As protests continue and technology evolves, where do photojournalism ethics stand?
With more than 20 years of photography experience, Augusta University professor Dylan Wilson discussed growing ethical challenges during his “Photojournalism Ethics” session at MediaFest 25.
From staging photos and manipulating images in Photoshop to deciding when to shoot — or when to put the camera down — Wilson encouraged attendees to think critically about truth and empathy in visual storytelling.
“Ethics is a code that journalists live by,” Wilson said. “There are absolutely some black-and-white lines that have to be drawn in photojournalism ethics. Things like staging and photo manipulation are absolutely against what we do as news photographers. However, there are some gray areas. When is it okay to shoot? When should we help? When should we not take a picture?”
Maintaining trust with the public means being truthful and accurate, so avoid staged photos, Wilson emphasized.
“As photojournalists, we don’t want you to do anything. We want you to exist, and we want to document that,” he said.
He showed famous manipulations, such as Brian Wallski’s 2003 altered photograph for the Los Angeles Times that made it seem like a British soldier was signaling to a man and baby to take cover during the Iraq War. There was also Toledo Blade photographer Alan Dietrich’s use of Photoshop to remove small details in pictures he shot.
Removing wires or adding a basketball to a photo seems mundane, but they are actually a slippery slope.
“The only reason that we as journalists have for the public to believe us is that we haven’t lied to you, right?,” Wilson asked. “And so when we do these very small kinds of Photoshop things, we’re lying to the public, and that erodes our reason for the public to trust us.”
Wilson shared examples from his own work from small, medium and large newspapers to illustrate real-world ethical tensions photographers face. For instance, an image of a stabbing victim never ran in a newspaper where he worked.
“This is not a story,” he said. “He got stabbed. It sucks. It’s maybe one of the worst days of his life — but it’s not a news story. Now, is that for me to decide? I don’t think so. I’m typically of the mindset that I’m going to shoot, and I’ll let my editors figure out what’s going on.”
When covering protests, Wilson reminded students that demonstrators have “no expectation of privacy in public,” but photojournalists should still follow the SPJ’s guidance to minimize harm.
“You don’t have a duty to anyone,” he said. “There’s no duty to the police, no duty to the protesters. When you go into an assignment thinking that you’re going to protect one or the other, you’re no longer being objective.”
Wilson also cautioned photographers to stay safe and aware in volatile situations.
“There’s no picture that’s worth getting killed, punched or having your gear broken,” he said. “If things start to get heavy, know when to back out. Work with other journalists — safety in numbers.”
Photographers should avoid “parachute journalism,” of popping into a situation without any context instead photographing empathetically and understanding the context of the events they cover, said Wilson.
“Think about your language,” he said. “Are you taking pictures, or are you making pictures? Taking implies we’re stealing from someone. Making is a collaborative effort — a journalist trying to do good in the world.”
During a discussion on graphic content, Wilson presented an example of an attendee debating whether to show an unblurred medical image at the request of a cancer survivor. The group ultimately agreed on adding a trigger warning, a choice he praised as “a smart ethical decision.”
From photographing injured athletes to dealing with manipulated images, Wilson said transparency is key. When one participant described unknowingly publishing an artificial intelligence-altered image, he said, “You have to run a correction. You have to say, ‘an image that ran on page 2B contained some AI-generated elements. We weren’t aware of this, and our policy is to not use AI.’ Then take it offline.”
As AI and political unrest reshape the media landscape, Wilson said the core of photojournalism remains the same: honesty, empathy and accountability.
“We have to be careful, and even when we’re shooting,” Wilson said, “that what we’re putting inside our little rectangle is accurate and that it’s actually telling the story.”