Accuracy
• Keep an accurate record of all you shoot including time, date, location, circumstances and details of all the parties involved in the event you are covering.
• The research for the story behind the images you are shooting should be well-sourced, supported by strong evidence, examined and tested, clear and unambiguous.
• Don’t just go for the shocking, sad and emotionally charged images; to do so may be exploiting the victims and failing to uncover the cause of the distress.
• Never take what you are told at face value; always check every detail with two independent sources.
• Always be aware that there will be those who will want to set up an event for their own purposes; be wary if you are offered a seemingly amazing photo opportunity.
• Be sure that what you photograph accurately reflects the true situation and is not a distortion of reality; on the other hand, never ignore the one-off that could reveal an aspect of neglect or harm that has so far gone unnoticed.
• You don’t need to have the whole story behind what you see, but you do need to be totally open, honest and transparent about what you know and what you don’t know.
• Never follow the pack; they may be being led and fed by those with ulterior motives. • Build your own trusted contacts so that you are able to distinguish between fact and spin. • Be careful when filming an incident or a subject when you are not culturally familiar with the background and circumstances; what may seem shocking to you may only reflect one element of a complex story.
• Don’t crop or edit beyond what is technically necessary to display the image; you could distort more than the picture – you will know instinctively when you have crossed the line between editing and manipulation.
• Never stage-manage a shoot to hype up the story; your job is to report through images what has actually happened.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on accuracy. Don’t just go for the shocking, sad and emotionally charged images; to do so may be exploiting the victims and failing to uncover the cause of the distress. Impartiality
• Be careful when filming topics about which you are passionately concerned; you could lose your objectivity and do more harm than good.
• If you have an interest in covering an event, make that absolutely clear in the text that accompanies your work.
• Aim to offer all sides of the story in context and in a way that enables the audience to reach a reasoned and informed conclusion.
• Your only motivation should be to inform the public debate and shine a light on wrongdoing and abuse.
• Being impartial and objective means not being prejudiced but being fair and balanced; be sure to recognise when you are getting carried away.
• Always rise above your own personal perspective and try to see a story from other points of view; otherwise your work is likely to be one sided and limited in scope value.
• Ensure that you provide a balance of issues and views through your camera lens, that you reflect a wide range of opinions, are prepared to explore conflicting views and that no significant point of view is left out.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on impartiality.