Photo Pet Peeve

Do you want to know another annoyance of mine?  Well… too bad, because you are going to.  This pet peeve is stock photos.  Actually, it’s a little more specific: stock photos of people.

In the audio world there are databases of sound effects, which should be expected.  If you need to include the sound of a 22 rifle being fired, it makes sense to have someone just record it once and then allow others to use it.  But if you were going to advertise your rock band on the radio, you better be sure it was your band’s music that was used in the commercial.  There are integrity issues there, but going further, why would you want to advertise your band with someone else’s recordings?  What are you saying about yourself?

This is where the parallel is for me:  I am bugged when I open up a church website or even a church bulletin to find generic pictures of people I don’t even know!  Who is that guy smiling at me, telling me that he is happy with this worship folder?  Should I know that family playing volleyball together?  That kid sure is cute, but I’m pretty sure that’s the Rockies in the background and you are in Wisconsin.  Who are these people?  Why can’t you find nice pictures of your own people so you can accurately reflect who you are instead of who you wish you could be?

Again, probably me over-magnifying.  And again, I’ll probably be using stock photos in my church bulletin next year.  Don’t get me wrong, stock photos can be helpful, like the ones I usually attach to a blog post.  But when it comes to promoting your church, how about actually using some pictures from your church?

bry