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If you were to take a look at some other categories, the answer might become obvious.

Of course, you might be able to find some of the more standard categories on Adobe Stock, like animals or business. However, many of them are unique to the service.

Animals

The Animals category has – you guessed it – animals. From what I could tell, they have photos, illustrations and even silhouettes. Many of them have already gone through Photoshop, as you can tell from the lion that has a turquoise mane. There is a series of animals wearing sunglasses drawn in a cartoon style. Some pictures are iconic, such as a wall the howling at the moon. Of course, no animal collection will be complete without the “elephant in the room” cliché.

Buildings and Architecture

When I think of a Buildings and Architecture category, I imagine myself standing on a street corner looking on the outside. I expect to see hard lines that may guide the eye or architectural pieces from history. That’s not what you find here. Instead, you’ll find exquisitely arranged living arrangements, a couple of Halloween-themed pictures of bats flying over a castle, and for whatever reason, the “smiling woman eating a salad” cliché.

Business

Because there are so many businesses trying to reach other businesses, when Adobe Stock has a business category, I found what I expected. No, I didn’t exactly see the “businessman on a tightrope” cliché, but I did find other common business themes – lots of people in business suits and in meetings. There were a few unconventional ones, like someone who drew the side of a mountain depicting an uphill climb from start to finish.

Drinks

Even I was stuck wondering how they can come up with a category called Drinks. I wasn’t disappointed. From coffee, tea and wine, what I saw was quite creative. I saw quite a few artistic interpretations of liquid in the air. There were a few holiday themed ones in there – I saw a pumpkin made out of the froth in a coffee cup.

The Environment

This category was interesting – from weather patterns to trash buildup and everything in between. That includes the cliché “giant tree inside of a teardrop” as well. There were depictions of pollution and different ways to harvest energy, like solar panels. One depicted water dripping out of the spout as if one were wasting it.

States of Mind

I don’t know what I expected with this one. When I checked it out, I saw plenty of people depicting emotion. Several photos depicted a striped collage of eight photos that were molded into one, with a different person in each one – all depicting the same emotion. Others were more interesting like the silhouette of a pair of hands holding the sun or one that said, “Hello Friday.”

Food

It’s kind of difficult to think about food without thinking about the holidays – especially since we’re so close to them. There are so many artistic creations that can be done with food that I don’t know where to begin with this category. At a glance, I see pizza, hamburgers, cookies, chicken and fruit. I see spices, vegetables and popcorn. I see a drawing of a hamburger that’s telling the world, “I’m a delicious food.” I couldn’t agree more.

Graphic Resources

Graphic Resources appears to be a hodgepodge of different photos that don’t appear to fit anywhere else. Of course, I did see an arrow made out of human beings. There were a lot of icons – some of the pictures were nothing more than a chart of icons. Some of them were different – like a sea of dots that were connected by a series of lines. It kind of looked like a web.

Hobbies and Leisure

Honestly, when I opened 0this one, I expected to see someone on a bicycle or a Jet Ski. I didn’t see that. Instead, I saw a depiction of someone in Las Vegas gambling, someone carrying a stack of folded laundry, and someone sitting at the computer with their eyes closed listening to music on their headphones. Musical and artistic hobbies were found here.

Industry

When I saw this category, I immediately thought of England during the Industrial Revolution. Instead, I saw lots of people who are working in construction. The people who weren’t working in construction were working with their hands in one way or another. Many of them have the theme of the building a house while others have the motif of buying a house.

Landscapes

I saw this one and thought to myself, “This ought to be good.” Landscapes did not disappoint. Although I expected to see more of it, there were a few interesting things in this category. There was a woman whose hair made was made out of leaves. She was depicted blowing leaves out of her hand. I saw beaches and rivers, forests and mountains. I even saw rows of carefully planted flowers by color.

Lifestyle

I saw a wide variety of photos in this category – from several people receiving a massage to wedding themes. Halloween may be over, but I did see a group of happy trick-or-treaters. As it gets closer to Christmas, I expect to see more Christmas themed photos pushed to the top. Other lifestyle photos I saw included people enjoying an outdoor picnic, several photos depicting the change in daylight saving time, and ornaments – lots and lots of Christmas ornaments.

People

Guess what I saw in this one? Yep – people. I saw people on a cruise, people on bikes and people in shoes. I even saw one of a marriage proposal. I saw lots of people dressed as Santa. I see Santa on a laptop, Santa on a roof, and Santa holding up an iPhone. I did see one interesting picture that portrayed a couple enjoying a glass of wine in front of a fire.

Plants and Flowers

Plants and Flowers are a collection of pictures that you can pick from when you want to portray a color theme or Earth Day. Flowers do come in all sorts of colors – yellow, red, blue and purple. Of course, when it comes time to think our carbon footprint, this is the place to go to find photos that depict recycling and planting trees.

Culture and Religion

Religion can be controversial. Then again, so can art – and that’s never stopped Adobe before. When I clicked on this one, I suppose I expected nothing more than to see every photo carry some sort of holiday theme – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. There were even a few Wiccan photos. I did see one in celebration of Veterans Day. I suppose holidays are a cultural thing.

Science

I suppose it comes to science, it should come as no surprise that most of the pictures depicted something in the medical field. That wasn’t always the case. I did find a photo that showed a few people standing in ice skates. There was the silhouette of the world Atlas. I saw someone working on a laptop in a car – I suppose that counts as nonmedical, right?

Social Issues

Social Issues – Adobe really does come up with some of the most interesting categories, and this one is no exception. I several different portrayals of the blind lady who’s holding up a weight scale – a common motif in law. Several interesting pictures addressed racial issues. There was one where someone was holding up a sign that said “immigrant” on it. The word “immigrant” was crossed out in the word “human” was written in its place. Social issues can pull at the heart strings.

Sports

The general motif is sports and fitness. Here you can expect to find pictures of people doing yoga, boxing and weightlifting. I saw a picture that had every silhouette of playing balls that are used in sports. There were lots of runners, a few football ones, and an archery photo.

Technology

I want to say that every photo and technology should have a computer integrated into it somehow – but I didn’t find that here. Computers were rampant – don’t get me wrong. But I also saw someone playing guitar, someone drawing what a network is on a chalkboard and two people sitting on the couch. One person was happily on his phone while the other one had his head in his hands – because he didn’t have a phone. I suppose it depicts that if you don’t have a phone, you’re missing out.

Transport

Transport depicts the ability to get from point A to point B it – whether you use a plane, car or – a tall ship? This is all about things that keep us moving – from cars and trucks to tires and wheels. Do you need a picture of a car accident, a traffic jam, or several cars parked in a parking lot? This is where you find them.

Travel

What’s the difference between transport and travel? Well, travel takes you beyond the borders of the country. Although I suppose you could find some of this stuff under culture and religion, some of it fits better in this category. From motifs from India, passports and massive metropolitan areas, if you’re going somewhere and you took pictures, this is where you’d find them.

Well, there you have it – that was a lot. However, I feel like I barely touched on the real meat of what each of these categories can offer you. Adobe Stock, after all, has a library of over 40 million pictures. There’s no way I can describe each and every one of them in a single article. To find more out for yourself, head on over there and see what Adobe Stock can do for you.