Hippocratic Oath of a Photographer

Posted on by matthew carson

The photo school term has begun and all the new students are now roaming New York with their cameras. These are the halcyon days of image discovery.  But it is here that we would all do well to remember The Hippocratic Oath of a Photographer as written by M.F. Agha for U.S. Camera way back in 1937 [from the vertical files in the ICP library].

Not only is this an absolutely brilliant poem/rant, it is also an indispensable piece of advice for any camera happy person who is seeking to avoid the dreaded photographic cliché.  These are the words to remember before you shove that expensive camera of yours into the unsuspecting face of a homeless person or a tearful child.

Art Director M.F. Agha could merely have been having a bad day but then again if anybody would be familiar with the nauseating dangers of image cliché then it would be him (impressive career here: http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1972/?id=293 ).

The most important thing for all of us to remember is . . .Think before you shoot!  At least try to avoid the cliché especially in these days of total image saturation, and even though that may be impossible, at least be aware of it.

Martin Parr talks about Photographic cliché here  http://www.martinparr.com/blog/?p=282

Don’t forget sign up for an email subscription to our blog via the link at the top of the left side bar (email subscription).

Published by matthew carson

Head Librarian & Archivist at the International Center of Photography

27 thoughts on “Hippocratic Oath of a Photographer”

  3. Hey very cool blog!! Guy .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds also…I’m happy to seek out so many useful information right here in the post, we want develop more strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing.

  5. One wonders what list Dr. Agha would compile after a few evenings of flickr – let’s not even consider extended exposure to such a behemoth. One can only wonder. I had seen this several years ago & could never find it when I needed it: many thanks.

  13. I am a photog professor and love this both as list and as image. Can I have a high resolution copy so that I may print it for my department notice board?
    Please contact me by e-mail.

  14. I have indeed taken a photograph of an old barn in Connecticut, but I will refrain from posting the Flickr link here.

  16. I just want to say I’m beginner to blogs and honestly enjoyed you’re web-site. More than likely I’m want to bookmark your site . You actually have impressive well written articles. Thanks for sharing your blog.

  20. I simply want to mention I’m very new to weblog and certainly liked this web-site. Very likely I’m likely to bookmark your blog . You really have wonderful well written articles. Cheers for sharing your blog.

  21. We stumbled over here by a different page and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to looking into your web page repeatedly.

  23. It’s some shame you don’t have a relatively donate press button! I’d most certainly donate to this excellent web site! I just think at the moment i’ll be happy with bookmarking not to mention using a Rss feed towards your Search engine profile. I just take a look ahead towards unique updates and often will promote this unique weblog with the help of your Squidoo group:

Leave a comment