Fotografiskt

I work for a company that manufactures fitness equipment. While working on a new marketing piece, I found myself in the seemingly normal situation of needing a general stock photograph of an overweight person. Given that the majority of Americans are overweight, acquiring this picture should be no big deal, right? Well, I was mistaken.
[…]
But what struck me the most here is how the business model of stock photography — make available the pictures you know people will like, because those pictures sell — is a direct reflection of our worldview. As a culture, we have taken the idea of “overweight” and completely blocked it out. Even though the majority of Americans are overweight, their appearance in run of the mill, stock-photo-driven advertising is extremely limited.

Design Observer analyserar relationen mellan stockphoto-firmornas utbud och våra samhällen.

Det är liksom öppet mål för den som vill skriva en c-uppsats i etnologi eller sociologi och är intresserad av foto; hur ser världen enligt Corbis, Getty images eller deras konkurrenter, ut?

[via Avisualsociety.]

Bildbyrån Getty Images köper Scoopt, ett företag som samlar in amatörbilder och säljer dem vidare.

“New technology has made it easier to capture and distribute imagery, leading to citizen photojournalism that is increasingly relevant to the news cycle,” said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. “While this genre will never replace the award-winning photojournalism for which we’re known, it’s a highly complementary offering that enables us to meet the evolving imagery needs of a broad customer base.”
[…]
“User-generated content is serving a valuable role in today’s communication landscape; safeguards to validate its authenticity are critical,” said Hugh Pinney, director of Editorial Photography at Getty Images. “By implementing rigorous quality standards, we can deliver powerful imagery captured from a unique perspective while ensuring journalistic integrity.”

Läs resten av pressmeddelandet från Getty Images här.

Ett sätt att fylla de byråmaterialbaserade tidningarna med ännu mer skräp, istället för god berättande fotojournalistik? Eller ett sätt för vår tids alla Weegee-ar att nå ut till en publik? Fa’n vet.

För den som vill se Weegee, förresten, finns det en utställning i Berlin för tillfället. Pågår fram till 6 maj. Detaljer här och på Galleri C/o Berlins hemsida.