Why can’t life be more like a stock photo? This looks nice. I’d like to be wearing a pair of soft velour sweatpants while I cradle a steaming cup of joe, glancing up from my expensive MacBook out of the sunny window while my handsome mate quaffs his morning brew at a kitchen table (conveniently located next to the bed). The warm rays are probably distracting her from her job search, as she contemplates a run outside with her yellow lab later in the afternoon. She’s probably just taking a break from applying jobs at corporations who are looking for just a nice blonde like herself to complete the stock photos on their career page, in a polyester suit between two other ethnic stereotypes with perfect teeth. Instead, I’m sitting in a $40 burnt orange armchair from Craigslist, cradling my cheap PC in my lap, with my broken foot propped up with a ziploc bag of ice and drinking tea out of a Ruud Gullit mug.
There’s nothing more frustrating day after day than clicking on the “career” link on a organization’s website only to see yet another row of diverse “professionals” staring back at you in the header box (the back three are artfully unfocused, of course, so I can totally imagine myself sitting there too!) This one confronted me only moments ago:
Look at them all smiling at me, as if to say “Come! Join us! Joinnn usss….JOINNNN USSSSSSSS……SUBMIT YOURRRR RRRRRESUME!”
I feel terrible every time I see another one of these horrible, hackneyed “business” themed stock photos. It makes me secretly judge the companies that use them. I like to create beautiful things, and I like interacting with people who are talented, creative, and innovative. These pictures make me think that perhaps I’m applying to work at Dunder-Mifflin. Luckily, I’m not the only one who hates them. Here’s a sampling of other websites and blogs that creatively tackle this growing cancer of photographic pap on the internet:
–Women’ Laughing Alone with Salad (It’s just it says. Of course, men don’t laugh aloud with salads, they’re not “supposed” to be on diets all the time!)
–Awkward Stock Photos (who were attacked for using copyrighted images, until they found out it was driving hundreds of clicks to the image owners)
-Of course, you’ve probably already seen “happy black women shopping"
– A little "nugget” from Someecards
-On a slightly related but more furniture related note, there’s Catalog Living