# Stock Photography **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716 "2006-04-07T14:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/21 "2006-04-10T20:12:38Z")
An old post of mine on the subject of stock photo cliches: In print advertising, I see the same stock photography themes used over and over and over again: - Corporate types – usually a multicultural group including both genders – [circled around a table](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=dv1165048) [looking at a chart on an easel](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=dv678029). - [Hand shakes](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=kcd00260051). Lots and lots of hand shaking. Now very likely to be [a man and a woman](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=350045rkt) or [interracial](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=330081rkt), but almost never both; apparently, in the business world, [black men don’t shake hands with white women.](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=330146rkt) - A man [standing in an open plaza](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=dv1927008) surrounded by skyscrapers, [gazing up at the future](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=dv686009), infinite possibilities, the bull market, excellence, or something like that. An increasingly common version doesn’t have the man gazing up, but [he is on his cell phone](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=bxp155980). - [Gather 'round the laptop!](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=is655013)[The more](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=330026rkt), [the merrier!](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=pdv239024) ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/22 "2006-04-10T21:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] …[Gather 'round the laptop!](http://www.inmagine.com/view_image.php?filename=is655013)… [/QUOTE] Is she actually using the mouse on top of the laptop? ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/23 "2006-04-10T21:22:09Z")
Every now and again this leads to amusing situations, like Microsoft ads where the person is using a Mac. (can’t find a link right now) 🙂 Rob Cockerham of [cockeyed.com](http://cockeyed.com) once [tracked down](http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/spam/alicia/alicia.html) someone who was appearing in stock photos all over. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/24 "2006-04-10T21:32:06Z")
[QUOTE=Nanoda] Rob Cockerham of [cockeyed.com](http://cockeyed.com) once [tracked down](http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/spam/alicia/alicia.html) someone who was appearing in stock photos all over. [/QUOTE] …ahem… see post #12 above… ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/25 "2006-04-10T22:11:54Z")
[QUOTE=Nanoda] Every now and again this leads to amusing situations, like Microsoft ads where the person is using a Mac. (can’t find a link right now) 🙂 Rob Cockerham of [cockeyed.com](http://cockeyed.com) once [tracked down](http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/spam/alicia/alicia.html) someone who was appearing in stock photos all over. [/QUOTE] Ha! Great find, **Nanoda**. That made the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/26 "2006-04-10T23:11:38Z")
[QUOTE=minor7flat5] …ahem… see post #12 above… [/QUOTE] Tee hee! :o This _always_ happens when I’m posting from work and can’t take my time reading a thread. To attempt redemption, I found a link to a Microsoft/Mac ad like I mentioned [here](http://www.michael-forman.com/gallery/msg4.html). (Though it’s not the one I remember, so they must have screwed up at least twice!) ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/27 "2006-04-12T12:44:53Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] I see [this woman](http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/5317/cp8ju.jpg) everywhere. The linked example is at the top of the control panel page for my Web site. [/QUOTE] That’s nothing - I think she also works at [a local indian restaurant](http://www.gaylordrestaurant.co.uk/index1.html) with a rather splendid name. I am undecided as to whether [this](http://www.questionpro.com/) is her or a look-alike branching out into web surveys. It may just be that there is some sort of ‘generic hot but intelligent geek chick’ meme working its way around the web design shops of the world. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716/28 "2006-04-12T13:35:17Z")
[QUOTE=Dag Otto] Pitting stock photography? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] It is pretty serious here. Newspapers have been using stock photos from other countries as photos of Australians. Mediawatch [Media Watch](http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch) seems the only people criticising this [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-photography/351716.md?page=1)