Responsible Photography

We are champions of wildlife, nature and all the wonders of this planet. When we say we photograph with our world in mind, we’re doing more than just talking the talk.

Here’s how we’re taking steps to ensure that photography promotes and records the joys of the world around us and minimises our impact on the wonderful places we are privileged to be shooting.

We promote responsible photography practices and try to lead by example in our own photography. When you join our community, we ask that you also keep these three principles in mind:

Principle #1
I will leave what I find and minimise my impact wherever I shoot
Principle #2
I will make sure I know and follow all rules and regulations
Principle #3
I will think about my impact on wildlife, nature and others

Our Curators approve all photo spots shared with the PhotoHound community before publishing them on our world map. We tag every photo spot on our map in one of two ways.

Shoot freely


To enjoy photographing at the majority of the photo spots shared by our community, you will usually only need common sense and thoughtful practices.

Read more about how we apply our responsible photography principles at every spot…

Shoot with care

Some of our photo spots require a greater degree of stewardship and care to ensure we leave them as we found them.
These spots will have reminders and tips to ensure that our actions do not disturb nature, wildlife, and other people.

Read more about our Shoot with care photo spots…

Report a spot

Occasionally there will be spots that are potentially too fragile or better not shared for other environmental or cultural reasons. These spots will never be added to our world map. If you notice a negative change or impact on a location that we have shared on PhotoHound, please contact us and we will take appropriate action which may mean removing the spot from our world map.

We’re proud to be Bronze partners of Nature First, the alliance for responsible photography. As partners of this organisation, we’ve pledged to use our platform to provide accurate information, educate and inform about the places we love and photograph.

We set aside 5% of every subscription payment to support One Tree Planted. This is an incredible environmental charity on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees worldwide. It’s a simple concept – one tree will be planted for every US dollar received from PhotoHound.

Let’s never lose sight of our responsibility to the environment and the world around us as we travel and photograph. No shot is ever worth risking damage to ourselves or the environment, or inadvertently causing harm to wildlife or other people.

Further resources

Leave No Trace – Center for outdoor ethics

Nature First – The alliance for responsible nature photography

Sea Legacy – a collective of photographers, filmmakers and storytellers promoting healthy and abundant oceans