Where do they get the photos used in The Onion?

Factual Questions
1

Example one.

Example two.

Example three.

Are these stock photos? Photos taken for other (real) news articles that are taken out of context? Paid models, sets and costumes taken specifically for each story?

I have noticed lots of their Opinion and person on the street (I forget what they call that column) photos are re-used over and over, but I wonder where they got them from in the first place.

2

I think they’re most likely mixture of stock photos, photoshopping, and probably some photos taken by themselves for specific stories…

3

They are a mix of stock photos (often edited) and photos of Onion staff members.

4

Whoever that Jim Anchower really is has got some problems.

5

Thanks!

6

I can’t speak for the others, but this image dates back to the mid-Seventies and was used in a magazine writeup of the commune.

7

Really? So it was a genuine picture for something else, huh. Interesting. Thanks to you, too.

(And, no, there’s no good reason I’m asking. Just something I’ve spent far too much energy wondering for years and finally decided to ask.)

8

The Onion started here in Madison and I’ve seen a lot of people I know in photos over the years. It can be people they know, or “hey, we’re doing a story on ‘Comic book store exployees says Wonder Woman should win Miss America contest’ so let’s go to the comic book store across the street and see if someone will play along” and certainly also stock photography. Now that they are much bigger than when they started out they probably have more of a system in place.

My girlfriend a couple of weeks ago said that she saw somewhere years back that they just encouraged people to send in whatever photos of themselves they wanted just in case they have a use for them later, and that she had talked about it with her then boyfriend and some others, and that she just saw this ex in some story that same day. She was going to show everyone at work, but then none of them remember that ex and since he’d moved away years ago she couldn’t be 100% sure it was him and people might not believe her.

9

Whoever does their photoshopping is brilliant, and has an evil sense of humor.

Check out the short plane part way down the page.

And check out Georgia’s new flag.

10

A lot of the photos are taken around Madison, Wisconsin.