Do you think it is immoral to photograph a dead person ?

Question

Do you think that it is disrespectful to the deceased, or is it actually a perfectly acceptable thing to do as they are dead? Is it just todays sheltered society that makes dead people such a big issue, when it is one of natures most natural events?

p.s. this is for an esay

Answer 1

I don't think the last memory I would want of someone is a photo of them dead. I don't think it's really immoral, maybe just a little morbid. A hundred or so years ago people actually used to dress up the dead like they were still alive and take pictures of them sitting up. Even before that they had paintings done, Quickly I would assume. I had seen one of those paintings before on TV and it was creepy. I think it was hard for the artist to get the eyes right because there was no life behind them. Having said that I have seen people take pictures of their deceased loved ones. I guess that they figure it's one last picture and if it helps ease the pain then how immoral can it be.

Answer 2

This is a yes and no answer. I think it's disrespectful to photograph a dead person that you don't know, or a dead person that you do know, and know that they wouldn't like it if you did that. I don't think it's disrespectful when the picture is taken of someone who has died under suspicious circumstances because those photos can help. I think intention counts for a lot. We do live in a somewhat sheltered society, but we also live in a society where it is acceptable to post pictures of dead, mangled, tore up men, women and children on websites. I think if you don't know the person well enough, to know how they'd feel about something like this in the first place, you probably shouldn't be taking a picture of their corpse, unless this person was the victim of a crime, or someone elses stupidity.

Answer 3

If the dead person have families, ask the family for their permission. If it is ok by them , then there is reason the photo session is immoral.
Respect for the family of the dead is the key word here.
The dead can't say anything anymore, but the family has a say on what is best for the dead....think on those terms and you can't go wrong.
If the dead has no family and is found in the street, then maybe the photo can even be helpful to find someone who can attend to his mortal remains and give him a decent burial.
So it all depends on the deads man circumstances...
most dead people have some one who once loved them or are still loving them...think of those people....they might be hurting for their loss.Give them respect and the dead mans values and memories too.

Answer 4

Taking a portrait photograph of anyone without their permission is just plain wrong.

Taking a photo of a dead person, one would have to question your motives.

Perhaps you're a forensic pathologist and you're trying to solve a crime then it's an unfortunate necessity.

Perhaps you're an artist trying to "make a statement", but if you don't have permission from the dead person, then it's wrong.

PS for your essay you might like to mention that Monet painted his dying wife and Oliviero Toscani photographed a family weeping before the bloodied corpse of a Mafioso.

http://www.museedelapub.org/pubgb/virt/mp/benetton/pub_benetton.html

Answer 5

I don't think it's immoral at all. I work in a neonatal intensive care unit (critically ill newborn babies,) and we actually work with a bereavement photographer. He comes in when someone's infant is dead or dying and takes pictures of the family greiving with the infant. For some of these families, it is the only mementos they'll have of their baby. As a nurse, I've taken care of many dead people, and as long as those photos are respectful, I don't think it's immoral at all.

Answer 6

When my fiance's mother died, his brother insisted that they take pictures immediately. I think for him it was because the moment felt so important (the moment he lost his mother!) and he felt like he needed to be able to process it more later. He feared forgetting this important moment, or having an imperfect memory, and he probably couldn't remember the last picture that was taken, etc. They each had their pic taken with her, etc. I found it slightly creepy, but can understand that he was afraid of not being able to cope with the moment. It wasn't immoral. (If other people had taken them, without permission, then it most certainly would have been, in my opinion).

Answer 7

well, back in the day they used to all the time. especially with young children and babies. Sometimes the family didn't have pictures of the children when they were alive. It helps with the grieving process. If you've ever seen the movie, The Others, there's a reference to this in it.

Answer 8

I don't see anything wrong with photographing a personal family member. When my mom died,my dad asked me to take pictures. He has said that those pictures are a comfort to him now as part of the grieving process and realizing that she is actually gone.

Answer 9

Dead persons are really a cloud of electrons. So they can be take in to photoes usins some kind of special careras.But actually I don't weather it is possiable

Answer 10

The dead are dead. They don't care. As long as you treat the dead body and the surroundings with respect, there is nothing wrong with it.