Statement of ethics

Collaboration has been at the heart of my practice for more than 15 years. I aim to make work which reflects the complexity of people’s lives and does not reinforce damaging stereotypes.

I treat people with respect and always seek informed consent – fully explaining the aims and context of my work to potential collaborators. This is an ongoing conversation and participants have the right to withdraw consent at any point.

I am mindful that I often work within communities/groups with very different lived experiences from my own. I believe meaningful work requires an investment of time to build relationships of trust.

I do not claim to speak for anyone – I look for creative ways to amplify people’s stories. Sometimes this involves me holding the camera but on other occasions I support people to create their own images. Whichever form the work takes, I try to be as collaborative as possible.

As a former journalist, text is important to me – I believe words anchor the meaning of images. This is especially important for groups with a history of misrepresentation. I work with people to develop captions which accompany any images.

Sustainability

I am a certified Climate Aware Photographer, after completing training accredited by the Carbon Literacy Trust. This involves taking tangible steps to reduce my practice-related carbon footprint – replacing disposable cameras in workshops with old film cameras, for example, as well as working locally and using sustainable travel options wherever possible.