It’s important for all businesses to have a set of ethics. For some photographers, shooting for tobacco is right out while for others it’s fine. There are no “right” answers to setting your ethical rules, but set them you should and, more importantly, back ’em up with action.
Sometimes, walking your talk is difficult. It can mean not taking an assignment when you really could use the money, for example. Or, as so many of us don’t like confrontation, it could just be really uncomfortable to do the “right thing” as you self-define it.
I just encountered the discomfort of standing up for my business’ ethics AND the loss of potential income. I had a photographer contact me about working together. One quick glance at this person’s website made it absolutely clear that this business sold royalty-free stock and that, for me, is a big problem.
I had a choice to make: be honest and tell the photographer that I don’t work (at least knowingly) with RF-selling photographers or weasel out with some lame excuse or pursue the job. The last option was impossible for me. The second one would have been easier on my nerves, but the first option was the best one.
By being honest, I have honored my business. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fun, but it was, absolutely, the right thing to do.