1 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,340 It starts with a simple request between 2 00:00:10,340 --> 00:00:13,180 a photographer and a subject, "Just 3 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:16,380 make me look good!" But what sounds 4 00:00:16,380 --> 00:00:18,602 straightforward at first can slide into 5 00:00:18,602 --> 00:00:20,550 alterations that violate ethical 6 00:00:20,550 --> 00:00:23,540 standards. There is a policy to guide 7 00:00:23,540 --> 00:00:25,651 and protect you, but there may still 8 00:00:25,651 --> 00:00:27,873 be situations where you need to explain 9 00:00:27,873 --> 00:00:31,300 what is and isn't allowed. Follow along 10 00:00:31,300 --> 00:00:33,244 for possible responses if you're 11 00:00:33,244 --> 00:00:35,300 placed in one of these uncomfortable 12 00:00:35,300 --> 00:00:38,440 situations. Meet Airman Sutherland. 13 00:00:39,250 --> 00:00:41,290 She's fairly new to the command and 14 00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:43,840 eager to make a good impression. When 15 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,840 her commanding officer asked her to 16 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,150 brighten up a command photo, she checked 17 00:00:48,150 --> 00:00:51,100 Department of Defense Instruction 50 18 00:00:51,100 --> 00:00:53,850 40.02 unethical photo manipulation. 19 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,630 Is this permissible? Yes! 20 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:01,082 Airman Sutherland is in the clear to make 21 00:01:01,082 --> 00:01:04,120 this change. But what if she's asked 22 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,650 to brighten her superior's teeth? This 23 00:01:07,650 --> 00:01:11,140 is not permissible. What can Airman 24 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:14,610 Sutherland say? Always start by 25 00:01:14,610 --> 00:01:16,610 referring your superior back to the 26 00:01:16,610 --> 00:01:19,300 policy, and restate what you can and 27 00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:22,740 cannot do. "I'm sorry, sir. The 28 00:01:22,740 --> 00:01:24,740 policy allows me to brighten up the 29 00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:27,480 lighting in this photo, but I can't 30 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,470 change your physical appearance." What 31 00:01:30,470 --> 00:01:32,581 happens when you say yes to that kind 32 00:01:32,581 --> 00:01:36,190 of photo manipulation? In this extreme 33 00:01:36,190 --> 00:01:38,460 example, a photo was heavily 34 00:01:38,460 --> 00:01:40,830 manipulated to remove the background 35 00:01:40,830 --> 00:01:44,430 and rank insignia. This resulted in a 36 00:01:44,430 --> 00:01:47,410 yearlong ban for the entire DoD 37 00:01:47,410 --> 00:01:50,820 from the Associated Press. Make your 38 00:01:50,820 --> 00:01:53,090 superiors aware that while you want to 39 00:01:53,090 --> 00:01:55,960 help, the policy must guide you both. 40 00:01:57,140 --> 00:01:59,200 Let's look at another example. 41 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,850 Sergeant Owens has years of experience 42 00:02:01,850 --> 00:02:04,560 in the PA shop and generally has no 43 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,570 trouble saying no. A superior is 44 00:02:07,570 --> 00:02:09,870 pressing for a Photoshop edit to make a 45 00:02:09,870 --> 00:02:12,730 colleague look a bit slimmer and to 46 00:02:12,730 --> 00:02:15,270 smudge out a blemish. What can 47 00:02:15,270 --> 00:02:18,570 Sgt. Owen say? Restating the policy 48 00:02:18,570 --> 00:02:21,740 may not be enough. Try making it clear 49 00:02:21,740 --> 00:02:24,880 that you have no path forward. "Sir, the 50 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,570 policy on ethical manipulation does not 51 00:02:27,570 --> 00:02:30,780 give me a path to meet this request, and 52 00:02:30,780 --> 00:02:33,040 I do not have the authority to override 53 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,770 the policy." The policy should give you 54 00:02:35,770 --> 00:02:38,350 the confidence to deny the request and 55 00:02:38,350 --> 00:02:40,572 the comfort of knowing you're doing the 56 00:02:40,572 --> 00:02:42,350 right thing. If you still feel 57 00:02:42,350 --> 00:02:44,310 pressured, you have the option of 58 00:02:44,310 --> 00:02:46,770 escalating it to the legal office. But 59 00:02:46,770 --> 00:02:49,200 what if your superior wants you to make 60 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,750 something like this? Before you say 61 00:02:52,750 --> 00:02:54,972 no, there are some follow-up questions 62 00:02:54,972 --> 00:02:57,028 you will need to ask to determine if 63 00:02:57,028 --> 00:02:59,760 they need an illustration or a photo. 64 00:03:00,410 --> 00:03:02,700 Ask your superior, "What is the intent 65 00:03:02,700 --> 00:03:05,030 for use?" For example, is it for a 66 00:03:05,030 --> 00:03:08,210 biopic ? A photograph for the media or 67 00:03:08,210 --> 00:03:11,540 a flyer ? Since this example is an 68 00:03:11,540 --> 00:03:13,950 illustration , it cannot be presented 69 00:03:13,950 --> 00:03:17,190 as a photograph , illustrations need to 70 00:03:17,190 --> 00:03:19,357 be identified as such in the byline or 71 00:03:19,357 --> 00:03:23,190 metadata . Try saying this . If 72 00:03:23,190 --> 00:03:24,968 this graphic was presented as a 73 00:03:24,968 --> 00:03:27,190 photograph without indication that it's 74 00:03:27,190 --> 00:03:29,620 an illustration , it would violate the 75 00:03:29,620 --> 00:03:32,200 rules of ethical photograph alterations 76 00:03:32,210 --> 00:03:35,120 and we would both be in trouble . These 77 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:36,898 are some common scenarios , but 78 00:03:36,898 --> 00:03:38,898 certainly not all the ways that you 79 00:03:38,898 --> 00:03:40,620 might be asked to manipulate a 80 00:03:40,620 --> 00:03:42,676 photograph . The rules stated by the 81 00:03:42,676 --> 00:03:45,150 policy are clear and explicit and exist 82 00:03:45,150 --> 00:03:48,230 to protect you and your superiors . Let 83 00:03:48,230 --> 00:03:50,910 the policy do the uncomfortable work of 84 00:03:50,910 --> 00:03:51,810 saying no .