Diversity in Stock Photo Agency Images Is Increasing, Thanks to a New Getty Initiative

Getty Images, in conjunction with Oath and the National Disability Leadership Alliance, announced a new joint initiative to increase diversity in stock photo images. Specifically, they’ll be working to increase the offerings in their collection to include individuals with disabilities.

According to Getty, media images of disabled people tend to portray them either as “heroic” or “pitiful” – both of which stereotype and objectify disabled people.

Fighting these stereotypes and showing the diversity of disabled individuals is the goal of their new website, which introduces an image collection that “more accurately reflects lives and diversity of people with disabilities.” 

“At a time when imagery is the most widely spoken global language, it has never been more important to produce and promote a visual language that is progressive and inclusive, and to support diverse voices in doing so,” Rebecca Swift, Director of Visual Insights at Getty Images, says in the statement. “While we cannot change what people publish or click on overnight, we can provide better alternatives for those looking to create more authentic stories. The Disability Collection strives to be a collection of authentic and empowering images of people with disabilities in everyday life.”

The collection is not yet complete; what these organizations are actually doing is to invite submissions for the forthcoming collection. As submissions come in, they will be judged against the wonderfully thought-out standards that they have assembled. It’s worth reading them — the standards, available here, are a set of guidelines that invite the participants to “portray disability as a natural part of someone’s identity, instead of disability as something that needs to be ‘cured,’ ‘fixed,’ or overcome.”

So, yes, Getty’s diversity initiative is wonderful and they deserve real praise for trying to make their photos more diverse. But there’s still more work to be done! As photographers, we contribute to stock photo sites, and we would do well to remember diversity as we make our submissions.

Moshe Gluck

Moshe Gluck is a photographer based in the Jersey Shore area, who tries not to let his desk job get in the way of his passion for photography. His first camera was from Fisher-Price, though his first SLR was the Pentax K1000. He now shoots Canon, and appreciates both the artistic and technical sides of photography. Moshe likes fine beer and fine photography (though not necessarily in that order). He can be reached at mgluck@gmail.com.