I'm working on a photo essay about the unhoused community near my campus, and I'm running into some serious ethical questions that I didn't anticipate. I thought the hard part would be the photography—getting good shots, finding the right light, all that. But the real challenge is much deeper: what is a photo essay's responsibility to the people it portrays? Especially when those people are vulnerable? 
I've been volunteering at a Sunday meal program for a few months, so I know some folks by name. They know me. They've started to trust me. And now I want to photograph them for my project, and I'm terrified of exploiting that trust. What is a photo essay supposed to do in this situation? How do I tell their stories without reducing them to symbols of suffering? How do I make art about real people's lives without being extractive?
My ethics professor (yes, I'm taking an ethics class alongside this) talked about the difference between "showing" and "using." A responsible photo essay shows reality in all its complexity. An irresponsible one uses subjects as props for the photographer's agenda. I want mine to be the first, but I'm not always sure where the line is.
I've started showing people my photos before I include them. I ask: "Does this feel like you? Does this feel true?" One man said no—he didn't like that I caught him mid-sentence, looking confused. So I won't use that one. Another woman cried when she saw a photo of her laughing with a friend. "Nobody ever takes pictures of us happy," she said. That one will definitely be in my photo essay.
I'm learning that what is a photo essay becomes is shaped by the relationship between photographer and subject. It's collaborative, not just observational. I'm including their voices too—short quotes alongside the images. It's becoming a hybrid thing, part visual, part oral history.
Has anyone else navigated this? What is a photo essay's ethical obligation when documenting vulnerable communities? How do you balance artistic vision with human dignity?
I've been volunteering at a Sunday meal program for a few months, so I know some folks by name. They know me. They've started to trust me. And now I want to photograph them for my project, and I'm terrified of exploiting that trust. What is a photo essay supposed to do in this situation? How do I tell their stories without reducing them to symbols of suffering? How do I make art about real people's lives without being extractive?
My ethics professor (yes, I'm taking an ethics class alongside this) talked about the difference between "showing" and "using." A responsible photo essay shows reality in all its complexity. An irresponsible one uses subjects as props for the photographer's agenda. I want mine to be the first, but I'm not always sure where the line is.
I've started showing people my photos before I include them. I ask: "Does this feel like you? Does this feel true?" One man said no—he didn't like that I caught him mid-sentence, looking confused. So I won't use that one. Another woman cried when she saw a photo of her laughing with a friend. "Nobody ever takes pictures of us happy," she said. That one will definitely be in my photo essay.
I'm learning that what is a photo essay becomes is shaped by the relationship between photographer and subject. It's collaborative, not just observational. I'm including their voices too—short quotes alongside the images. It's becoming a hybrid thing, part visual, part oral history.
Has anyone else navigated this? What is a photo essay's ethical obligation when documenting vulnerable communities? How do you balance artistic vision with human dignity?