A disclaimer: there’s some good stock imagery out there. Some really lovely stuff.
But there’s just so much derivative crap: flat, uninspired knockoffs of other flat uninspired knockoffs. Oh, look! It’s a smiling person with a phone headset! It’s three people gathered around a laptop, one pointing, the others listening attentively, and all of them smiling! It’s a meeting of half a dozen ethnically diverse people, smiling! (Don’t want smiles? There’s a dramatic variation where they look determined! Although they could break out in smiles at any moment.)
I wish iStockphoto would label all of that stuff so people who want the old standbys could find them quickly and easily, and people who want anything but that style could filter it out of their search results.
Meanwhile, an offhand tweet of mine last week griping about all of this got a response from David Sherry:
@RobCottingham We're working on it! http://t.co/ovRAZHCEnx
— David Sherry (@DavidSherry36) September 4, 2013
And so he and collaborator Allie Lehman are. Death to the Stock Photo is a project that drops a tidy pile of lovely photos in your inbox every month for your enjoyment and use, at no charge.
Free high-res lifestyle photography sent to you monthly, to do whatever you please. For your website, social channels, mockups or even to hang on your wall if you’re so inclined.
No catch. Join us to rid the world of bad stock photography.