Using TrustImage
— It’s as easy as A, B, C

Photographers: All it takes to get started
with TrustImage is a review of this page
and a functioning camera of any kind.


A. Checking — Any photographer, anywhere, at any level and using any camera, can check any of his or her own photographs (film or digital), of any subject, against the three qualifications of the TrustImage Photographer’s Guarantee. There are no other requirements of a TrustImage photograph.

No third party — including trustimage.org — is EVER responsible for judging whether or not a photograph qualifies as TrustImage. That can only be determined by the photographer who was at the original scene and who remains accountable to viewers for the Guarantee (see “C,” below).

B. Labeling — Any photograph that fully meets all three qualifications in the Guarantee can be labeled with the word “TrustImage,” in any font, size, and location, whether adjacent to/on the photograph or anywhere else (e.g., on the copyright- or masthead page of a publication). The word “TrustImage” alone is sufficient, but especially in the near term — in contexts where space isn’t an issue — it can be helpful to add something like “These photographs meet the TrustImage.org standard for being undoctored and non-misrepresentative of the scene depicted.”

With most photographs, that’s all it takes! However, in order to meet Qualification #3, if there are unapparent aspects or circumstances of the photograph about which newspapers would separately make their readers aware — a captive animal that isn’t visibly captive, for example, or a staged or posed scene that looks spontaneous — then the “presentation” of the TrustImage-labeled photograph MUST similarly disclose those aspects or circumstances to the viewer. (More on this)

C. Being Accountable — Because the trustworthiness of a photograph depends on the trustworthiness of whomever is vouching for it, viewers of TrustImage-labeled photographs ALWAYS must be told — via the photo credit or elsewhere — the name of the photographer who is personally guaranteeing that the photo meets TrustImage’s three qualifications. (Thus in attaching the “TrustImage” label to a photograph, the photographer is effectively staking his or her reputation on that guarantee.) Viewers can simply ignore the TrustImage label when the photographer is not identified.

How much viewers trust TrustImage-labeled photographs is largely determined by the photographer

Publishers, third-party websites, photo-contest sponsors, exhibitors, and other third parties can reproduce the TrustImage label on a photograph only if they also identify the photographer who is personally and publicly guaranteeing that the photograph fully meets all three of TrustImage’s qualifications.

Advanced users looking for some really dense reading: For a numbingly detailed explanation of the handling of TrustImage-labeled photographs when “third parties” are involved (publishers, websites, photo contest sponsors, exhibitors, camera clubs, etc.), see the “Guides” page on Who’s Responsible for What.

Like the term ‘Nonfiction,’
TrustImage is a principle, not a product.
There are NEVER any costs involved in using TrustImage,
nor is there ever any licensing or registration involved.
TrustImage.org never charges a penny for its services or
information, and it is not affiliated in any way with any
for-profit entity: it is supported entirely by private donations.
Contact TrustImage with any questions about this.

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