Commonsense child protection - minors working on the halfling project
Section:- photography & imaging
William David [creator] and the Halfpenny Halfling project takes child protection interests very seriously.
In the UK a "child" is deamed as one under the age of 18 at the time of a photoshoot or video recording.
It is appreciated that many 17 year old participants find this somewhat annoying!! That said most parents are quite understanding of the potential embarishment of having "mum watching".
We don't ofcourse make the guidelines but I certainly do adhere by them.
So any under 18 must have appropraite consent [attendance] from a parent or acceptable adult under the terms of these guidelines.
It is the parents duty to discuss any concerns with me before the day of the shoot, referances may be obtained from those I have previously worked with or by checking my feedback online.
Some photoshoots within the work can make high demands on the subject - but will always be appropriate and decent, and age appropriate.
It should be remembered that in performance a wide range of scenario's can be presented, and in shoots where building up an individuals confidence is an important aim then taking an actor outside his/her comfort zone is quite usual.
Standard "child friendly" works such as Lord of the flies can result in a level of dressing down and acted out violence within boundries of age and context.
Upon agreement to take part the parent and the performer [s] have agreed to reasonable range and image use online within the project, and the work of William David. Copyright is that of William David.
No images would be used against the will of an individual participant for whatever reason.
Parents should note that modeling can make higher demands as an industry upon young models and this is reflected within shoots, but always discused and shot within approved guidelines.
Great effort is made to use locations which are reasonably public and open access. Inside locations would be duly vetted.
If exceptions regarding these terms are requested they will be considered on an individual basis, but never compromise the principles above.
William David does not and never has shot "adult" related material.
This is a strong and consistent policy of my work.
Parents are invited to discuss any shoot or work planned between their child /children directly with William David.
If any doubts remains then the shoot should not go ahead.
Where a young person is subject to "limited hours" of taking part this will be adhered to, and a child may at anytime end the work if they feel tired or unhappy .
All this said I am pleased to report that the shoots undertaken have an excellent solid feedback with those taking part wanting to do more and find it a very enjoyable if tiring experience.
Should anyone at anytime working with myself feel uncomfortable or in anyway unhappy they should feel free to speak up without fear - I honestly do not want anyone to regret working on the halfling project or with myself.
William David - June 2014
William David holds enhanced DBS certification.
e & oe