Welcome!

 

Welcome to my low-harm (or “ethical”) photography business guide.

 

Click here if you are here by accident, and only want information about my actual business because you are interested in being a client.

 

This page will grow and change as I educate myself more, and as the business grows. 

 

I am using the term “low-harm” more here because I feel like “ethical” means too many things, and has been co-opted by elements of the business world to be a shiny thing to throw around without actually discussing however they seek to reduce the harm their business does. So, because I am operating in a big system that results in a lot of harm to workers, consumers, the planet, I am seeking to reduce the harm I do with my business as much as possible, in a many ways as possible. 

 

I will add my chosen businesses and services now, then over time add companies I almost chose and that I would still recommend. I will also add those I would definitely recommend against, especially those that seem low-harm or ethical on the surface, but are more shine than substance. 

 

There are photography and videography-specific sections here, but lots of wider  and general business and consumer resources, and business and service recommendations, too. 

 

If you have any recommendations, please feel free to head to the contact section at the bottom of this page, or email me directly at: lowharmbiz (at)  weloveinthisway.com.

My personal guidelines

 

In case others find this helpful, I have a set of general principals I am trying to follow when picking business. These are changing and evolving too.

 

This section is a bit wordy, so if you want to jump past it, click here:

 

 

 

My principals in no particular order are:

 

 

1. Can I get a physical item secondhand and/or locally?

 

We are currently on track to over-consume ourselves into mental health and climate extinction:

 

““When people buy less stuff, you get immediate drops in emissions, resource consumption and pollution, unlike anything we’ve achieved with green technology.” That’s not to mention the impact materialism has on our mental health, inducing feelings of inadequacy and envy, and encouraging a culture of overworking.”

 

 

And we in “the West” are using other countries as our dumping grounds along then way. Read a Guardian article about “waste colonialism” here

 

 

Read about the 1.6 million square kilometres-big Great Pacific Garbage Patch on Wikipedia here.

 

 

That means I try to buy secondhand smart phones, computers, camera gear, furniture and clothing. And for goods I buy new, buy local where possible.

 

 

 

2. Can I purchase outright rather than sign up to an indefinite subscription?

 

Subscription services are heralded like a returning messiah by many loud voices within the business world (and that should be warning enough) who say they are a win-win for businesses and consumers. But although a subscription can be great for things like film and TV streaming because consumers get access to a greater variety of products for less money than buying individual items outright, subscriptions for things like photo and video software, and even to use physical products like printers, and for things like this, are on the rise, and it is rarely a win for customers. And if we listen to musicians we will hear that they are financially worse-off under a subscription service partly because the streaming service gets such a big cut of small royalty amounts.   

 

Read here why subscription services encourage over-consumption, financial stress, and even less access to the things we actually want in favour of quantity of quality.     

 

Click here for an SBS article about "subscription traps" where consumers find themselves signed up for too many services that are difficult to actually quit by design to keep them trapped and paying. 

. 

 

Read the Wikipedia entry for why Spotify sucks. 

 

 

3. Are they open source?

 

In the words of someone far more knowledgeable than me:

 

The term “open source” was coined within the software development industry and refers to something that anyone can inspect, modify, and share. It represents a specific approach to creating computer programs which celebrates the values of collaboration, transparency, and community-oriented development… open source developers are driven by altruism and the desire to help others, a lot of people reading this article may smile in disbelief. But this intrinsic motivation is the primary reason most people work on open source projects. (source and more information here).

 

Our data unfortunately is not automatically legally ours right now, and open source software allows users to peek under the hood to see what is happening to the data of the users. Plus I love the concept of collective wisdom helping something grow and get better, and the less ownership of things that create haves and haves not, the better.

 

 

4. Are they B-Corps?

 

According to the official website,

 

“Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, envision a better economic system where businesses can benefit people, communities, and the planet. They choose long-term investments over quick wins, and measure their success based on the positive impact they create.”

 

BUT there is controversy around B-Corp status because it can be a form of “green-washing” for some companies, and high-polluting companies like Nespresso have achieved certification.

 

Being a B-Corp is great, but I am wary of “ethics-washing” as well, and being a B-Corp alone is not enough for me.

 

 

 

5. Are they Indigenous-owned...

 

... or at the very least have a proper Acknowledgment of Country and attempt to use Traditional Owner names? 

 

 

 

6. Do they have an ethical code of conduct...

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...as a selling point for using their products or services that includes things like inclusivity and environmental concerns

 

 

 

7. Do they have renewable energy and/or climate change commitments

 

 

 

8. Are they worker-owned...

 

... or have worker representatives on their governing boards...

 

...Do they allow unions.

 

...Are they known to care primarily about profit growth to satisfy shareholders...

 

…which encourages predatory, harmful, and unsustainable growth.

 

...Or are they ok with slower growth and a smaller market-share because their focus is on quality products and services, as well the welfare of employees, the environment and suppliers etc.

 

[Here’s where my award-winning!'* economics degree comes in handy finally]

*honestly, I won awards, and was a graduate at the biggest accounting firm in the world, Deloitte

 

This surprises many people, but the profit-mad style of doing business wasn’t always the norm. Up until the 1980’s, employee and community wellbeing were often factored into business decisions.

 

But then there was a shift in economic policy brought about by a failed economist turned pseudo-economic-philosopher called Martin Friedman, who said profit-chasing would bring about a better world. Or:

 

“He championed an ethic of unrelenting, unapologetic self-interest that effectively pushed aside human sympathy." (link)

 

His ideas are still infecting us with concepts such as the “free market”.”

 

 

This excellent, short podcast episode from Vox’s is easy to digest.

Or search for Today, Explained ‘Blame Capitalism: Profit over everything’ wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

 

There are companies part or completely owned by the employees, and they can be successful.

 

 

If profit is your jam:

 

”Companies that are employee-owned are typically faster growing because they have a greater focus on the future of their company.”

 

 

For Australians, you can read more about Employee Ownership here:

 

 

 

9. If they use minerals that fall under the “conflict minerals” umbrella, do they have a policy and reduction policy about it?

 

The first thing to note about this, is that despite the horrendous human and environmental costs of predatory mineral extraction, regulations are very lax.

 

EU regulations are different to U.S. ones and a recent U.S. lawsuit launched in 2019 against Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla that was thrown out in March 2024 prove that corporate greed usually wins over gross human rights violations

 

(and FYI Tesla is the worst when it comes to mineral mining Human Rights violations)

 

 

What are 'conflict minerals?'

 

"‘Conflict minerals’ have been defined by policymakers under the umbrella term 3TG: Tantalum, Tin, Tungsten and Gold, all of which are used to build the components of laptops and mobile phones. In addition, several other ‘high impact’ minerals have come to the attention of environmental and human rights groups. Amongst these are lithium, nickel, cobalt and many others that are similarly linked to conflict and/or environmental destruction.

A large percentage of these minerals are sourced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Given its bountiful resources but weak governance, eastern DRC has seen low-scale conflict for decades."

 

 

 

10. I try to avoid companies that have been financed by venture capital.

 

Venture capital is:

 

I avoid where possibe, because most venture capital operates in an "invest and flip" mentality that usually means ethical and product quality needs are put to the side to push a company to become profitable as quickly as possible to be able to be sold.

 

 

 

So The smaller the company better. So I prefer private companies free of billionaire owners and venture capital investing

 

If it is a public companies that have venture capital investment pre-float and do not have majority share venture capital or billionaire holdings

 

 

 

 

11. Data rights of users. 

 

Our data is legally stolen, sold, and even sometimes used by incredibly unethical companies like Cambridge Analytica to try to change the outcomes of elections and referendums. If you have access to a Netflix account, I recommend the film ‘The Great Hack’. And I recommend everyone understand how their data is stolen and sold on, and to start thinking about data rights as a modern human right.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook–Cambridge_Analytica_data_scandal

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Hack

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_data

 

 

 

 

Companies outside of countries that cause the most global violence (in a vague and flexible order of importance) the U.S., dictatorship/authoritarian countries, the U.K., colonial European countries including Australia and New Zealand, “The West”.

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About you (hopefully)

If you are right for this trial, you:

 

 

1. Are in a committed and stable relationship of two people (technical considerations currently limit me to one camera and two microphones);

 

2. Currently reside in the following areas: Boorloo/Perth, Naarm/Melbourne, and the South West of Western Australia (Noongar Boodja/Country). This will likely expand to Warrane/Sydney eventually. 

 

3. Have been committed to each other for approximately one year at least;

 

4. Are currently in a place of relative stability as individuals, and within the relationship where there are no major issues or sources of tension unresolved;

 

5. Have never experienced and are not currently experiencing any forms of abuse or violence in *this* relationship; 

 

6. Were over the age of 18 when your relationship began, or if under the age or 18, were the same age or very similar ages;

 

7. Have a full day uninterrupted available over the coming three weeks that you can set aside for the interview and portrait session, on a weekday or weekend.

 

8. Agree that if you have children, to try to have them babysat outside the home. If this is not possible due to things like breastfeeding or care needs, we can come up with an arrangement together;

 

9. Are similarly enthusiastic to be involved, rather than one partner having been lovingly strong-armed into participating by the other;

 

10. After you have participated, would be open to recommending this trial to some of your family and/or friends (in ways you feel completely comfortable with). Because this service is completely new, and I was living overseas and then living in rural Western Australia until recently, I don't have an inbuilt current and future client-base yet, so will be hoping personal referrals will help uptake;

 

11. Understand you will be expected to participate in honest and generous feedback as part of the process for getting the finished products; and

 

12. Believe that everyone has a story that is worthy of being told, and though you might feel a bit self-conscious about being interviewed, know you deserve to be.

The ethics of this business

I am constructing this business to not just offer beautiful products, but to do a little bit of the work required to move the world into a way of being that is more sustainable and peaceful. Not just by fostering more understanding and love, but by being a business that is as ethical and non-violent as possible. This will be done in the following ways:

 

1. Ethical and low-harm business products and choices such as banks, website hosting and email hosts. You can find a list of these in the link here because my hope is that it can also help other consumers and business owners make more ethical decisions. You can read more about this on this website here;

 

2. An ethical pledge that prospective clients are asked to be on-board with (see below);

 

3. Three tiers of pricing that are opt-in for all clients based on income levels that will let low income clients be able to access this business, and with a certain number of free sessions per year for clients who are both low-income and are members of minority and/or marginalised groups; and

 

4. Aiding social justice and human rights activism by offering some free services to organisations for them to use for bidding in fundraising ventures.

 

 

Ethical framework

 

Prospective clients will hopefully agree with the ideals below:

 

 

1. Consenting romantic love is not just a basic human right, but vital to the health of the human collective. So all types of consenting romances/love stories deserve to be honoured without prejudice. This business will be for people of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, cultures, consenting adult romantic structures, political and religious/spiritual views;

 

2. None of us are free until all of us are free; and

 

3. Art should not be removed from the work of collective liberation. 

COVID considerations

Although I understand COVID precautions are not front-of-mind for many people anymore, out of respect to those who are immunocompromised and battling long-COVID and asking us in the wider comnunity to still take pracuations where we can, and because I will be going into multiple people’s homes and sitting with them in enclosed spaces without any of us being able to wear a mask or face-shield, I am asking that trial participants agree to take one RAT test three days before us meeting, then another the morning of, purchased at their expense. And I will do the same.

 

If you are immunocompromised and/or require more precautions, please let me know, and we can come up with a solution together.