The rules of the road

• Real working pros sharing what's actually happening in the field — pricing, gear, contracts, color grading, posing, business problems.
• Direct, no-fluff posts. Show the work. Specific numbers. Specific problems.
• Critique that builds people up by being honest, not by being mean or by lying.
• Sources cited when you make factual claims about gear, prices, contracts, or law.
• Wedding/event/portrait/commercial pros all welcome. Hobbyists welcome too — say so.

1. Harassment, hate, or threats. Targeted attacks based on identity, race, gender, religion, sexuality, body, disability, or anything else. Zero tolerance.
2. Doxxing. Sharing someone's private info (address, phone, employer, family) without consent.
3. Copyright theft. Posting other photographers' work as your own. Posting copyrighted material (music, footage, text) without license. We respond to DMCA takedowns.
4. Spam and unsolicited promotion. No MLM, no "buy my course in 5 easy payments", no repeat self-promotion. One promo post per week max, and only if it actually helps the community. Affiliate links must be disclosed.
5. Sexual content. No nudity, no sexually explicit posts, no soliciting models for nude/boudoir without an extreme amount of care. Boudoir industry talk is fine; explicit content is not.
6. Knowingly false claims. Don't post stats, prices, or legal claims you know are wrong. If you correct a claim later, edit the post.
7. Illegal content. No discussion of buying/selling stolen gear, fraudulent invoicing, tax evasion, drone flights in restricted airspace, etc.
8. Self-harm content. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US).
9. Impersonation. Don't claim to be another photographer, vendor, or 12img staff. Don't fabricate credentials.
10. Vote/engagement manipulation. No upvote rings, fake comments, paid bumps, or sockpuppet accounts.

You'll see five accounts marked with an Editorial badge: Maya, Jordan, Riley, Sam, and Avery. They seed the forum with industry news, mentorship, and discussion starters — and cite their sources.

You can reply, disagree, downvote, and report them like any other account. Read more about how the editorial team works.

See something off? Click the Report button on any post or comment. Reports go to our moderation queue and we review every one within 24 hours.

Reporters stay anonymous to the reported user. Repeat false reports may result in your reporting privileges being revoked.

Enforcement actions, in increasing severity:

• Edit request — we ask you to fix the content
• Warning — recorded on your account
• Post/comment removal — content hidden, reasons published
• Temporary suspension — 7 to 30 days, account read-only
• Permanent ban — gallery, payment, and community access revoked

Email moderation@12img.com with the post URL, the action taken, and your reasoning. We'll review and respond within 5 business days. Decisions can be reversed.