The Photo Ethics Podcast

In the final episode of this mini-season of The Photo Ethics Podcast, we talk with Anthony Luvera about socially engaged photographic practice. He discusses the kinds of questions that collaboration helps to raise - including questions about who benefits from the work, and who gets to make decisions about where and how it is seen - which keeps him interrogating the power that he holds as an artist. Finally, Anthony reflects on his experience of the 2026 Photography Ethics Symposium.
What you'll find inside:
‘Collaboration doesn’t solve the problems of representation. What it does is it brings about a new set of questions and responsibilities in the creation of the work and in the dissemination of the work, as well'.’ (5:28)
‘Agreeing to be represented is very different from having a meaningful role in that representation.’ (7:43)
‘Whilst published principles can help us identify what needs attention, we also need to consider what happens when we put them into practice - particularly when circumstances change or people have different priorities.’ (8:11)
‘Visibility isn’t necessarily a benefit in and of itself. … I think what we really need to ask is: Who wants to be seen, under what circumstances, and what the consequences might be in making someone visible. Having a voice also means being able to set limits on what is shared.‘ (10:07)
What does photography ethics mean to Anthony?
‘For me its about listening. It’s always about listening. Photography is about listening.’ (21:45)
Links:
Anthony Luvera, Season 3 of The Photo Ethics Podcast
Researcher in Residence
2026 Photography Ethics Symposium

In this episode, we talk with Joyce Y. T. Mak about community photography, participatory archiving, and ethical documentation. Joyce discusses how their work as a documentary photographer, digital archivist, and community organiser has been shaped by questions of representation, consent, and care. They reflect on photographing grassroots communities through long-term relationships, exploring how collaboration can extend beyond image-making into the archiving process itself. Joyce also considers the role of constraints in ethical photography, the challenges of preserving born-digital materials, and why ethics should be understood as an ongoing practice rather than simply a set of rules.
What you'll find inside:
‘I consider myself first a community organiser. The difference is that I have a camera with me.’ (8.12)
‘People often apologise for not wanting to be photographed... but you have every right to say no. You are taking part in the event—you haven't consented to having your image everywhere.’ (13.30)
‘Working with constraints can actually be quite fun... knowing who didn't want to be photographed changed how I composed the image, and I think the photographs became stronger because of it.’ (16.50)
On participatory archiving: ‘The approach to archiving should be needs-based... it's an invitation to involve the community in deciding what belongs in the archive and how those images are described.’ (32.30)
What does photography ethics mean to Joyce?
‘It shouldn't just be something that's on paper. It should be practice. It has to be something that’s integral to the practice of any photographer or anyone with a camera. You won't feel it when it’s done well, but you’ll definitely feel when it’s absent. For me, it comes down to remaining curious, reflexive, operating with integrity, and having enough self-compassion to recognise that ethical practice takes emotional labour—but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.’
Links:
The Feminist Library
Mayday Rooms
Bishops Gate
Healing Justice London
Studio Voltaire
Grounding resource pre/post session
Digital archiving project

In this episode, we talk with Siorna Ashby about ethics in boudoir and nude portrait photography. Siorna discusses her collaborative, consent-led approach to photographing the body, exploring how clients actively shape the images they create together through what she describes as “self-authoriship”. She reflects on navigating vulnerability, power dynamics, and body image, explaining how trust is built before and throughout the process. Siorna also shares her approach to retouching and the challenges of building an ethical boudoir business, and considers how historical representations of the nude continue to shape contemporary photographic practice.
What you'll find inside:
“The photoshoots I have with clients are designed to feel calm, collaborative, and consent-led… clients actively shape the creative direction in these images…that’s what i call self-authorship in boudoir and nude photography” (1.27)
“Consent is not static, and my job is to stay responsive to the person in front of me” (9.45)
“I treat retouching as a conversation… There's no rule book. It’s led by the client and its case by case” (24.57)
“I would encourage you to do your own boudoir shoot… understand what it feels like to be a client is really going to help you understand what vulnerability looks like” (28.35)
What does photography ethics mean to Siorna?
“For me, in this genre, ethics is what protects the person behind the picture. It's not a checklist. It’s about how you handle power, vulnerability and consent, and keeping that conversation ongoing throughout the process (34.03)
Links:
City Academy
British Museum
Lynda Nead

In this episode, we talk with Aindreas Scholtz about sustainability, materiality, and the future of photographic practice. Aindreas discusses how his camera-less photographic work, drawing on historical processes such as cyanotype and anthotype*, has shaped his research. He reflects on photography as a material practice, exploring the ethical implications of the resources and environments entangled in photography. Aindreas discusses the value of working collaboratively with communities and scientists, the importance of embracing slow methodologies, and why photographers should be transparent about the environmental impact of their work. He shares how reflecting on his own practice has led him to see photography ethics as an ongoing process of imagining better futures through more thoughtful choices.
*Cyanotype is a camera-less photographic process that creates photograms by placing objects on light-sensitive paper, coated with iron salts and exposing them to ultraviolet light. After washing with water, the process produces distinctive blue and white images. Anthotype is a camera-less photographic process that uses light sensitive pigments extracted from flowers, leaves or fruits. Objects placed on the coated surface create images as the exposed plant pigments gradually fade in sunlight.
What you'll find inside:
On discovering sustainable photographic practice after breaking his camera: 'That was the best thing that ever happened to me… I had plenty of sunlight, I had plenty of water… I thought, I'm not going to use tap water, I'm going to use seawater because I'm surrounded by the sea. I want to allow the environment to come into the process.' (12.26)
'When you work with a community and you've got ten people coming together, the knowledge they produce in that very short amount of space is amazing. You just have to remove yourself, watch, and learn.' (14.56)
'I know that my work has a footprint. I know that my work is not 100% eco-friendly or sustainable… First you address it, you admit it, you problematise it, and then you ask what can be done better.' (25.56)
‘I'm informed by science, because photography came out of science, but it can have very creative applications…it can change people's minds about our behaviour’ (28.18)
What does photography ethics mean to Aindreas?
'To me it means to be more reflective about my choices and behaviours, to reflect on the past and to imagine a future inspired by ethical choices, and to make things, hopefully, better.' (33.35)
Links:
The Sustainable Darkroom
Anna Atkins Archive
Dr Melanie King, Ancient Light

In this episode we talk with Oh Soon-Hwa about long-term documentary practice, research, and ethical responsibility. Soon-Hwa reflects on her personal experience of migration and its influence on her photographic work, discussing the importance of curiosity, sustained engagement, and research when working with communities. She explores the ethical challenges of photographing private lives, balancing public visibility with private wellbeing, and explains why care, rather than consent alone, is at the heart of her photographic practice.
What you’ll find inside:
“I’m photographing a certain perspective … I’m really narrowing down to one aspect rather than portraying the entire culture or the whole community” (10.25)
“Although I had all the legal consent, I took it down for the participant because it wasn't about legal issues. It was about ethical issues, and I didn't want to harm her in any way” (22.27)
“Through the project I really saw the limits of my own thinking and perception, my own prejudice … just one or two conversations became awakening moments” (26.26)
“I think something that I’ve done is not necessarily focusing on disseminating the photographs themselves, but using them as an intervention…so I think that’s a way we can expand our impact without focusing solely on the visibility of the images (27.44)
What does photography ethics mean to Soon-Hwa?
“Caring. I care, so I photograph [them]. Whatever protects the participants or subjects that I photograph, I shall do it. That’s photo ethics to me; to make sure they are not harmed by my picture or by my actions. They allow me to photograph them because they care, maybe about me as a stranger and what I want to do, so I try to exchange that same care” (30.23)
Links:
Oh Soon-Hwa
Darling
Quiet Dream
The Steep Price
Photographic Collections as Visual Method
Liminal Landscapes 1940s - 1960s