#FAIRFOTO is designed to provide a more ethical basis for photography.
#FAIRFOTO is a tool that digitally embeds a contract between photographer, subject, and end user into the metadata of images.
It is a chance for all the participants in an image, on both sides of the camera, to work together to create a new framework, one that establishes financial fairness, consent, context, and truth. By adopting the principles of fair trade, #FAIRFOTO aims to recalibrate the power dynamics at stake in image making.
Utilising blockchain and decentralized technology that will be embedded into the actual file of the photograph, #FAIRFOTO aims to allow for fairer and more flexible contracts for every sector of the photographic community. Whether you are a photo editor, a modelling or advertising agent, whether you are in photojournalism, fashion or fine art, #FAIRFOTO can work in your distribution and photographic marketplace.
#FAIRFOTO: a new way to work together for a healthier, more ethical image-making environment.
Problem cases & solutions: Photojournalism
A photojournalist makes an image of a victim of a catastrophe, which is published in a major US publication and wins a World Press Photo Award. The subject is revictimized upon seeing his
image spread across the media, yet his situation has not been positively impacted.
With #FAIRFOTO, the subject can be part of the deicion making process which would recquire consent and would also be eligible in sharing the profit, generated by the image sales.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/2021/04/12/do-you-think-this-photo-will-change-my-life/
Problem cases & solutions: Contemporary Art
A young model poses nude for a well known photographer on behalf of a magazine. The photographer keeps the unpublished pictures, only to include them in a photo book and a gallery exhibition for his own profit years down the line.
With #FAIRFOTO, the photographer would be able to include the
model’s fair rights to the photographs, which means she would have her say and profit share concerning the publication of the images.
#FAIRFOTO also makes the terms of the contract negotiable.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/style/jonathan-leder-photographer-emily-ratajkowski-modeling.html
Problem cases & solutions: Documentary
A PHOTOGRAPHER makes an image of a young person in a developing country. The image is disseminated world wide and over decades
generates millions of dollars in sales. The participant of the photograph does not proportionally benefit from financial profits and their publicity is not favored in their home country, forcing them into exile.
#FAIRFOTO allows for engaging the subject in profit sharing generated by the image sales as well as allowing a subject to negotiate the
distribution with a possibility of renegotiation of the contract.
https://thewire.in/media/afghan-girl-steve-mccurry-national-geographic
Problem cases & solutions: Fashion / Celebrity
A celebrity gets sued by a paparazzo for posting their picture on social media. Currently, when copyrighted, this photograph’s only rightful
owner is the photographer, which means the model is not allowed to use or distribute it.
With #FAIRFOTO, paparazzi will be able to safely upload their pictures on the internet, adding every fair credit and context information.
Automatically, this would allow the person on the other side of the
camera to use the image for their personal purposes.
https://www.thefashionlaw.com/from-bella-and-gigi-hadid-and-goop-to-virgil-abloh-and-marc-jacobs-a-running-list-of-paparazzi-copyright-suits/
Problem cases & solutions: Fake News / Veracity
An image of a Syrian refugee taking a selfie with Angela Merkel is
posted on social media in a fake news article falsely identifying and
defaming the Syrian man to be a terrorist.
By embedding the names, date, locatoion and context into the
blockchain, #FAIRFOTO establishes veracity and authenticity of the Image.
https:/www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/12/syrian-who-took-merkel-selfie-sues-facebook-over-defamatory-posts
Problem cases & solutions: Consent
A photographer produces a story about waste management in New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic, making an image of a worker who is violating a safety code. Publication of the image results in the subject losing his job and union membership.
#FAIRFOTO allows for the participant of the photograph to modify the terms of consent agreement, for the life duration of the image whether it is before or after the publication.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/nyregion/nyc-garbage-pickup-coronavirus.html
Problem cases & solutions: context and veracity
A photograph is made of a protester firing projectiles in an unknown direction. What we see in a frame is a revolution while out of a frame it appears to be a photo-op, featuring more cameras than protestors on the street.
#FAIRFOTO allows embedding additional context into the photograph. While being transparent, it establishes veracity, reducing the reactive sensationalism of an image.
Problem cases & solutions: CoNTEXT AND VERACITY
A photograph depicting a dramatic scene from a US Haiti invasion in 1994 appears to be a photo-op.
#FAIRFOTO allows embedding additional context into the photograph. While being transparent, it establishes veracity, reducing the reactive sensationalism of an image.