We’ve all made fun of it. But we’ve likely all been forced to use it at some point in our career. It’s stock photography. That sometimes platitudinal, often banal, and almost always homogenous photography that graces many a pitch deck, blog post, and online ad. But now, it’s not quite as homogenous as it once was. Thanks to AllGo.
Despite the fact that two-thirds of women in the U.S. are plus-size, just two percent of women shown in media are plus-size. The public’s appetite for more diverse imagery is clear. In 2017, Getty Images reported triple-digit increases in searches for the terms “body positivity” and “real bodies”. By depicting everyday activities such as making a salad or reading a book using plus-size models, we intend for images to be used by a wide variety of content creators—not just those addressing plus-size issues.
These photos are available for all uses and feature plus-size people at home. From looking at their phones in bed to having a glass of wine with friends, this collection is powerful because the emphasis is on what the models are doing, not how big they are while they’re doing it.
“I was sick of looking at pictures of plus-size women staring at hamburgers,” Rebecca Alexander, founder and CEO of AllGo, told Willamette Week. “The photos we released are all about plus-size people at home, doing normal things. From looking at our phones in bed to having a glass of wine with friends, this collection is powerful because the emphasis is on what the models are doing, not how big they are while they’re doing it.”
And where better to put them than the startup that has tried to shift the tide of stock photography for the better, Unsplash? That’s right. Thanks to the collaboration between AllGo and photographer Michael Poley, these photos are absolutely free to use. Although attribution is appreciated.
I, for one, am certainly looking forward to more stock photography like this turning up in pitch decks and Web sites that cross my desk.
For more on the project, visit AllGo Free Plus-Size Stock Photos. To access them on Unsplash, visit the AllGo Unsplash page.
[Full disclosure: AllGo is an alum of PIE. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]
