Greg Lutze, who co-founded VSCO, posted a photo of Times Square a few weeks back. Fifty photographers from VSCO's "Fifty" campaign, up on the NYSE screen in the middle of Manhattan. Here's what he wrote with it:

"When it's all said and done, I hope VSCO is remembered for being FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS. And while we stumbled and made mistakes, we never gave up on our love for photography and the humans who make it, that the act of creating an image is important, that a life lived filled with artistic pursuits is meaningful, and that even when the world is broken and brutal, it's beautiful."

Hard to read that and not nod along. We’ve been running Way Up North since 2015 for the same reason. Then this week VSCO backed it up.

VSCO at Way Up North Vienna. Photo Credits, Erol Serbest

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What happened

Back in May people read VSCO's Terms of Use and found wording loose enough to sound like permission to train generative AI on the photos you upload. Photographers were angry about it. They were right to be.

On 10 November their CEO Eric Wittman wrote an open letter to photographers. It opens like this:

"You deserve a straight answer about what happens to the work you put on VSCO."

Then the important bit:

"We don't use your content to train generative AI models. Not your public work. Not your private work. Not because you have a paid membership. The same protection applies whether you pay us or not."

They changed the policy the same day, so it isn't just a nice letter. The Creator Content Standards now say:

"If you are a paid member with an active VSCO membership or a non-paying Creator on VSCO, your Public or Private Creator Content will not be utilized to develop, train, or improve AI or machine learning models for Generative AI use."

Free accounts get the same protection as paying members. The outside AI companies behind VSCO's features have agreed to the same thing. And Wittman is clear about where they do use machine learning, which is search, discovery and the editing tools, instead of using "AI" as one word that could mean anything.

VSCO team at social gathering with wedding photographers in Vienna — VSCO at Way Up North Vienna. Photo Credit, Erol Serbest

Why we care about this

A wedding archive is not a stock library. It's other people's lives, handed over because they trusted you with them. If a platform is vague about what happens to those files, that isn't only your problem. It's your couple's problem too.

Wittman said something else we liked. You shouldn't have to decipher a policy to find out what's happening with your work.

VSCO wedding photography event — VSCO at Way Up North Valencia. Photo Credit, Ksenia Zudinova

Our partnership

Vienna, Valencia, and Paris next May. Three shows together, and what we love about them is their passion for putting photographers first. It’s obvious in the conversations they’ve shared at Way Up North. It’s there in their team walking the cities with cameras around their necks, photographing the guests and the streets. And it’s abundantly clear in how they act as a business.

Greg said he hopes VSCO is remembered for being for photographers. Being this transparent about AI is one more round in that fight. This week they made it official. Good on them, and we’re glad they’re coming to Paris with us.

One more thing: VSCO's Black Friday offer runs until 4 December. The code BLACKFRIDAY50 takes 50% off a year of VSCO Pro or VSCO One. Have a look.

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