The perfect world of stock images

I tweeted about this topic recently and have decided the topic warrants an entry in the manage my website Journal.

Why oh why do so many businesses insist on using stock images of perfect people with shiny hair, gleaming teeth and clothes that have obviously been pressed to within an inch of their lives for their marketing? Why must the weather always be sunny, houses always huge, rooms minimalist and clean, and pets just the cutest, prettiest things you could ever clap your eyes on? Do businessmen really run down the stairs of the City Hall, mobile clamped to their ear, teeth aglow, with an expression that says "I've just won the lottery"? How often do a group of ten colleagues decide to go to the local salon for a manicure and then all join hands in a big corporate love-in?

Here are some examples - I won't reproduce one here as I might get sued.

What happened to good old realism? Would it be that much of a blemish on your reputation to use images of people who are slightly on the rotund side? With hair that might need a brush through it? Wouldn't it be more realistic to picture a dirty mongrel with a few burrs in his fur from his last trip through the field? And a businessman who might well look a little worn down but still generally happy with his lot?

Here's to a new brave world of REAL stock images for real people and less of the 80's cheesy perfection most of us have seen far too often!