Stock Photos in Real Life

Ah, stock photography, one of John Paul Getty’s greatest contributions to the lives of designers everywhere. (Ok, it was actually his grandson who started what is now the world’s largest source of quality, licensable photography, Getty Images.) As d.trio is a Minneapolis marketing agency, we work primarily on marketing, meaning we don’t generally have the budgets to do custom photo shoots, so we rely heavily on stock photos to bring meaning and emotion to the pieces we work on. Which means we spend lots of time refining the keyword searches we use to find that perfect image. An image that is high-quality, not too clichéd or staged looking, correctly lit, nicely framed, and that elegantly illustrates the point we are trying to make. It also means that we are exposed to lots and lots of visual clichés. Things like ethnically diverse handshakes. And smiling, middle-aged couples near boats. And small children running around with puppies in the sunshine. And men in ties running up sets of concrete steps. Really, it can start to influence the way you look at the world, and there’s almost nothing better than encountering an example of Stock Photography in Real Life.

Today’s example is a classic. The very proto-type ‘business environment’ image. Let’s say you need a business image. But you want it to be a modern office. And to feel dynamic, as though, perhaps, a plan were being made. Maybe there are notes, or papers, and people COLLABORATING on something. Perhaps you use the keyword phrase “business glass notes collaborate plan” in order to accommodate all of those ideas. And there it is: the glass wall covered in post-its.  And then maybe one day you walk up the stairs in your office building and you find it. The Stock Photo in Real Life:

If you want to see what Getty offers up, click here: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/business-glass-notes-collaborate-plan?excludenudity=false&family=creative&license=rf&phrase=business%20glass%20notes%20collaborate%20plan&sort=best&alloweduse=availableforalluses#license

And if you encounter any Stock Photos in Real Life, be sure to share them with us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/dtrio