A question of ethics in Astrophotography

[TrevorW]

A thing that has been on my mind for some time


Should you put your name on an image where the data has not been captured by you but all you do is process someone's else's data.


Is this OK if you say that data is not yours, or should you just not put you name on the photo even though you may declare the data is not yours



:question:

[mura_gadi]

Ethically speaking, I think "processed by" would be apt.

Maybe also place a kudos to the data capturer, as I think it would help people share data.


Forum Contra

[Nikolas]

Acquired by:
then

Processed by:

[pmrid]

Assuming the use of the data is with the permission of it’s original owner, perhaps the appropriate formula would be:

“Processed by XYZ from data acquired by and with the permission of ABC”

If it is not a permitted use, it should not be published at all.

[OzEclipse]

I recently worked out a multiple exposure sequence for the lunar eclipse, coached a friend through the sequence capture on the night then I processed it for her.

The credit line reads:
Photo credit: Captures: Felicity Latchford Processing: Joe Cali

It's 1/3 of the way down this page:-
https://joe-cali.com/eclipses/PAST/TLE20221108/index.html

We discussed how the credit line would read before I posted it.

As long as you don't misrepresent yourself as having captured the image, I don't see a problem.

Some photo competitions stipulate that the entrant must have both captured and processed the image themselves.

As long as you are honest about your contribution and that of other contributors, there's no ethical dilemma. Specifics of how you can use the image, depend upon how and where it's going to be used.

Joe