In this episode, we talk with Martha Tadesse about representation, ethics, and how to tell visual stories with empathy. Martha explains how she balances her ethics when working with clients in the humanitarian and development sector. She asks photographers to question themselves about what, why, and how they are photographing, and she calls for photo editors to take a more active role in critiquing the over-saturation of work from white photographs and in choosing more Black, indigenous, and photographers of colour for assignments.What you’ll find inside:“The image that has been taken, especially within Africa, has been misrepresented, been unethical. So through those images I had to unlearn so many biases …” (4:50)“Unlearning is difficult, right?, because there is so much pride in whatever you have consumed in the past.” (6:40)“My frustration still is: what has changed when it comes to agencies? What has changed when it comes to editors? … it’s still white male photographers taking over and African stories being awarded by white photographers.”“My recommendation is just act on it. It’s not a performative activism, but really showing support by taking action, saying no when it’s not your space, and calling out other colleagues and friends as well.” (22:55)“There is always that dilemma of - okay, how do I take this picture? why do I want to take this picture? - You know? You have to constantly question yourself.” (29:41)“There definitely are wonderful and amazing white photographers around Africa documenting different stories, but what type of narrative are they setting online? What type of stories are they sharing, and how are they sharing it?” (32:16)What does photo ethics mean to Martha?“It means everything. … I can only ask the ethics behind before I actually enjoy a documentary photography. You know? It could be great with the technical, the composition, the lighting could be great, but how these photographs are documented, who documented them, and why, are important. I think it’s the genesis of documentation. Photography ethics is everything.” (37:15)Links:The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieWomen PhotographAuthority CollectiveDiversify Photo

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related