Domestic Violence Photo Essay Leads to Backlash Against Photographer

[AcadieLibre]

Caution some may find the following disturbing.

Original Time Lightbox photo essay with updated edit: Photographer as Witness: A Portrait of Domestic Violence - LightBox

Opinion piece on the Time Lightbox photo essay: Domestic Violence Photo Essay Leads to Backlash Against Photographer

Most of the times a photographer should be a witness to what happens and a participant only when there is no other option or are trained to deescalate the situation and/or are capable of doing such. There are many variables to that statement also. How we would act or react to any given situation is sheer speculation until we ourselves are in the same situation. Curious to how other feel.

[Marko]

This is very controversial - wow.

I do not know what i would have done in this situation. But I have no issue with the 5"2 female photographer continuing to shoot in this case.
The mom here has taken beatings before - this is her life and she stays in it for complex reasons, many of them related to having no money.
Had the photographer gotten involved, she too would have taken a beating and this story would not have come to light.

This blaming the photographer....the photographer is not the problem in this case imo.

[Iguanasan]

I think people sit in the comfortable living rooms looking at these images on their expensive iPads and such and feel morally superior to the individual who would photograph rather than intervene. If the photographer were a 6'2", 240lb man maybe it would have been different but I side with the photographer here. By photographing this it makes it more real and gets more people to pay attention to the pain and suffering these ladies go through every day. Hopefully, she will teach people more about what's going on in the world to prevent future incidents.

[Bambi]

it's a difficult balance for sure. To criticize the Photographer is the 'easy' choice as it removes the responsibility from the rest of us because 'we weren't there'. However, without these images then the story will not be told and we can deny it happens every day.

[AcadieLibre]

It appears that we all feel similar about it, I agree with what you all have said.

[Runmonty]

I agree with what has been said before me here. I have no problems with her actions under the circumstances, particularly if others were present as was suggested. By her actions she (probably) hasn't changed the outcome of the immediate event, but has provided the means to make a significant improvement in the victim's life and has also brought attention to the general problem to a much larger audience.

The question did remind me of a quote I stumbled across at some stage in the past.

If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event...what kind of film would you use? - Anonymous