Last week, we added a new collection of images to our disability smart image bank. Disabled models here Curtainy and Fleer tell us that our ‘changing image of disability’ campaign and disability smart image banks are very important to them.
For courtny, who have mental health conditions, first came to decide to become a model – or their position – when the disability was depicted in the media.
“It was the first time for me to do something like this. As a black man, I wanted to show that disability could affect anyone. I also wanted to become a good mental health lawyer for men. I want men to know that it is not right. ,
Curtainy participated in the ‘Changing the Image of Disability’ campaign of the Trade Disability Forum, which was launched in March 2024. The purpose of the campaign is how disability is depicted in stock imagery, which is a mainstay of marketing and communication. Research conducted by the IPSOS and Business Disability Forum conducted as part of the campaign confirmed that disabled people often ‘disappear’ from the imagination seen in media, marketing, or advertising.
Campaign resources include a disabilities smart image bank for business membership of BDF, a free collection for media and free guidance for selection, commission and use of images in a disability-smart manner.
When shown in traditional stock imagery, people with disabilities are often painted in medical or care settings, only with a few, select the disabled shown. Low-fierce conditions, including mental health conditions, are rarely painted. Stock images are also known to use non-versatile models to portray people with disabilities, and it is believed that the disabled models are severely low.
‘Changing the image of disability’ has fought it with a unique collection of 600 images with visible and low-visible disability and conditions in a wide variety of real-life settings. The Business Disability Forum recruited a diverse team of disabled models to create new images.
To mark the disabled persons of the International Day of 2024, we added 100 new pictures to the image bank. These shows disable social, eating, drinking and working people at a major transport center. A group of professional and non-professional disabled models participated. Shown at an airport, images are some of the first to portray disability in this setting.
Kurtani, who attended one of the earlier photoshoots, said: “I think this is a beautiful campaign. I remember, first in my career, in search of various images of the disabled who are not easily visible. I was looking for pictures around mental health. There were no photos that I could find to use as part of my presentation. A pile of images to be blind or with wheelchair being a user, or someone who had hearing loss, but you could not simply find enough pictures that show other disabled. ,
19 -year -old Flair Samvez from Bath recently participated in the airport photoshoot. Fleer spoke to BBC South about expedition and inflammatory bowel disease, a stoma and an osteomi bag. Similar to courtney, Fleer welcomed the representation of the less views of the image bank:
“I think it is really important that a wide range of disabled is shown because in a lot of businesses and industries, disability is not shown yet. When people like me see that there is representation, it is very comfortable. . I think this campaign is doing what we need to receive it.
“For people like me, when we see ourselves representing in any media, it all seems very common.”
To learn more about the campaign, change the image of the disability page and go to the free collection of images available to the media.
The complete image of members and partners of the business disability forum has access to the bank.
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