Security is a big deal to me and for many of my photography clients. There is a spectrum of parents who allow any and all images posted to social media, blogs and website promotion, while others only allow images of the children. There are many reasons including the parents employment, privacy standards and/or a need for the child to decide when they want their images public. It’s all a personal choice. I’m sure not all photographers run into this issue, but I guess my clientele is unique in that aspect. Here is how I address the sensitive nature of this topic and balance the need to promote my business.
- I always provide a private password protected album for the parents to view images from the session. This is common practice for photographers and there are many sites that can facilitate this. The parents can then decide to share the link with others.
- I always ask my clients about their security needs. I never use full names, I may use a first name, maybe a last name or no identifying information at all. Before leaving a session all of these details are discussed and finalized. This also goes for social media posting and tagging.
- Even if a client does not want close up images of the children and other identifying elements, there are still ways to show my work. This is when I go for detail and distance shots. These images are still important parts of the story and are just as fun to shoot. (see examples below)
- Lastly, for the clients who do not want any images posted at the time of the session, they often are fine with me posting images that have surpassed a certain amount of time. For example, if I photographed a newborn, I could post the images after their first birthday.
If you are encountering a similar self-promotion challenge, here are some examples of details and distance images that help me balance the two. 
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