The world is a crazy place & it feels it's getting crazier by the minute

You've probably seen a lot of photographers posting things similar to this lately, especially in light of the recent Seventh Circuit Court ruling involving AI-generated images of children. This isn't a bandwagon post, though. And honestly, this isn't even a decision I made because of that ruling. I've been thinking about this for a long time.

We've Come a Long Way

I think part of why I've wrestled with this so much is because I've grown up alongside the internet. When I was little, we had dial-up internet, you couldn't use the landline and the bulky desktop computer at the same time. I remember the sound of the computer connecting and waiting for a webpage to load. Then came typing classes in late elementary school, where learning to use a computer felt like something we were preparing for in the future. By high school and college, everyone seemed to have their own laptop and everything was done on Google Drive.

Now we carry incredibly powerful computers around in our pockets, we can create and share photographs instantly, and we are entering an age where artificial intelligence can create and alter images in ways that would have seemed completely unbelievable when I was a child. Technology has changed so much in my lifetime, and I don't think we can ignore how quickly it continues to change. We are living in an age where images can be copied, altered, and repurposed in ways that weren't possible even a few years ago. And as someone whose work is centered around photographing your families, that is something I have felt responsible for thinking about.

Something I've Been Wrestling With

For more than a year now, I've been going back and forth about what I feel is right when it comes to sharing photographs of children online. I've always given parents the choice of whether or not I could use their images for my website and social media. More recently, I even changed my model release to give families more specific choices. You could choose to have your whole family shown, choose to allow only non-identifiable images of your children, or choose not to give permission at all. I did that because I genuinely believed parents should get to make that decision for their own children. And I still believe parents should have a say in how their children's images are shared. But I've also had to be honest with myself.

I've known for a long time that when I have children of my own, I don't want their faces on public social media. I've already stopped sharing on my private personal accounts for more than a year. And that made me wrestle with whether it was right for me to offer a different standard when it came to someone else's children.

There is a difference between sharing a photo of your child on your own personal social media and having your photographer take that same photograph and place it on a public website or business account where it can be seen, saved, shared, or copied by people you don't know.

And honestly, this is a big part of why I haven't been very active on social media. There have been so many times I've gone to post a photograph and that little voice in the back of my head asks, Is this what I want to do? Not, Am I allowed to do this? Not, Did this family give me permission? They did. But simply, Is this what I want to do? I've asked myself so many times, Am I overreacting? Am I making this a bigger problem than it really is? And for a long time, I didn't know the answer. I don't think there is a perfect answer to any of this. Technology is changing faster than many of us can keep up with, and we are all learning what that means as we go.



The Decision I've Made

So, after more than a year of thinking, questioning, and coming back to the same concerns, I've made a decision for my business. Starting now, I will no longer share identifiable images of minors on my website or social media. This doesn't mean you will never see children in my work. You may still see little hands, feet, the back of a head, a silhouette, a child tucked into Mom or Dad's arms, or all of those little details that make up childhood.

And I may even put little hand-drawn stickers over a little one's face from time to time. Yes, it might look a little silly. But honestly, I'm okay with that. If putting a little hand-drawn heart, flower, star, or doodle over a child's face allows me to continue sharing my art and the beauty of these everyday moments in a way that feels good and responsible to me, then I think it's worth it.

The recent Seventh Circuit ruling has certainly brought conversations about AI, children, and images into the spotlight. While that ruling does not directly apply here in New Hampshire, it was another reminder of just how quickly technology is changing and how complicated these conversations are becoming. But I want to be very clear about something: This decision wasn't made because of that ruling. I've been wrestling with this for more than a year. The ruling simply happened while I was already having these conversations with myself, and it reinforced for me that I would rather make a thoughtful choice now than wait until I feel like I have no choice later.

Another thing I want to make clear: This isn't a decision I'm making because I'm afraid. It's a decision I'm making because I've thought about it for a very long time, and this is what feels right for me and for my business in this season. I'm still learning. I don't have every answer. I don't know exactly what this will look like five or ten years from now. But I know what feels right for me today.

What Does This Mean for You?

Honestly, not much. Your photography experience is not changing. Your session will be the same. Your gallery will be the same. I will still photograph your family the way I always have. I will still capture the belly laughs, the quiet moments, the little details, the personalities, the messy hair, the tiny hands, the way your toddler reaches for you, and all of the things that make your family your family. Your children's photographs are still yours. Nothing about the way I photograph your family is changing. Nothing about the experience of being in front of my camera is changing. The only thing that is changing is what I choose to put into my public portfolio.

And I want you to know that this doesn't mean I think you made the wrong choice if you've given me permission to share your family's images in the past. You trusted me with your photographs, and I have always been incredibly grateful for that trust. This is simply a decision I've made about what I am personally comfortable sharing as the photographer.

I'm also still figuring out exactly what this means for photographs I've shared in the past. I'm not going to make a rushed decision about those images. This is something I'm continuing to learn about and work through, and I think it's okay for this to be a process.

At the end of the day, I want to be the kind of photographer who treats the photographs entrusted to me with the same care I would want someone to have with photographs of my own family. I've spent more than a year thinking about this. I've questioned myself. I've changed my mind. I've gone back and forth. I've tried to find the balance between wanting to share my work and wanting to be thoughtful about the people in those photographs. And I've finally landed here.

The internet will keep changing. Technology will keep changing. I'm sure I'll keep learning and growing right alongside it.

For now, this feels like the right choice.

And I'm really grateful you're here.