Photographer Ami Vitale: Protect Your Work, Honor the Story, Trust the Process

In this episode, I sit down with Ami Vitale, an award-winning photojournalist, filmmaker, and conservationist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, TIME, and beyond. Ami shares her journey from covering global conflicts to telling powerful wildlife stories—like the viral image of Sudan, the last male northern white rhino.

We dive deep into the ethics of storytelling, how to protect your work in a digital age, and why Adobe’s Content Authenticity app is a game-changer for creatives, allowing them to digitally “sign their work” by applying Content Credentials. Ami also breaks down what it takes to earn trust with your subjects, the importance of archiving, and the emotional weight of documenting extinction.

If you’re a photographer, filmmaker, or creative navigating the tension between truth and tech, this episode is a masterclass in purpose-driven storytelling.

Follow Ami: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amivitale/?hl=en 

Try the Adobe Content Authenticity App: https://contentauthenticity.adobe.com/

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro to Ami Vitale & the Art of Honest Storytelling

05:00 - Ami’s Journey into Photojournalism & Curiosity as a Superpower

08:10 - Archiving, NAS Systems, and Lost History

11:06 - Trust, Orphaned Images & Why Metadata Matters

15:36 - Connecting the Local to the Global Through Photography

22:57 - The Danger of Sensationalism & Why She Embeds for Years

30:44 - Ethics, Model Releases & Protecting Your Subjects

32:00 - Ami’s Work Misused in the #BringBackOurGirls Campaign

38:08 - Adobe’s Content Authenticity App: Why It Matters

42:01 - Combatting Misuse in the Age of AI

45:49 - Building Content Credentials Into Your Workflow

48:57 - Seeing the Real vs. Edited: The Before/After Tool

53:16 - The 9-Year Story Behind Her Most Impactful Image

58:52 - Capturing Sudan’s Final Moments With Care & Consent

1:05:03 - Knowing When to Put the Camera Down

1:10:00 - Journalism vs. Advocacy: Where Ami Stands

1:12:57 - The Business of Storytelling & Protecting Your Work

1:17:25 - Why Empathy Is the Root of All Creativity