The term stock photography often evokes negative connotations such as cliché and mass produced. In her 2026 book Stock Photo, Simona Supekar examines how these images shape societal expectations and reflect racial hierarchies. She argues that stock photos are not just innocuous visuals but powerful tools that can reinforce stereotypes, particularly within digital spaces.
Understanding Stock Photography's Role in Society
Stock photography serves as a visual lexicon, influencing how we perceive different communities. Supekar notes that these images can act as ciphers that reveal societal values and biases. For instance, a search for “maternity” and “Indian” on stock photo sites often yields mostly AI-generated results, highlighting a lack of authentic representation.
Supekar reflects on her experiences in the early 2000s, when she worked in a stock image bank. She recalls that images of light-skinned Indian individuals were over-represented, while searches for “Black businessman” often returned troubling images, such as a Black man next to cocaine. This reveals how stock photography can perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
The Psychological Impact of Stock Photos
In her book, Supekar cites scholar Lisa Nakamura and her theory of “cybertypes”, which discusses how online culture flattens and categorizations communities of color and other marginalized groups. Supekar questions whether her work in the industry contributed to these narrow representations.