As someone who creates online content daily, and has worked in social media for the last decade or so, I've seen a LOT of stock photography.
I work with it every day - and honestly I've wondered more than once how the model would react to knowing how their picture was being used.
One Reddit user asked:
Stock Photography Models: What is the Strangest/Most Unexpected Place You've Seen Your Photos Used?
Stock photography models kind of know their images are out there for whatever, but sometimes that "whatever" gets really interesting.
R.I.P. to the college brochure guy's social life. It's going to take him decades to live it down.
But Can I Get Hired?
I ended up finding myself on one of those "Now Hiring" posts on Facebook... for a company I was trying to get hired at.
- Pandrome
You should tell them that means they have to hire you, or it's false advertising.
"Have you previously worked as an employee for [company]?"
"Well, it's complicated..."
Also Used
One of my friends did a shoot for a university showing him sitting with an advisor looking confused/concerned.
It was to be used for the financial/debt advice brochure - and it was used there. But it was also used in the sexual health brochure!
It's a good one to roll out on special occasions!
- djaw1
Similar thing happened to a guy I worked with.
He was an older, very put together attorney. One day I was watching TV and saw him sitting with his head in his hands looking terribly distraught.
It was a commercial for ED medication.
I asked him about it the next morning and he said he had done some stock video shots for commercials years back and often pops up in all kinds of ads.
I'm A Painting
Imgur
When I was 17 a friend of mine asked me if I could help him model in some pictures he was working on for a project for college. We used our other friend's attic and he took a couple of pictures of me in a suit in front of a typewriter.
He really liked one of the pictures and he ended up asking me if I would be okay with him having it be part of a small gallery show he was doing at the local coffee shop.
They often had a small show and then put up the work to decorate the place and if people were interested they could buy them. I told him that I didn't mind and it was cool seeing my picture up at a place we went to so often.
Well, my picture ended up actually being bought ... which we did not expect at all.
So, there is someone out there that has a framed picture of me possibly decorating their wall or mantle, which is strange for me to think about.
- -eDgAr-
In Every Wal-Mart
Not me but my best friend: He did a photo shoot in some construction-worker garb and a hard hat.
We live in North Carolina USA. I'm on a business trip in Chicago, and I stop by a Walmart for some supplies.
I'm in the men's work clothes isle and there's my buddy prominently on the wrapping of 50ish packages of work shirts.
It was a weird "wait, where am I?" moment. I knew he did some modeling, but not specifics.
I sent him a pic, he had no idea it had been used. The guy is in every Walmart in the country and had no idea.
Homeless Youth
Not me, but a friend of mine.
Her boyfriend was a photographer, and he took several pictures of her standing against a wall wearing a blue windbreaker. I should mention, this woman was in her late 20s/early 30s, but she could easily pass as a teenager.
One of her boyfriend's pictures of her ended up on a billboard in Russia somewhere advertising a charity for homeless youth.
Keep The Contract
This question reminds me of the guy who sat for a picture, and then forgot about it.
Years later, he recognized his picture on a jar of freeze dried coffee, which was not in the terms of use for the picture.
He ended up suing after the company tried to lowball him and winning a crazy amount of money.
Holy sh*t! I looked it up! That's a lot of money. And f*ck nestle for trying to lowball him!
"A legal dispute with Nestle USA ensued, during which Christoff, 58, declined the company's $100,000 settlement offer, and Nestle USA turned down his offer to settle for $8.5 million. "I never gave my consent," he said to Chen. "We had a contract that spelled out the terms of the agreement, but there was just no follow-up on it. "I filed it away, and the contract sat there for 18, 19 years and -- I save things, which I guess is obvious. And no. They never had the permission." Last week, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury ordered Nestle USA to pay Christoff $15.6 million for using his likeness without his permission and profiting from it. The award includes 5 percent of the Glendale-based company's profit from Taster's Choice sales from 1997 to 2003."
A Smoky Eye
fashion makeup GIF
Giphy
I had a girlfriend who modelled part time.
Most of her work was for specific things and I only seen it because she showed me. But she did have a few model release generic headshots so when I was travelling Asia I saw a few makeup ads with her face on it.
It was just a picture of her with smokey eyes and I seen it before so I had a pretty big wtf moment seeing an at least 6 year old photo of my girlfriend on makeup ads on the other side of the world
Had They Contacted Me In The First Place
Not a stock photo (as I didn't upload it to my account, only on my website) but years ago a shot I took of my nails ended up being lifted off my site and used in a manicure brochure from China. I'm still wondering why... it was professionally shot and edited, but the nail art was hardly that!
Another time, a model I shot for a girly site (think suicide girls but more on the burlesque side) found our photo on a designer t-shirt, sold in stores internationally... we both sued separately, myself for the image rights and herself for personal damage due to what was written on the shirt. Don't know about her but I ended up getting a decent amount -definitely more than I would have asked if they had contacted me in the first place.
Action!
A coworker of mine was a firefighter in his earlier life (I worked with him after he was retired).
At one point the station he worked at did a photoshoot for something (he doesn't remember what, I've always hoped it was a calendar but can't find proof). Years later a friend of his was in a toy store and found his photo on the packaging of a firefighter toy.
He posed for a photo shoot, and years later ended up being an action figure!
- dbdew
Slack Party!
Not the same, but as a remote teacher (long before quarantines), all of our teaching material includes stock photos.
One teacher pointed out that the same girl appears in many of the stock photos. Here she's a scientist. Here she's at the beach. Here she's riding a bike in a park.
It became a game to find her in our materials and we'd have a little celebration on Slack every time she was discovered.
Clearance
There was also this guy in Germany or somewhere in Europe, who ended up on packs of cigarettes. Like they have the smoking kills and rotten lungs etc. on the packs. So this guy was lying in a hospital bed, passed out with tubes in his mouth and I think he posted this pic of himself on facebook or something. Some designer stole that photo and put it on the packs. The guy himself said he had never smoked in his life and it was some unrelated medical operation. I think he sued and got paid.
Tailspin
My dad was a professional photographer back in the '80s & '90s and would do a small amount of commercial work. He would sometimes get me and my sister to 'model' in some of these pics. He did a job for a new small video game store called GAME that just opened in SE England back in the early '90s. He used me and my sister in a bunch of pics for their original advertising which at the time was just for this small shop. Obviously, the company hit it big time and opened up all over the country. A few years later while at Uni, me and my mates are in shopping in our local store. Low and behold there was a picture of a younger me playing Sonic the Hedgehog on the in-store display. I'd completely forgot about the pics and was slightly in shock, while my friends thought it was the greatest photo ever.
Hairy situation
My nephew did some stock modelling when he was younger and ended up in an ad for a drug that delays early-onset puberty. That was certainly a surprise when I came across his face in a magazine.
Muddy morals
A plumbing company used a picture of my muddy boots on their website. It was a picture I posted on Facebook years ago. The company is half a country away and never contacted me. They just found my picture online and used it. Huh.
Pop(off)corn
I once was offered free popcorn and movies for a year if I did a shoot for a movie theatre in Maryland. I was 16, so I thought "heck yeah!". The theatre closed down three months after that, so I never did get to use my year of popcorn and movies.
BUT I did move to Florida for college and a few years in went to the local movie theatre..... and there I was. Passionately munching on some popcorn, pretending to laugh at a movie. I guess one movie theatre company bought the other theatre out, which included image rights.
Thifty gifty
Early last year (pre-serious COVID) I was at my local thrift store and found a picture frame with a picture of my sister and brother in law. Apparently, they had donated it without removing the picture.
Naturally, I bought it and gave it back to them as a gift.
I'll ketchup later
not me, but my dad is a photographer who spent quite a bit of time in stock photography. I remember one day we were taking a walk around the village together when he just stopped and whipped out his camera. There was a big splodge of ketchup on the floor, and apparently, that required photographing. He told me a few years later that that photo had sold quite often, become one of his most popular. Of course, being an indescribable splodge of ketchup, we've not managed to actually identify it in use anywhere yet.
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I have a constant fear of death. I wanna perfect the ending of "Death Becomes Her" so I can live forever.
Before
morbid death GIFGiphy"I'm not scared of death because of working in health care I was around it so much. I AM scared of what leads to death, however."
Full-Mulberry5020
Why now?
"Why should I be scared now of something that's only going to happen at the end of my life?"
User Deleted
"I did this cult thing called the landmark forum and I actually did like their “meaning of life”: the meaning of life is that there is no meaning. Life is empty and meaningless. There is no answer."
"Life is what you make of it and every persons answer is equally valid because there is no meaning to life. Life exists as, basically, an accident, we are all here by complete accident, there’s no great mystery, it’s all biology and you are 100% free to make life about whatever it is you want."
Conservative_HalfWit
Death and I are good friends...
"I was very sick as a child. Spent ages 7-20 in and out of hospital due to kidney issues. Lost a kidney at 28. Almost died during the surgery to removed the dead kidney due to blood loss. Had 5 surgeries back to back during the next 2 years. Twice they had difficulties bringing me out of anesthesia."
"Found my favorite aunt dead in her bed when I was 22. Watched my best friend die from a brain tumor at 30. Death has been a constant force in my life. Sometimes just on the edges waiting, sometimes unexpected staring me in the face. I'm not afraid because it's always been there. I now work in healthcare. Death and I are good friends."
Tiny_Teach_5466
No Worries
"Because it's coming for us all, sooner or later. So there's no point in worrying about it. I am much more concerned about day to day minutiae. The Lars von Trier film Melancholia starring Kirstin Dunst portrayed this perfectly. If there was an asteroid hurtling towards the earth, I'd probably be more preoccupied with worrying about whether I left the back light on or not."
Giallo_submarine
It's Over
The Lord Of The Rings Mueller Report GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"Because no one has ever made it out alive, and I was dead for an eternity before I was alive, and didn't suffer the slightest inconvenience because of it."
MarshallApplewhiteDo
I never thought about the before much. I hope the before is quick.
The Effects
Pray I Hope GIFGiphy"I hope that when my times comes it will be merciful. My uncle had a stroke, he is paralyzed. My grandmother is 91, but is losing all her memories of her life. Death does not scare me, what could be left of me before I die is what terrifies me."
M1ssy_M3
No Terror
"It’s like when the writer Nabokov said that he saw a picture one time, a picture of before he was born. It was a picture of his mother, his brother and sister that were older than him, but he had not been born yet. He said that when he saw that picture there was no terror in him, even though he was looking at a picture where he didn’t exist."
im_on-the_can
state of nonexistence...
"I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of dying. Death is just the state of nonexistence I experienced before I was born. I don't remember it because I didn't exist yet. Death will be the same way. I just don't want the transition to be marked by pain and sorrow at things left unfinished. I want it to be quick, painless, and with me surrounded by love."
Wazula42
I'm Gone...
"Because once I die, I won't know it. I won't miss people or regret things or feel pain or sadness about anything. I might fear being sick and slowly dying, just having to live with the knowledge that it's all going to end and this is the last time I'll ever see the people I love or taste good food or hear good music. That sounds almost unbearable. But death isn't even a thing, it's just having done something (died)."
"It's like virginity, it's a made-up state of being that just says whether or not you've experienced a specific occurrence. Once I die, I'm gone. My corpse will be the empty wrapper I used to be in, just garbage to be disposed of in whatever way makes my survivors feel better. I'll be switched off. If I don't worry about what the light feels after the bulb burns out, why would I be afraid of being dead?"
SallyHeap
At Peace
Season 3 Nbc GIF by The Good PlaceGiphy"I’m scared now because I have young kids. Once my kids are old enough to be on their own I imagine the fear will subside and I’ll have a more relaxed approach."
User Deleted
Some very interesting perspectives. May it all calm peacefully and with great mercy for us all.
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I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
Wait What Wtf GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
Lying Simon Rex GIF by Simon Rex / Dirt NastyGiphy"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
just kidding jk GIFGiphy"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"
Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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