Through the Lens
What’s in a photo? Lots, particularly women as they’re portrayed in stock images, photographs that are available for free or for a fee and used in creative assignments such as advertisements.
Several area marketing and advertising professionals recently participated in a roundtable for WILMA on images of women in stock photos. They were: HILARY BRADLEY, senior graphic designer, TGK; SUSAN JOHNSON, founder, Sakisaki Marketing; SARAH BON, co-owner Bon’s Eye Marketing; ANGI ISRAEL, managing partner, Plan A Advertising; and AMY THARRINGTON, principal/co-founder, Maximum Design & Advertising.
Last year Sheryl Sandberg of LeanIn.Org, a women’s empowerment nonprofit, joined forces with Getty Images to create the Lean In Collection, “a library of images devoted to the powerful depiction of women, girls, and the people who support them.”
In the past, stock images were hit or miss, consisting of almost caricature portrayals including a woman in a business suit with her hand on her hip or a wide-smiled call center staffer eternally tethered to her headset, roundtable participants say. The Lean In photos show women laughing, exercising, wearing hard hats at work, and engaged in other activities. There’s also wide variety in their age, ethnicity, clothing style, and other characteristics.
BON BRADLEY ISRAEL JOHNSON THARRINGTON
Johnson used to work in the conservative financial industry in Boston and says geography and the industry and demographic you are targeting can play a role in how people are portrayed. The Wilmington area and its proximity to the shoreline, as well as its burgeoning tech orientation, make it more business casual than other areas of the country, she says.
Tharrington finds it “curious” that Sandberg chose to change the images of this group by changing stock photos rather than cover images, since many young women use magazine cover models as the basis of an acceptable self-image, potentially affecting women’s self-esteem. If Sandberg wants to create buzz and make a difference, she could push the anti-Photoshop or airbrush movement that assumes women are imperfect and their images must be modified to be acceptable, Tharrington says.
Johnson pointed out the Sandberg’s stock photo overhaul “put a stake in the ground” in the discussion around female images, giving high visibility to the issue.
The Lean In Collection also made an effort to portray women in traditionally male work settings.
“I really like the images portraying a woman in a hard hat and as a farmer, although they may not be good for our area,” Israel says. “Getty did a good job with men, too, portraying them as stay-at-home dads and cooking dinner.”
While many of her clients hadn’t complained about the images available mostly for free in the past, Israel said good stock images were hard to find.
It’s interesting to note, Bon says, that in addition to the images, the actual search terms used to find them can be telling. In many instances, the terms used for men don’t describe their physical attributes, while women may be called beautiful or other descriptive terms.
Roundtable participants seem to differ on some aspects of the campaign’s success.
Bradley says some of the Lean In images, particularly those showing women with dreadlocks and tattoos, might be too extreme. Johnson says those images might, however, be representative of women in business in larger cities like Seattle but not somewhere else.
Key to all of this talk of image, most of the roundtable participants agree, is finding the perfect image to resonate with a target audience. Sometimes, as in the case of a television ad for fast food that
features a close-up of a female licking her fingers suggestively, the representation of women may be used to simply sell sex, which may work with a certain demographic.
When asked if they would refuse to work with a client who wanted to portray women in a way contrary to their personal beliefs, would these marketing and advertising leaders refuse?
Bon says it depends on the client’s ideas and purpose in selecting certain images.
“You can’t force a company to change that but hopefully you can help educate them,” she says.
Bradley says she was impressed when her supervisor asked her if she would have a problem with working for a client involved in a topic that has sparked national controversy. Israel says she has asked her employers if it would be challenging for them to work on certain accounts.
The women say they would make a decision on a case-by-case basis.
Bon says she’s curious to know how many of these new images have been downloaded. Bradley says she’d like them to be more accessible, particularly for clients on a limited budget; some of the Lean In collection photos cost several hundred dollars, depending on the size needed.
It can often take days to find the right image for a client. Several roundtable participants suggest that it may be more cost-effective to host a photo session to get the perfect image. Fortunately, they say, there’s a lot of photography talent in the Wilmington area.
“I just hope there are more stakes in the ground,” Israel says.
To view more of photographer Chris Brehmer’s work, go to www.chrisbrehmerphotography.com
