The weirdest things users search for on photo stocks, according to Depositphotos

"A cheeseburger in paradise", "a squirrel playing piano", and "Jesus doing office work"

A customer's search queries can reveal a lot more about them than their survey responses or social media accounts. And while it may be difficult to explain some of these searches, the simple thought of them is enough to crack you up and put you in a good mood.

In spring 2023, the Depositphotos team collected the most unusual, intriguing, and sometimes funny searches made by their 30 million users (including designers, SMM specialists, marketers, and entrepreneurs). Immerse yourself in the world of limitless imagination, laugh at some of the misspellings, and see that no matter how weird your search query may sound, there is plenty of content on Depositphotos to meet your needs — from “a dog in a hot dog suit” to “an elephant with ears shaped like butterfly wings”.

If you can imagine it, you can download it from a stock photography library

Competition for customer attention is ever-increasing, and creativity along with humor are proven tools for building lasting connections with your target audience. So why not use them both?

It all depends on how driven you are to reach users, and whether or not bold and hilarious visuals fit your brand. Well, an image of a red-billed francolin with a crocodile head might not quite fit into your annual investor report, but maybe you could use it in your Instagram Stories about failed collaborations. For better results, match outstanding visuals with the top 7 graphic design trends 2023.

In any case, if you can describe your content needs using words or visual references, you will likely find a stock image match among over 260 million files in the Depositphotos library.

Demand begets supply — so if enough people really need images of a loving couple in bird masks watching TV series, sooner or later there will be plenty of such content on stock photography platforms. However, when it comes to stock photographers and illustrators, it’s more profitable for them when their creativity is a bit ahead of client needs. For this reason, successful stock platform authors are brave pioneers of visual storytelling and instantly conduct experiments with surrealist collages, metaphors, and avant-garde compositions. Find examples in the Weirdly Wonderful Searches collection.

Never underestimate the creative power of misspellings

Typos can be a real obstacle when it comes to finding matching content. Fortunately, Depositphotos search algorithms recognize spelling mistakes and often suggest phrases that allow users to see relevant content.

However, extraordinary misspellings don’t just sink into oblivion. Our team constantly processes user misspellings to improve search algorithms and sometimes, finds amazing and inspiring queries.

We invite you to take a behind-the-scenes look at the Depositphotos team’s work. And while you’re at it, have fun imagining creatures like a hippopotamus or historical sites like Machu Pikachu. Both have memorable names and make people smile — so maybe stock illustrators should think of ways to visualize these misspelled keywords?

What if weird searches turned into ads

Some images from the Weirdly Wonderful Searches collection are so experimental and bold, it’s hard to imagine them being part of classic seasonal ads or holiday campaigns. That’s why we created a video showing an alternate reality—one where avant-garde images from our curated Weirdly Wonderful collection are mainstream and everywhere.

“Vegetables with human eyes” on a healthy lifestyle poster? Models with animal heads advertising a vintage fashion shop? If you can’t wrap your head around it—Just check out our video.

Wrapping up

Some users have inexhaustible imaginations and search stock content libraries for things like “a sphynx cat wearing a wedding dress”. Others make unexpected and hilarious misspellings when entering keywords, leaving the stock content platform team in a good mood and with many new ideas.

Of course, it’s better to enter the correct search query and save time by immediately finding what you need. However, even if you made a typo and entered “corgi shorts” instead of “cargo shorts”, we’ll most likely understand you and suggest relevant content or alternative keywords.

And finally, Depositphotos is proud to mention its 150,000 stock content authors, who are not afraid to experiment and take new approaches when it comes to composition, palettes, visual storytelling, and themes. Thanks to them, almost any creative idea becomes easier and more budget-friendly to visualize.