2.1 The risks of climate-related photography

When using photography as part of climate crisis-related teaching, especially when supporting learners to take and share photos as part of climate action, it’s important to address some of the risks this might involve and the need to act responsibly.

In her article ‘The path less Instagrammed [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’ Christine Peterson discusses how social media, especially Instagram, is harming nature due to individuals’ behaviour when searching for the perfect shot, and due to the impact of sharing the location of rare species with a wide audience. To avoid doing harm in this way, good practice includes:

• Not geotagging images, and removing GPS data from photos to avoid others being able to find out exactly where they were taken. There are many online guides explaining how this can be achieved with free tools.
• Following laws and guidelines for staying on paths and not trespassing.
• Keeping your distance from wildlife, to avoid stressing them.
• Not using a flash.
• Not touching or feeding wildlife, as this can cause health problems and lead animals to become over acclimated to human presence.
• If using a drone, doing so in a way that ‘will not stress out, spook or endanger wildlife or humans’ (Nature Conservancy, 2019).