Professional Standards
Code of Professional
Practice
We, as working photographers, retouchers, and other visual production specialists, represent today’s independent creative professionals.
The way we conduct our business and handle our professional communications shapes how the public and our clients judge our industry as a whole. That judgment, in turn, affects how creative professionals are treated in business.
We want to be treated as respected professionals and paid fairly for our time and expertise. Setting that expectation is in our hands.
This code exists to promote the highest quality in all forms of visual content creation and to strengthen the public image of our profession. To that end, Retouching Academy sets forth the following:
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01
Professional Development
Keep improving your knowledge and skills at all times, especially in times of rapid technological change, such as today.
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02
Respectful Communications
Treat your colleagues and clients with respect and dignity. Be fair, honest, and worthy of your reputation.
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03
Shared Knowledge
Share your knowledge, discoveries, and skills with fellow creators and your students, as a service or freely, to lift the entire community.
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04
Support for Aspiring Creatives
Inspire and encourage those who aspire to become independent creative professionals; never tear them down. Keep constructive criticism to the places created for it, such as professional forums and community groups.
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05
Respect for the Work of Others
Credit the people behind the work you share: the photographer, the makeup artist, the stylist, the manicurist, the retoucher, the agency contact who made sure the models arrived on time and ready, the assistant who kept the team running on coffee. Everyone who contributed to the final image or video deserves their name on it. Never present another professional’s work as your own.
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06
Honor Your Word
Deliver what was agreed on, meet your deadlines, and communicate early when something changes, even if you did not sign a formal agreement.
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07
Protect Client Trust
Treat client materials and unreleased work as confidential. Never release a client’s images anywhere without their explicit permission: launches, embargoes, and campaigns depend on it.
Uphold the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, and integrity in every relationship, with colleagues, followers, and clients, online and offline.