Gordon Parks, the famed photographer of the last century, died this year. He learned his trade here in the Midwest and perfected it in New York. Other photographers of fame of that era, Joe Schilling, James Whitmore, Hy Perkins, Bob Gomel, Ralph Morse, Paul Schutzer, Art Shay, and George Silk to name a few, were of the “Unrehearsed Photography School.”

Photo editors in those days respected the talent of these photographers to produce useable images for their publications. No demanding art directors, or “creative consultants” looked over their shoulder to guide their inspiration. If they did, it was only to tell them what they did not need. These photographers’ efforts produced spontaneity unrestrained by commerciality.

That era is gone. At least in our field of stock photography. Giant digital stock agencies no longer leave photo production to the whims of a single shooter. Time and production costs demand that they “get it right” the first time. The process is mechanized. And the process is sensitive to current trends and public craze.

THE PROCESS

Shooting a commercial stock photo from scratch is now mechanical. Here’s how it goes. A client comes to the stock photo agency with an idea for a photo for its new campaign. “No,no, no.”, the Creative Director of the agency says to the client.

“Our research says that your idea will be out-of-style before the campaign is even launched. What you need is ‘image uniqueness’. You want to separate yourself from the flock and have a visual identity, a brand awareness that is unmistakably, you. Our team can do this for you.” In the world of commercial stock photography, this is often called “assignment photography.” The Creative Director then consults with his Art Director who then assigns the task to a production staff including a wardrobe manager, cosmetic advisor, scene location consultant, and photographer. Notice that the last team member does the grunt work and pushes a button.

In general, the aim for the stock agency is to produce a generic picture, that can lend itself to several interpretations, that ultimately will “sell product”, that is trend-timely, within a budget that won’t exceed its shelf life, and that can be wholly owned by the agency so the image can be “authored” (manipulated/enhanced) later for an extended life. All of this can be reduced to an algorithm that eventually produces an image that is within budget and will be useable within the shelf-life of a contemporary stock photo –three years or less.

This is a complicated way of looking at stock photography and far from the “unrehearsed” photos of the last century. Gordon Parks would chuckle. If the commercial stock photos manufactured today are drained of any spontaneity, you know the reason.