Ethics, Morals and Advertising

I’m not a licensed professional. I have a license to catch fish and to operate a vehicle in the state of California but nothing that says I’m a pro photographer. In fact, I don’t even have a degree or much real formal training to be a photographer. I operate my business as an S-Corp but it has nothing to do with my photo skills. So, where do I gain the privilege to be called a “professional?”

Reading through some of Milton Glaser’s essays recently I stumbled into the “Ten Things I have Learned,” part of a London AIGA talk he gave. Number 10 is “Tell the Truth.” While it’s assumed we all should do that, it got me thinking about how many books and seminars about ethics in design and advertising are out there. In my art director days, I was a member of the AIGA. I own an aging copy of the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook on Ethical Guidelines. I refer to the ASMP Professional Business Practices in Phototgraphy often. I’m an active member of the APA and part of the San Diego chapter board.  The main message for all of these organizations is clear: Be good to your clients and help your peers do the same.

For me professionalism is much more about how one conducts him/herself than the level of experience gained. It’s about doing what’s right at the moment it’s needed. It’s about being true to yourself and your art. Someone could probably write a book about that but I think we already know what it would contain. We just need to practice it.

~ by Gary Allard on August 21, 2009.