Ethical Photography

Street photography brings with it a very unique set of challenges artistically, technically and ethically. In poorer nations (but also wealthy ones), the streets are typically filled with countless numbers of poor. For a variety of reasons, tourists are told to avoid giving money to beggars (the money rarely goes directly to the beggar especially in the case of children, could be reinforcing a chemical dependency, etc). So what then of the poor who allow themselves to be photographed for money? There is little dilemma for me in the case of street performers or musicians, I always pay if I am going to photograph them. It is how they make their living, and I am paying as a sort of exchange whereby their art enriches my own. But the situation is considerably more muddled when we consider the following typical situation:

A foreign photographer is walking along the streets near a temple when a group of children rush up to him/her. It's a great scene with lots of emotion so the photographer raises his camera to snap a few pictures. The kids begin to smile and pose. After a few shots the photograph starts on his way only to be once again surrounded by the now sad faces of the children who are now asking for money.

Sure, we can exonerate the photographer of any moral guilt on the basis that when he was taking the photos, he had no idea they would ask for money, but this is a consistent pattern on the streets of a lesser developed nation so while initial ignorance is possible, a familiar pattern will soon establish itself.

After a few times of the same scenario playing out, our hypothetical photographer once again finds himself in the same situation this time knowing that the children are only posing with the end goal of money? What should he do? Our photographer cannot hide in the innocence of ignorance anymore. Some might say that he should take the photos and pay. They might argue that their "modeling" for a photo is no different from paid models in the west or that paying them is essentially the same as paying a street performer. It is a "business" transaction . But it seems intuitively ridiculous to compare poor children posing on the streets of an LDC to paid models in the west. If he pays, is he not reinforcing the same cycle of exploitation of children as beggars?

He has two other options, take the photo and not pay or simply not take the photo. There is no right answer. Personally I choose to not take the photo if I know it is only money they are after. To me, paying a child for a photo perpetuates the same cycle of exploitation of child beggars so that is not an option. Meanwhile photographing (knowing they seek money) and not paying seems exploitative on my part. Furthermore it is simply heart breaking to see the sad and sometimes even weeping eyes of the children when you refuse to give them money.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the situation.

Note: The only exception I have made is the following image which I honestly took with the sole purpose of depicting the situation: