Ethics and Photography Research

In photography ethics can play a very vital role in how individuals produce and create work due to restraints, whether that is legal or classed as a gentleman's agreement amongst other members of the art world. The thing is ethics can be very broad and can incorporate a bunch of different factors about copyright, types of subjects used, ethnicities and a whole range of other variables. 

For starters the main issue that causes a lot of tension between artists is the fact that many can copy a piece of work directly or indirectly. Meaning they might copy a very small part such as a similar idea or way of capturing their image, or directly in which they make work that is virtually a direct copy of someone else's work while trying to pass it off as their own and something brand new. An example of this is Sherrie Levine's "After Walker Evans" in which she essentially made a like for like copy of Walker Evans work from his "American Photographs". Many people discredited Sherrie Levine and she was seen as an outcast, a liar, cheat and copycat. However, due to the fact Walker Evan's work was made a long time ago and he was dead when Sherrie made the work it has caused a divide in the art world as some people believed it was okay due to the fact he wasn't around and some genuinely believe she was out of line. In my opinion regardless of the fact Walker Evans was dead she has only gone and copied his work and should be discredited because it shows no creativity as she has passed off someones work as her own.

Another example of a troubled situation is when Diane Arbus had her work shared by her daughter after she passed with photos of individuals who have some disabilities. The reason this caused a debate was due to the fact that the subjects used may have been seen by viewers as making them stand out and highlighting their disability making them feel vulnerable. But, some people believe that it doesn't matter because Diane Arbus had died and it was her daughter should get the blame and not discredit Diane, especially due to the fact she never released the work herself. In my view she shouldn't be blamed and the people used in the photos most definitely of known what the photos were for and wouldn't have agreed if they felt they were being exposed and treated differently.  

These types of situations can cause a big divide and is the reason why ethics in photography can have a variety of opinions. There are reasons for any argument and many against. But overall, when you make your own work you have to bare these factors in mind and make sure you don't end up offending anyone. But in conclusion, there will always be positives and negatives for all sorts of reasons and for any type of work. Therefore, the best thing you can do is decide what you think is right and stick with your opinion.