Tourism and photography - what can we learn from the humanitarian sector?

With the global travel industry rebounding from COVID-19, our social media feeds once again feature photos of family, friends and colleagues on planes, beaches, mountains and more.

As these images begin to also travel the world with a ‘like’ and a ‘share’, is it time to extend the concept of responsible travel to the photos we take?

For those of us working in humanitarian assistance or international development, it is not uncommon to look at our social media feeds and wonder if the woman working in the market agreed to have her photo taken? Or if the parents or guardians of the children on the beach gave their ok for photos of their children to be shared on the social media accounts of strangers?

There are a number of lessons that can be taken from the policies surrounding photography, including consent, that are increasingly applied in the international development and humanitarian sectors. These lessons could translate easily to the travel industry, particularly those running tours in locations where poverty may be more overt and communities more vulnerable.

But there is also an onus on each of us, as individuals, to take a more ethical approach to our travel photography and the media that we are create and share.

Founder and Director of the Photo Ethics Centre in the United Kingdom, Savannah Dodd, and Humanitarian Communications Specialist, Tim Muir, shared their insights into the ethics of travel photography. They also discussed how an experience (and a photograph) can be enriched through taking the time to seek consent and build a connection before taking a photo.

Whose image are you taking?

People often take a photo when travelling because something, or someone, looks ‘different’.

How often do we consider if these people are in their home, a private place? At their workplace? Walking to work, to the store? Caring for their families? Do we consider if we would want someone taking our picture in the same situations?

High numbers of camera-carrying tourists can leave people feeling exposed or, as Savannah put it, that they are ‘living in a fishbowl’.

“It happens all the time to people who are living in hotspot tourism destinations, which are often destinations with people of colour and people living in poverty,” Savannah noted.

Living in a fishbowl - do you consider your impact when taking photos? Image: Lisa Ritchie.

Why are you sharing an image?

Savannah noted that the sharing of images to social media adds another consideration for us all as photographers.

“When you’re sharing photographs in particular, I think it is important to think about what will people learn from where you have been through the photographs that you are sharing, because, at the end of the day, you are involved in that process of representation. Even if you are just posting it to your personal Instagram, you are contributing to how other people think about a place,” she said.

Can my photos harm others?

A step to understanding how to be more ethical when taking holiday photos is to understand why it is important.

Tim Muir has extensive experience in humanitarian communications and he offered some insights into how the humanitarian sector, which is often operates in the same economies where adventure travel tours operate, deals with issues of ethics and photography.

While the chance that you will harm someone through taking and sharing their photo may be small, the impact can be significant. Already vulnerable groups can be placed at increased risk. For example, child exploitation can occur as a result of children being identified as unaccompanied in a photograph’s geo-tag. A woman at risk of, or fleeing, domestic or other violence, can be potentially be identified and/or located by the perpetrators of that violence via social media posts.

Enhance your experience through connection and consent

The ethics of photography is hinged on the concept of consent, an area that the humanitarian sector is working to refine and institutionalise into practices worldwide.

“People having their photo taken often don’t have a clear understanding of how widespread their image can be shared, even if they do give consent. You can sit and ask for consent, but it is difficult to properly understand the risks that can be faced by the person you want to photograph,” Tim explained.

Consent may be complex, but taking the time to connect with the people you wish to photograph not only strengthens the basis on which that consent is given, but these interactions can result in a much richer travel experience.

“With consent comes context and you can get an understanding of people’s stories. If you are willing to sit and take the time and chat with people, you get a better understanding of the issues people face, and the communities in which you are holidaying in. This will always be a good thing,” Tim said.

What are you communicating and why?

While not everyone is a communications specialist, we are all communicators. We have the capacity to consider and reflect on why we want to take a particular image, and why we might want to share it on social media.

Savannah believes a stronger focus on media literacy is needed to allow the ethics of photography, including personal holiday photos, to be more wildly understood.

“Media literacy is fundamental because our world is so visual. We are all participating in it, even if we are not taking photos, we are looking at them all the time,” she said.

Understanding this ‘language’ of images can not only prompts more ethical photography, but it can result in better photography and more accurate storytelling.

Would you do that at home?

A simple way to check in with ourselves when taking photos while travelling overseas is to ask “Would I take this photograph at home? Would I share it to social media?”

If the answer is no, then it is perhaps time to reconsider that photo.

Written by

Lisa Ritchie

Director and Communications Specialist