The Worst Healthcare Stock Photo Hall of Fame Class of 2021

The photography you use in your marketing reflects on the soul of your brand and creates emotional reactions in your existing customers and potential buyers. You must choose stock photos carefully and shoot original photos with your brand in mind.

In 2016, we published an article showcasing 19 hilariously bad stock photo attempts at visualizing tech. This article has continued to be read, shared, and laughed at.

Now, for your consideration, we present to you the 2021 class of the Worst Healthcare Stock Photo Hall of Fame plus one that is just too good not to show you. May they invoke much laughter and weave a cautionary tale of what not to do.

Please note: the comments below each photo have been scrubbed of their identifying information to protect the guilty sarcastic.

Okay. But Why?

When asked for an explanation, we received this caption: “Arm in a cast and Christmas tree, spruce.” Now, if it had been a Frasier Fir, we might be in business. 

But wait! There’s more:

That pattern! I’m scared! (And I still don’t understand.)

Don’t forget, Christmas is coming soon in:

Vaccines are Important.

That looks poisonous to me. And haven’t I seen that same setup as a promotional ink pen given out at HIMSS?

I’m afraid of big needles, too, but this is a little ridiculous.

Is this how the vaccine works? Science is fascinating.

Welcome to the Cast of ABC’s “The Good Doctor.”

They didn’t teach me any of this in med school.

We Must Have Interoperability Now.

Your organization tries to secure your patients’ data, but it keeps floating away. Trust us, we get it.

We are Always in a Hurry. Always.

Hospitals always look different through medicated eyes.

This is Exactly How VR Will Work.

Reach out and touch somebody’s… double helix.

Our VR glasses are so powerful, they shrink you more than Rick Moranis. You become subatomic.

Please Use This One. This is Hysterical.

Please be alive. Please.

How to Use Photography Well

When considering using photography on your site, pitch deck, trade show graphics, webinars, or printed materials, ask yourself these questions:

• Is this image consistent with our brand?
• Does this image showcase how our solution meets a critical need for our buyer? (Bone Health Technologies’ CEO, Laura Yecies, talks about this in Studio CMO episode 49.)
• Does this image look like all the others on the internet? How does someone see our brand in this image?
• When a prospect sees this picture, do they create positive associations in their minds? Negative?

Photos are a large part of your overall visual identity system (VIS). In this age, the way your brand looks and feels is as important as how well your product or solution meets your customers’ needs. Our VP of Design, Bennett Farkas, goes into greater detail in this article.