More creatives are using images that show people interacting with nature, according to a year-long study by Corbis, a company owned by MicroSoft’s Bill Gates that licenses photography.
The Corbis Creative Intelligence team studied 800 publications and 500 Corbis images to see what kinds of images were in use. They found that beautiful nature photos are still favored, such as dewdrops on leaves and pristine lakes. Photos showing new energies such as solar panels and wind turbines are increasingly in demand.
They also found that visuals such as treehugging and other more personal connections between people and planet are showing up. I’ve been a treehugger since I was too little to know that some people thought it was weird, so it’s great to see this. My main motivation for all the environmental efforts over the years has been love for nature in all its awesome forms.
Amber Calo, senior manager of the Creative Intelligence Team said, “What I’m seeing is a rising popularity for images with a more personal approach to environmentalism. We see this as part of a larger trend to social responsibility.”
Great! I’d like to see more treehugging images as well as others showing sustainable lifestyles. Here are some photos I’ve looked to license but had marginal success in finding: tree planting, hand harvesting, walking on a trail with the dog on a leash and a poobag in hand, people picking up trash, recycling activity including sorting waste and composting, organic agriculture and backyard gardens, farmers markets, green building materials and methods, such as haybale construction, recycled denim insulation, and edible or drough-tolerant landscaping… the list does go on. Now I can hope to find more images like this to use in projects for my clients.
One more thing: I would love for there to be a diversity of people in these photos, with different ages and races represented. I recently looked everywhere for a photo of a Hispanic family in a garden, but couldn’t find a thing.