By now, some may have heard about the ruling in the 7th District Court of Appeals. The ruling upheld a lower court’s decision – the creation of AI child photography pornography is protected under free speech. The ruling is narrow, but the ramifications of it highlighted something in particular to me.
Our laws are struggling to keep up with technology, but I believe we can catch up.
I have spent the last few days examining my values and how I market my business in light of this. I built MAJECK using social media to share my work and, consequently, relied on word of mouth. Each of my client’s families matter to me, they are part of my story and deeply appreciated. I understand that AI continues to improve because some generative AI uses publicly accessible images to train itself, among other things. My website and my social media are part of that. And increasingly sophisticated AI tools can take an ordinary, innocent photograph and manipulate it into something the person photographed – or their parent – never consented to. That is why I am concerned about ai child photography.
How does this impact my business and your family?
For the time being, while law catches up to technology, I will not be sharing the faces of children in sneaks. I’m going to be much more intentional about what images of minors I share publicly and how I share sneak peeks. You may see more detail shots, images from behind, parent-focused photographs, private galleries, and other ways of showing the beauty of a session without unnecessarily putting an identifiable image of a child into a completely public space. I modified my upcoming posts this evening to remove ones with minor’s faces. This isn’t to make it more difficult for your families to share and enjoy the art we create. It is to respect each family’s right to choose how they respond to this ruling and situation.
I love sharing your families. I love the excitement of sneak peeks. And as a small business owner, showing my work publicly matters.
But protecting the children entrusted to me matters more.
I realize I can’t eliminate every risk that is out there, but I can do my part. I can keep the images that I take don’t add to the problem by aiding AI child photography. The internet of 2026 is fundamentally different from the internet on which many of our photography-industry practices were built. When the technology changes, responsible practices should be willing to change too. I recognize that this could impact my business as I am actively rebuilding. What matters most is that you, the parents, decide how you share your children’s images in this environment.
In the meantime, let me know if you are ready to book family portraits.
