Why We Ask Before Taking a Photograph

When people come to Kasey’s Kitchen, they are not props. They are neighbors. That is why we ask before we take a photograph — every time, no exceptions.

It sounds simple, but it takes practice. The honest truth is that most of us have been trained to reach for our phones when something looks moving or important. A person being helped. A line forming. A moment that seems to tell a story. The instinct is to capture it. We ask that you pause instead.

Here is what asking looks like: “May I take your photo? It would go on our website to show what we do.” That is the whole pitch. Plain words, a real reason, and a clear no.

A few things we do, and a few things we never do:

• We ask in a way that makes no the easy answer. No pressure, no waiting with the camera up, no “are you sure?” after they say no.
• We tell people what the photo is for before we take it. Website, newsletter, social media — they get to know where their face is going.
• We never photograph children unless a parent or guardian is right there and says yes.
• We never photograph anyone who is distressed, asleep, or in the middle of a crisis. That is not a photo opportunity. That is a person having a hard moment, and they deserve privacy, not an audience.
• We do not use photos that make the subject look pitiful. If a picture can only work by making someone look small, we do not use the picture.

Why go to all this trouble? Because being asked is a form of respect, and respect is part of what we are trying to hand out along with the food and water. A lot of the people we serve have spent years being looked at — stared at on the street, ignored in stores, talked about as if they were not there. When you ask before you photograph someone, you are saying: I see you, and you get a say.

Getting the shot is never worth more than the person in it. A newsletter without a photo is fine. A relationship damaged by a camera is not.

If you volunteer with us, the same rule applies to your phone. Leave the camera in your pocket unless someone has said yes. And if you are ever unsure — ask. Asking is always allowed. Taking without asking never is.

That is the policy, and it is short on purpose. Dignity does not need a long document. It needs people to pause before they point a camera at another human being.