{"id":130307,"date":"2019-08-28T12:12:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T11:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amateurphotographer.co.uk\/?p=130307"},"modified":"2020-08-12T15:16:35","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T14:16:35","slug":"viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t care if my documentary shots are ‘unflattering’"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently on a press trip to a prestigious horse-racing event on a minibus with 22 others. I was the second oldest. Two of the younger vibrant attendees whirled over. \u2018Who are you working for?\u2019 they asked. I\u2019m glad they asked as I was working for The Sunday Times Magazine<\/em>. I told them proudly. They both tilted their heads. \u2018Aah. In print\u2019. They said it with sympathetic looks. \u2018And who are you?\u2019 I asked. \u2018I\u2019m Leather Lobster and of course, this, is Style Biscuit\u2019. Of course it was. \u2018We are journalists and influencers and vloggers\u2019, said one as they wafted away.<\/p>\n

After the horses had run the last race, I checked on the efforts of Lobster and Style Biscuit. They seem to have spent most of the day in the hospitality box making saccharine social media posts of the sponsor\u2019s products. It wasn\u2019t journalism. It wasn\u2019t what I observed down among the race-going public, the sniffer dogs, discarded condoms, life, love, laughter, food and the odd fight.<\/p>\n

As I was leaving another seasonal sporting event, the PR asked to see the photographs I\u2019d taken in the VIP marquee. \u2018I can\u2019t do that,\u2019 I said. \u2018I haven\u2019t seen them yet and after I\u2019ve seen them, the client will be the next to see them, then I can let you have a look,\u2019 I added politely. The PR explained that a photographer from the previous year had taken a less-than-flattering photograph of a minor royal and was now excluded from all of their events.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Aintree tried to ban pictures to preserve their visitors\u2019 dignity. Photographers at the world\u2019s greatest steeplechase meeting were warned they would have their accreditation revoked if they took pictures of badly dressed punters. This year, the Liverpool Echo<\/em> published an open letter slating the Daily Mail<\/em> and Mail Online\u2019s \u2018sneering\u2019 headlines and \u2018unflattering\u2019 photos of racegoers.<\/p>\n

Event organisers are increasingly advising what kind of photographs should be taken. Photographers are having to provide previously published tear-sheets for review. News outlets are under pressure not to publish unfavourable photographs. Some photo agencies have stopped commissioning photographers to cover the social aspect at events. The world of opportunities is widening for the likes of Lobster and Biscuit.<\/p>\n

One of the best photography books on my shelf is Cardiff After Dark<\/em> by Maciej Dakowicz. The reportage was screened at the prestigious Visa pour l\u2019image festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, France. The crown applauded the raw and honest documentary photography. A British tabloid reported that the French whooped in derision at the images of the boozy Brits and requested to publish a selection of images. Maciej asked my advice. I advised the images were great and would remain so for a long time. Publish them and let the public decide.<\/p>\n

The window on the world is narrowing. Photographers shouldn\u2019t stop taking truthful photographs of what they witness. They may not be seen immediately but one day, I hope, they will form an important archive of our time.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Peter Dench is a photographer, videographer, presenter, writer, author and curator. He is the recipient of a World Press Photo award and has published several books. To see his work, visit peterdench.com<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In today’s world of censored journalism avoiding unflattering photographs has a chilling effect on photojournalism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":130315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[311,39,466],"tags":[],"product-category":[],"class_list":["post-130307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-photo-news","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nI don't care if my documentary shots are 'unflattering' - Amateur Photographer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I don't care if my documentary shots are 'unflattering'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In today's world of censored journalism avoiding unflattering photographs has a chilling effect on photojournalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amateur Photographer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Amateur.photographer.magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-28T11:12:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-12T14:16:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/08\/Viewpoint-drinkers-at-Ascot.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AP_Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AP_Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"I don’t care if my documentary shots are ‘unflattering’\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-28T11:12:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-12T14:16:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\"},\"wordCount\":553,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/08\/Viewpoint-drinkers-at-Ascot.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest articles\",\"Latest news\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/latest\/photo-news\/viewpoint-dont-care-documentary-shots-unflattering\/\",\"name\":\"I don't care if my documentary shots are 'unflattering' - 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