AD5804 - Health and Safety for Photographers

As a photographer, it is entirely my responsibility to complete and carry out a risk assessment every time I am working in a studio or location.

Risk assessment should be straightforward in a simple workplace such as a typical photographic studio or location. It should only be complicated if it deals with serious hazards, including when handling chemicals in a darkroom.

The Health and Safety Executive lists five steps we need to take in order to identify and prevent risks:

1. Identify hazards.

2. Decide who might be harmed and how.

3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.

4. Record your findings and implement them.

5. Review your assessment and update if necessary.

The risk factors to consider may be:

- Environmental (floor, steps, slopes etc).

- Contamination (water, food, litter etc).

- Organisational (task, safety culture etc).

- Footwear (for example, footwear worn for photographic sessions may not always be in line with sensible shoes for work).

- Individual factors (eg information and training, supervision, pedestrian behaviour etc).”

Especially for freelance photographers, it is vital not to underestimate the importance of being risk assessed. If I have a public liability insurance, I need some paperwork that demonstrates that I was aware of any issues if something should happen. Furthermore, it is good practice to do a risk assessment as it shows to clients, subjects and co-workers that I do care about providing a positive and safe working environment for everyone. As a documentary photographer, I can be working in very different sort of locations and environments, so I cannot rely on one single risk assessment, but I will need to revise it according to the specific circumstances.