Photographers Oath to swear in Basic Photo Students.

[Robert Langham]

We have folks bringing dates, visitors to class pretty often. Usually we work them into the mix. Might try a big swearing in ceremony with just the right collision of stupidity and excellence. They already tried to name their class facebook page "Langnam style" so I owe them....

[ROL]

Attachment 87380

I do solemnly swear to lower each tripod leg, in unison, so that I do not have to stand on an apple box, and to take a position, either on one side of the road, or the other.

[andrew gardiner]

Do not shoot any of those clichés : http://www.martinparr.com/blog/?p=282

Brilliant, really enjoyed reading that. I would second (at least trying) to avoid cliches as being the most important 'ethical' code for any photographer, student or otherwise.

[Peter Gomena]

Avoid directly copying someone else's work. Copying a style might be an important part of learning, but learning the value of copyright laws is important, too. I think that's covered in the idea of originality. Maybe most subjects have been photographed, but there's no limit to expressing one's ideas photographically.

[Chuck P.]

Never photograph anything, because it has all been photographed before.

As I was progressing through this thread, I was coming to this same point. I would have to tell the professor that I'll just photograph any dam thing I want for my eye, and you'll either like it or you won't----then he might just have it in for me the rest of the semester!

[Ken Sinclair]

Re: Photographers Oath to swear in Basic Photo Students.

Always consider it an act of MAKING a photograph rather than 'taking' or 'shooting'.

Around 60 years ago my mentor would give me an NCIS "Gibb's slap" on the back of my head if I used these... or a few of his other 'banned' expressions... while using either of his large format cameras. He maintained that the action of "making" produced better photographs... I am sure his philosophy was as correct then as it is to-day. I still 'cringe' when I hear or read of these words being used to 'describe' the action of making a photograph.

Ken

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'm an analog photographer,
But I can change,
If I have to,
I guess...

That's a twist of The Man's Prayer from the Red Green show up here in Canada. I like it!