Ethics Statement

Why create an ethics page?

I believe in being a conscious consumer - researching the businesses you support and making decisions that align with your personal values. That’s why I wanted to share my stance on social justice topics here.

Kept Record is an intimate wedding + elopement photography company for couples seeking a different and daring wedding experience. I am committed to being an inclusive, anti-racist organization. I support racial justice for the BIPOC community. I believe Black Lives Matter. I support LGBTQIA+ equality. I accept and celebrate all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations. I support those with physical disability or mental illness. I support women’s reproductive rights, sex positivity, and body acceptance. I support environmental sustainability practices and the Leave No Trace principles. 

This is not a space where racism, sexism, hatred, or discrimination is tolerated. This is a place of love, hope, equality, inclusion, and respect. 

So now that you know my stance, I’ll share the tangible steps I’m taking:

Conscious Education: I will attend at least one paid anti-racism training per year. I will continue attending workshops highlighting members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. I will not attend workshops, conferences, or styled shoots that only center white voices but instead actively seek opportunities where diversity, representation, and inclusion are a central component. In panels where diverse voices are missing, I will reach out to the event hosts to ask why, and to encourage that these voices be included. 

Conscious Consumption: I will actively seek out content from BIPOC voices in movies, TV, books, podcasts, and social media. I will read at least 6 books by BIPOC voices by the end of 2020 - not just on social justice topics but in fiction, nonfiction, business, and other genres as well because I want to thoroughly incorporate BIPOC perspectives in my life. In 2021, a minimum of 30% of all books read will be from BIPOC voices.

Conscious Spending + Hiring: I will be researching the companies I purchase from on a personal and business level and whenever possible, direct that spending to businesses that are transparent in their support of equality and social justice. Although I’m a solopreneur almost all of the time, I do hire independent contractors as second shooters for some weddings. I commit to asking each independent contractor hired what their inclusion practices are to ensure they share the values listed above (love, hope, equality, inclusion, and respect), and to hire BIPOC and women at least 50% of the time. 

Conscious Relationships: I will be auditing my “preferred vendor” list to ensure I am supporting business owners that either belong to the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community or publicly voice their support of Black Lives Matter, racial equality, and LGBTQIA+ equality. I will be teachable in uncomfortable conversations when I fall short. I will challenge myself, my family, my friends, and my industry peers when I come across something that I feel is discriminatory, non-inclusive, or racist. 

Thank you for reading over the Kept Record ethics. If you have any questions, or suggestions on how I can further my ethics practice,  please send me an email at hello@keptrecord.com.