file photo

Reused news picture

A file photo is a photograph from an archive rather than one taken for the current story.

News organizations use file photos when they lack fresh images—showing a politician's face during breaking news, or a building before it burned down.

The label signals the image may not depict the exact moment being reported: File photo: The senator at a 2019 campaign event.

Related

archive · image · photojournalism · paper · licensing agreement · reused · press · print · media · professional · commercial · digital archive · media library · folder · picture · dated · archival footage · wire service

Opposites
temporal currency

file photolive shot

Real-time broadcast segment

production context

file photouser-generated content

Material created by audiences

selfie · family photo · homemade

specificity to event

file photoevent photo

Picture from a gathering

Family

file, photo, files, filed, filing, filer, photos, photograph, photographic

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G