a good picture. Before sharing an image, parents, schools, journalists, humanitarian organisations, photographers and social media users should ask themselves if the image is in the child’s best interest.
World Photography Day should therefore call on society to take a step beyond beautiful pictures to beautiful pictures that safeguard children.
A strong photo should not be at the cost of a child’s future.
Each picture has a story to tell. If that story is a child’s, their dignity, privacy, identity and safety must be at the heart of the story.
Photograph the moment. Preserve the beauty. Protect the child.
