This Slate piece is kind of making me want to be a stock photographer, though I know it's becoming increasingly difficult to make a living at it.

It's about how Getty Images, the dominant company in the industry, has to anticipate what kinds of images will be in demand in the near future, including ones that convey abstract ideas such as people being isolated from one another by technology. As a photographer I think I would enjoy trying to stay on top of the zeitgeist in this way, while at the same time contributing to it, and putting my own spin on it to stand out from the crowd. These people must look at the ubiquitous imagery in advertising and publishing in a very different way, trying to gauge the characteristics for which it was chosen.

In principle I guess this isn't much different from the role of a musician who creates music for licensing, which I've never been drawn to. I've always wanted to make music that couldn't have been made by anyone but me, while with photography I am content to document what's around me, albeit in a creative way. But others probably see it the opposite way, or with other art forms.