The ethical storyteller: how to make sure whoever you hire doesn't exploit the people in your story

You’ve probably felt it. You open a charity appeal or an impact report and something about how the people are shown makes you uncomfortable.

That feeling is worth listening to. It usually means the story was built for the audience, at the expense of the person in it.

When you hire a photographer, filmmaker, writer or agency to tell your story, you hand them a lot of power over the people you serve. This guide is about using that power well: what to look for, what to watch out for, and what to require before anyone starts.

The tension at the heart of the work

I’ve led the Naz and Matt Foundation for more than 12 years, and I now photograph and tell stories for other charities and companies, from a women’s charity in Camden to corporate community programmes. The same tension comes up every time:

There’s no form that settles it once and for all. It’s a judgement you make, again and again, on every story.

The request I turned down

Some years ago I was photographing for an organisation that was handing out food parcels. The director asked me to get “sad faces”, because “that’s what donors respond to”.

I said no, politely.

That kind of picture might raise money in the short term. It also strips people of dignity, reinforces the idea that the people you serve are helpless, and asks them to perform their worst moment for someone else’s benefit. I wasn’t willing to do that to them.

Power sits with the person holding the camera

Whoever holds the camera, the microphone or the keyboard decides how someone is seen. Good intentions don’t change that. The only thing that changes it is sharing the decisions.

Four questions help:

• Who decides which stories are told?

• Who approves the final pictures and words?

• Who benefits from this story?

• How would I feel if I were in their position?

Ask for: the person in the story to be part of approving it, not only the comms team.

Five red flags in a storyteller’s work

Look at the portfolio of anyone you’re thinking of hiring, and at the way they talk about the job.

1. Suffering with no strength. Every picture shows need. None shows the person’s own effort or skill.

2. Identifiable vulnerable people with no mention of consent. If they can’t tell you how consent worked, it probably didn’t work well.

3. Simple stories about complicated lives. Poverty, homelessness and abuse have complicated causes. A neat rescue story is usually leaving something out.

4. The organisation as hero. If the charity or company always swoops in to save the day, the people it serves have been written out of their own story.

5. Drama over dignity. If they talk about “emotional impact” more than about the people, be careful.

The RESPECT framework

This is the framework I use to make decisions in sensitive situations. It works as a checklist for your own team and as a standard to hold anyone you hire to.

• R - Recognise power. Admit the imbalance and work to reduce it.

• E - Ensure meaningful consent. Informed, specific and ongoing. It can be withdrawn.

• S - Share the storytelling. Invite people to shape how their story is told.

• P - Prioritise dignity over drama. Choose the approach that keeps dignity, even when it’s less dramatic.

• E - Emphasise agency. Show people acting in their own lives.

• C - Consider the long term. How might this story affect them in one, five or ten years?

• T - Tell the whole story. Context, complexity and the full person.

Ask for: a short written statement from whoever you hire on how they’ll meet each part of RESPECT for your project.

Three questions before anything is shared

Before any story or picture goes out, I ask:

1. Does this keep the full dignity of everyone in it?

2. Would I be comfortable if someone I love were shown this way?

3. Does this show the whole person, not just one side of them?

If the answer to any of them is no, the story needs more work, or it doesn’t go out.

Sometimes the right decision is to walk away from a powerful story altogether. That takes courage. Your organisation’s integrity matters more than any single piece of content.

What to require before you sign

Whether you’re a charity or a CSR team commissioning work with a charity partner:

1. A written plan for consent, including how people can withdraw.

2. A review step, where the people in the story see it before it’s published.

3. A plan for anyone who can’t be identified.

4. Clear sign-off, naming who approves the final work on your side and the partner’s.

5. Agreed use, listing where the story and pictures will appear, and for how long.

6. Fair treatment, including whether people are thanked, credited or paid for their time where that’s appropriate.

I’ve seen consent practice change a lot. When I started out making documentaries, consent often meant a single form: sign everything away, or you can’t be in it. That isn’t good enough now, and anyone you hire should be able to explain how they do better.

Where to start this week

Look at the last story your organisation commissioned from someone outside. Run it through the three questions above. If it fails any of them, talk to whoever made it before you use it again.

If you’d like a photographer and storyteller who works this way as standard, see charity photography or CSR photography.

Questions people ask

What is ethical storytelling?

Telling the story of your work in a way that puts the dignity and agency of the people in it first: with informed consent, with their involvement, and without reducing them to their hardest moment.

How do I know if a photographer or writer is ethical?

Ask how they handle consent, how they photograph or describe people who can’t be identified, and whether the people in the story see it before it’s published. Look for strength as well as need in their past work.

Should people be paid for sharing their story?

Sometimes, yes. At the least, their time should be recognised. Agree it upfront so it never feels like a condition of support.