Scramble for “Dejected Stock Trader” Pictures Propels Getty Images to Single Day Sales Record
Seattle, WA – With almost every news source in the country scrambling to accompany its Monday “Dow Jones” articles with pictures of “dejected stock traders”, image database Getty Images was propelled to a new single day sales record on September 29th, 2008.
The pictures were posted on Getty’s website as soon as the news of the House’s failure to pass the $700 billion bailout package sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a freefall. Almost immediately, news outlets started pouncing on them, and at their peak rate, one “dejected stock trader” picture was being purchased every 1.6 seconds. Publications from Hawaii to Maine were scooping them up no matter how large their readerships were.
Leading the way were editorial images #83053510 [seen at left] and #83052691, both taken by Timothy Clary and editorial image #83052246, taken by Spencer Platt.
When asked why he thought his pictures were so popular, Clary remarked, “I think this picture was popular for a few reasons. First, you can tell by the way he’s holding his head that he had taken an absolute beating on the stock market. Secondly, the fact that he’s holding his head brings his wedding ring into the center of the picture. This lets the viewer know that this is a man with a wife and probably a family. This leads us to empathize with him. Lastly, after the empathy wears off, you catch a hint of his Burberry tie under his jacket, and you think to yourself, ‘I wonder how much money this rich asshole lost today?’ That immediately makes us feel better. I’m telling you, this picture runs you through the whole gamut of emotions in a matter of seconds, which is amazing.”
Platt felt a little differently about his image [lower right], saying “The fact that this stock trader doesn’t think anyone is watching leads him to express more emotion than he normally would. It gives us an authentic window into his exact feelings at that moment. Plus, the dossier-esque way the photo is shot plays into everyone’s natural fascination with voyeurism. Then, the barely visible wedding ring is the capper. Game, set, match.”
Though the company has remained mum on the exact amount of the day’s sales, they are admitting that it nearly doubled the previous record, which was set by the first Britney Spears upskirt / no underwear picture.
Getty Images, which is based in Seattle, WA, was formed in September of 1997 when they merged with PhotoDisc, Inc. It currently has an archive of more than 70 million still images and illustrations.
