‘I Googled “white guy” and there I was’: stock photo models on seeing their faces in everything from ads to ridiculous memes

Some of them posed for photos – and before they knew it they had become the face of skin lightening, bad boyfriends, penis disorders and Canadian immigration. What’s it like when your image goes around the world?Stock images are everywhere, and you probably rarely notice them: on billboards and websites, plastered across adverts, groceries and print media. Shooting original photography takes time and money. Stock-image banks – which contain existing images that can be licensed for use in a flash – make for a cheap, easy alternative. When stock-image libraries first opened in the 1930s, customers, often magazines, would have to wait 24 hours for a physical image to be found in an archive and delivered. The internet catapulted this demand sky‑ high. Websites need a constant stream of content. Memes are an unregulated stock-photo market of their own.Now, stock-photo websites collate millions of images, with almost any picture you can imagine available instantly. Urgently need a lonely Santa, a flying baby or a man dressed in a suit sitting in a bath with a rubber duck on his head? A couple of clicks and it’s yours. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 09:00:18 UTC ]

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