This is a subject that I think needs a lot of discussion as there are a whole bunch of different aspects to the whole photo story.
First up is the old "photo as proof" concept. Now for me I have never been one to demand photos from subs, they are nice if they offer but not a requirement. However there are times I bend that rule, if I have reason to doubt someone is genuine a simple proof photo will often sort things out. It doesn't have to be anything revealing in any way, I have an example I made today here:
Now you will note from this you can see it was done recently and as my hand is visible I am obviously male and not a kid. If someone isn't willing to provide something as basic as this then I would suggest they aren't who they say they are. Oh and if they come back with "my webcam is broken" or "I don't have a camera" that's rubbish, who can't take a photo these days?
Next is the more racy type of photos, nudes or harder stuff. Say someone sends you some of these claiming they are of them, do you just take that at face value or would it be reasonable to ask for one more with a similar little note attached so you know they are theirs to share. Why is this important, well consider if they are from a jilted boyfriend wanting to get revenge on an ex, now if you share these around you fall foul of the law if you're not careful.
Thirdly is the ethics of someone sharing photos with you. Once they have entrusted them to you what then? Apart from the previous concept of making sure they are theirs to share in the first place, my thoughts have always been unless they specifically ask you to share them keep them to yourself. Do not wait for an explicit "don't show them to anyone else" from the sub just take it as read that you don't spread them around.
And finally something worth making doubly sure of if you are planning on sending photos to someone and use your phone to take the photos. Please make sure it isn't syncing to your iPad or any other device or you may end up sharing your private moments with another family member or friend!
Ok so some starting points, I would really like to see some serious discussion on this so lets hear your thoughts...
First up is the old "photo as proof" concept. Now for me I have never been one to demand photos from subs, they are nice if they offer but not a requirement. However there are times I bend that rule, if I have reason to doubt someone is genuine a simple proof photo will often sort things out. It doesn't have to be anything revealing in any way, I have an example I made today here:
Now you will note from this you can see it was done recently and as my hand is visible I am obviously male and not a kid. If someone isn't willing to provide something as basic as this then I would suggest they aren't who they say they are. Oh and if they come back with "my webcam is broken" or "I don't have a camera" that's rubbish, who can't take a photo these days?
Next is the more racy type of photos, nudes or harder stuff. Say someone sends you some of these claiming they are of them, do you just take that at face value or would it be reasonable to ask for one more with a similar little note attached so you know they are theirs to share. Why is this important, well consider if they are from a jilted boyfriend wanting to get revenge on an ex, now if you share these around you fall foul of the law if you're not careful.
Thirdly is the ethics of someone sharing photos with you. Once they have entrusted them to you what then? Apart from the previous concept of making sure they are theirs to share in the first place, my thoughts have always been unless they specifically ask you to share them keep them to yourself. Do not wait for an explicit "don't show them to anyone else" from the sub just take it as read that you don't spread them around.
And finally something worth making doubly sure of if you are planning on sending photos to someone and use your phone to take the photos. Please make sure it isn't syncing to your iPad or any other device or you may end up sharing your private moments with another family member or friend!
Ok so some starting points, I would really like to see some serious discussion on this so lets hear your thoughts...