Who Loves Ya, Baby?

No, this is a not a tribute to Telly Savalas, but he did share a similar hairstyle with many of these models. We are talking about babies. Babies are a popular subject in stock photography. They can be used in a lot of different ways.

Obviously, baby images can be used for things about babies, but they can also be used to show humor, health, innocence, happiness and a slew of other concepts. We'll just focus on the funny side of baby pictures for now. You could also call it the cute side, but they go hand in hand.

Babies are capable of showing a lot of emotion in their face. Sometimes their facial expressions don't make the most sense in the world, but that's part of the appeal. We have seen the same expressions in ourselves and in people around us. To see it coming from a baby who seemingly wouldn't know what making that face even means is always entertaining. It really must be a universal language.

As we have covered before, cute and cuddly sells. Cute and funny definitely sells, and babies are the perfect combination of both. You see them being used this way on greeting cards and in advertisements all the time. Babies can be difficult models to work with, but with stock imagery, photographers get to shoot hundreds of photos and get the perfect shot. This is a luxury  that a parent at home would very rarely get, which is why most of your childhood pictures have a sibling blurring through them or one kid with his eyes closed.

Enough talk, let's get to the photos! We have chosen some of the funniest/cute baby pictures we could find. Now, I should point out that the sad babies below aren't funny so much as so cute that you can't help but laugh.

© Inspirestock. Image #ISP0800349.

© Blend RF. Image #BLD040943.

© Imagebroker RF. Image #IBXALO00294134.

© Designpics. Image #1801130.

© Corbis RF. Image #42-17880825.

Fill in the Blank

Designers are busy people with busier schedules and strict deadlines. They may not always have time to alter images drastically to add text. Stock photography to the rescue!

 Copy space images are a staple on most stock photo sites. Whether it's someone holding a blank sign or business card, or an image with just the right amount of clear blue sky, many of these images are tailored for text to be added. These images are out there just waiting for you to fill in the blank.

Rather than go on and on about how much they can help you, let's just take a look at some copy space images.

© 81a. Image 81A-00004282-001.

© Quickimage RM. Image #QP01100002156

© Clover Images. Image #11021006278

© Glowimages RF. Image #GWW60726241

© Tetra. Image #TI0601432

Diversify Your Portfolio

As media and technology shrink the world, they are growing our audience. As users of stock photography, this means our audience is becoming increasingly diverse. We have to think beyond our own country and have a multicultural view.

© ImageZoo. Image #MFR0020.

The stock photo industry has generally kept up with this trend and has plenty of quality, multicultural imagery. Not every image has to have “we are the world” feel, but playing to the diversity of your audience surely cannot hurt.

Be sure to include images that appeal to your diversity within your market as well as images that give you a global appearance. Don’t force it, but be conscious of it. It should come natural if you are reflecting the real world.


When it comes to which images you pick, there a lot of variables to consider, but there a few things you can count on. You should be able to find stock images that use models that have ambiguous ethnicities. This gives you a multicultural feel without being over the top. You can also count on being able to find a model for any ethnicity you can come up with.

© FStop. Image #665021.

 So, think global! The stock photos you use can be the face of your company. Make them diverse so they appeal to your expanding, multicultural audience.

The Origins of Stock Photography

Although most of us think of stock photography as being an internet based system, the roots of stock photos can be traced back to well before the web. One of the innovators in this field was Dr. Otto Ludwig Bettmann, founder of the Bettmann Archive.

Dr. Bettmann, or the "Picture Man" as he was known, emigrated from Nazi-Germany in 1935. He brought with him trunks packed with all the various photos, drawings and reproductions he had collected. This was the start of what would become a lifetime project. Bettmann continued to add to his collection for the next 50 years.

The archive was founded in 1936 in New York City. Bettmann collected over 5 million images that ranged from archival photos to old woodcuts. This collection contains important archival images from throughout history. As his collection grew, he realized that there was a growing demand for these images. Editors, advertisers, as well as art directors saw the great value in his collection.

Bettmann also set up an organized filing system for his collection. Images could easily be found through cross referencing themes and subjects, much as a search engine would work today. In a way, he was also on the keywording and search data forefront.

The Bettmann Archive has grown over the years and currently consists of 19 million images. It is now owned by Corbis. Much of it has been scanned and converted to digital form. The physical collection has been moved to an underground storage facility with a controlled environment to ensure it will survive as long as possible. That is quite a compliment to the value of these images.

Top 5 Hairdo Photos

Stock photos these days are not the generic, uninteresting images that they once were. Stock photography sites now serve up stylish, hip images. Designers want their work to be cutting edge so the fashion and styles of their images need to keep up.

Today, we have picked 5 of our favorite stylish hairdos from a selection of stock images. These aren't hairdos for everyone, but they certainly do catch your eye, which is what we all want from our images.

(c) Mauritius Images. Image #04130141.

(c) Tips. Image #561GAG00225.

 

 

(c) Somos. Image #42-18496704.

(c) Blend RF. Image #BLD080396.

(c) EyeCandyPro. Image #ECP089156.