Stock Photography...Ethics...Where do you draw the line?

[Joves]

Well I will say is it ethical? Depends on how it was handled, which clearly was not done very well by your family member. Personally I would have no problem with someone selling the images of the casket and such, I see death as just another part of life. What the they should have done though is ask atleast the family members that attended the funeral first. This is the least that should have been done out of respect for everyone involved. Granted they may have published them reguardless of what people said but, atleast they asked. Not asking makes it worse.

[TPF Sponsor]

[Eco]

Art has no limits, nor does greed.

[ChasK]

Hey, two new markets Divorce and Funeral Pictures, sell albums coffee mugs and so on.

Talk about poor taste. I don't think I expressed myself correctly, The question was, I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong, "Is it unethical to sell pictures to a stock house from Grandma's funeral?" My answer. No, just poor taste. Based on the description of the pictures by the OP. The actions of someone taking pictures at the funeral would be a bigger concern to me than if they sold them to a stock house. Of course that's if they were as the OP described. Of course this $5.00 might get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Interesting discussion.

[DRoberts]

I believe this is a problem for you because you have a personel connection with the issue.
Have you ever viewed photos in passing of funerals, or parts of, and had this type of response? The answer for most people is no. Because there is no personel connection it doesn't cross our minds.

[CanisMajor]

Droberts: Thanks for your post (above). For me you hit it right on. The reason I had, and still have issues is because of the personal nature of the photographs. If the images were of just random flowers, or just a random casket, that would have been fine due to the ambiguous nature of the images.

IMO funerals are to grieve, be with family and to celebrate life! Photographs are appropriate as long as they are shared only with family/friends, and kept private. The funeral was, after all, a private event for family and friends.

I think most of us have concluded that the case presented in the OP represents poor taste and inconsiderate actions on the part of my family member.

In that there was not a breach of model consent; the photographer’s actions were clearly legal.

Regarding ethics, I think the jury is still out. Remember, legal does NOT equal ethical. The law is the MINIMUM standard. Ethical means: “conforming to accepted standards of conduct (www.m-w.com)” Most of what I’ve read in the preceding posts reflects sentiment of unacceptable conduct. You, especially those with “TPF Junkie!” below your name, represent the photography community. You set the standard for that which is acceptable and unacceptable. Again, I feel the jury is still out. What’s your pitch?

[CanisMajor]

Here’s another thought to consider: Above I stated that private matters (i.e. images from my Grandmother’s funeral) should remain private, and they should IMO.

But what if the funeral was a public event, say the late President Ronald Regan for example (Chask, just for you, I’m trying to bring politics into this discussion). Images (video and still) from the Regan funeral were blasted around the world and I’m sure many were enriched and countless $5 Starbucks Coffee cups were drained in the process.

In that the Regan funeral was a public event I think it was, and is OK to distribute the funeral images. But I wonder how the family felt? I wonder if Nancy Regan set up a tripod and sold a few pics. to CNN or maybe she just posted them on iStockphoto.com (I should look and see…) Does anyone know her iStock user name?

What’s your take?

[Iron Flatline]

Well, that last comment was a little flip... obviously Nancy Reagan does not have an iStock ID... but she has been part of a public life since she married Reagan the actor. More cynical people might argue that all kinds of stuff gets done by public figures - esp. those trying to retain a powerful public office - that is morally questionable.

Public images get repurposed all the time. Do John Lennon's bloody cracked glasses make Yono feel good or bad? Was she the one that released that image? Does she a get piece from Getty every time it gets licensed?

You clearly have strong feelings. Without being a hobby psychologist, the question seems in part whether the strength of your feelings makes your take on the situation more "correct" than the other person's feelings.

Again, I really believe people are strongly invested in grief in our modern world. It is an emotion that doesn't get a regular "work out" in our palette of feelings. People have little experience with grief, and we live in an environment in which feelings are "right", they are like "belief" in that they are unassailable.

[ChasK]

You missed the really big one Princess Diana. That became and to a much smaller degree still is an industry of it's own. But these were people in the public eye and their death news.