Well this debate has some grey areas I think...
For me, it's all about context; both of how the image is used, and of why it was shot.
And more to the point, how the photographer explains this to the person they are photographing is key...
As someone who primarily photographs people (mostly in my own country, though in other parts of the world too) I am fairly rigorous in my methods in terms of how I interact with people whom I make pictures of; I talk to them about my work, I show them examples of my work (I carry a small portfolio with me) I talk about why I would like to take their picture, and the kind of context their image will be used in, which in my case is mostly gallery space rather than a commercial customer. And I always give them a copy of the picture (as Tina has mentioned she does).
I guess you could call that exploitation, if you were particularly intransigent on the definition of exploitation, but my guess is the important thing here is whether the person being photographed actually feels exploited... My guess is that the people Tina photographs don't feel exploited by her, it sounds like her methods are meticulous and morally sound. I'd feel terrible if any of the people I photograph said they felt exploited, and as far as I'm aware, none of them do.
Could we say that August sander, or Richard Avedon exploited the people they made portraits of? Maybe, but I bet their subjects didn't actually feel all that bothered... Some of the people Avedon photographed for his American west series became lifelong friends...so were they exploited? I don't think so.
I think Tina's work looks great by the way.
Cheers, Jonathan Jonathan turner Photographer T: 07796470573 You have an odd view of explotation if you think models dont know what they are doing or what they are worth. The photographer by you definition is probably more exploited then the models. I dont think Tina is exploiting anyone but that type of work has a million times greater potential to exploit then a model who is being paid to be in a shoot they chose to be part of. Pay usually based on usage.
On Dec 20, 2014 11:06 AM, "Paladin" < ranflory@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Exploitation: . the use or manipulation of another person for one's own advantage. Tell me how the use of ANY model is not exploitation. Personally I think that photographing people of a different culture, showing their lives and their environment, is MUCH less of an exploitive enterprise than using a model who doesn’t understand her or his true worth to sell a product. Every photographer exploits another person every time they photograph that person. One can quibble—as I will do in a second—about degrees of exploitation, but if a photographer profits from taking pictures of others, it is exploitation. As for myself, I find it much less offensive to see photos of different cultures to which I have not been exposed than to see exploitive photographs used only to profit the photographer and a sponsor. I learn from the former, I get nothing useful from the latter. YMMV. Peace rand -------------------------------------------------------------- On Dec 20, 2014, at 9:28 AM, Tina Manley wrote: Your hostility is the reason I seldom post photos on Photoforum. You must be a very unhappy person.
Tina
So now you’re a shrink too? I’m not hostile Tina, I am speaking my mind on the topic of exploitation. Like it or not, you are exploiting these people even though you bend over backwards to make it not appear to be so. The Artist Formerly Known as Prints Camera Works - The Washington Post
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