09/05/2026
Many child photographers have recently announced that they will no longer post identifiable images of children online. I understand why. And I may be a little late to the game, but that's because I have spent a LOT of time thinking and praying about whether I should do the same.
So I want to share honestly where I stand.
I don't believe in jumping the gun. I don't believe in following the crowd simply because something is frightening. I'm wired to look for facts, truth, and most importantly, to attack the root of a problem rather than putting a BandAid on the symptom.
And after a lot of thought, research, reflection, and prayer, I don't believe that photographers collectively removing children's images from social media is the answer.
Let me be very clear: I am not minimizing the danger of AI or the horrific ways it can be abused. What is happening with AI-generated sexual images is deeply disturbing. Children deserve to be protected, and the people creating and distributing this material should be relentlessly pursued and held accountable.
But I also think we need to be careful about what this recent court ruling actually said.
The ruling that has prompted so much fear was about a very specific constitutional question involving the private possession of entirely AI-generated images that did not depict an actual child. The court itself acknowledged that technology has advanced far beyond the legal framework created decades ago -and that our laws are struggling to keep up. Production and distribution charges in that case were not thrown out.
That, to me, is the conversation we should be having. We should be fighting, collectively, for laws that protect our children!
Because here's the uncomfortable reality:
If I decide tomorrow that I will never post another photograph of a child, I have not solved the AI problem.
I have simply removed my photographs from my own platforms.
AI already exists. Image manipulation already exists. Children's photographs already exist online, in social media posts, school websites, sports pages, family blogs, advertisements, newspapers, yearbooks and countless other places.
And here's another uncomfortable reality for photographers:
There is no such thing as completely removing a child's digital footprint while continuing to operate a modern photography business.
Our editing software uses AI-powered tools. Our websites are digital. Our businesses are listed on Google. Our clients receive digital images. Our galleries are online. Our social media is online.
If I wanted to guarantee that none of my clients' children's images could ever exist digitally, the only way I could honestly promise that would be to eliminate Photoshop and my other editing tools, take my website offline, remove my business from Google, stop using social media, stop delivering digital images, and photograph and sell only physical prints.. that I shoot on a film camera, and develop myself - in a dark room I don't own, because, guess what?! Getting professional prints requires sending digitals out in the world as well.
But then what?
When someone asks to see my work, do I invite them into my studio and hand them a stack of prints from my newly acquired dark room? 😂
That isn't a photography business in the world we live in.
That would effectively end mine.
And I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
I've had more and more parents over the years ask me not to share their children's images. I respect that completely. I don't argue with it. I don't try to change their minds. I think protecting their children is a beautiful thing.
If a parent tells me no, the answer is no. Period.
Their child is their child, and their wishes are more important to me than marketing.
But when parents give me permission to share their images, I believe they should still have the choice to allow their children's photographs to be celebrated as art.
Because that's what these images are.
They are art.
They are memories.
They are beautiful little pieces of childhood that disappear far too quickly.
And for a small photography business, people have to actually SEE the art before they can fall in love with it, trust me with their own children, and ultimately become clients.
So yes, I'm scared.
I'm a photographer, but I'm also a business owner. I have bills. I have a family. I have built something that I love, and I know exactly what it would mean if I could no longer show the work that I create.
I'm not going to dress that up and pretend it doesn't matter.
But I'm also not willing to live in fear.
Everything involves risk.
We cannot eliminate every possible danger from our lives.
We assess the risk. We take reasonable precautions. We use wisdom. And then we live.
That's what I intend to do with my business.
I will continue to share children's images only when I have permission to do so, and I will continue to respect every parent who chooses differently.
But I also believe we need to stop acting as though photographers disappearing from the internet will solve a problem created by technology and enabled by inadequate laws.
It won't.
If we're angry, and I think we should be, then let's put that anger where it can actually accomplish something.
Call your legislators.
Demand laws that specifically address AI-generated sexual exploitation.
Demand better tools and resources for law enforcement.
Demand accountability from the companies creating these technologies.
Demand that lawmakers close the gaps that criminals are exploiting.
Demand that protecting children become more important than protecting the convenience of the technology being used to harm them.
Because I don't want a world where photographers are afraid to photograph children.
I don't want parents afraid to celebrate their children.
I don't want beautiful, innocent images of childhood to disappear because evil people figured out how to misuse technology.
👉🏼 I want a world where the people doing the evil are the ones who are afraid.💯
So for now, I'm going to keep photographing babies.
I'm going to keep photographing children.
I'm going to keep celebrating childhood.
And when a parent gives me permission to share their child's image, I'm going to share it with the same care and respect I've always had for that privilege.
I refuse to live in fear.
And I refuse to believe that the answer to evil is for the rest of us to stop creating beautiful things.
The answer is to stop the people who are using technology to do evil.
That's where I believe our focus belongs. Posting our opinions on social media isn't enough. We should all stand together and bring about REAL, LASTING change.
