What we can say for sure is that the editor of the article chose very generic science-y photos.

Personally I don't think the activities in photos are staged: taking the samples out of the oven and the mixing of the etching acid are real steps they need to take, just not very interesting scientifically speaking.

Personally I suspect some of the activities are "staged", because it would be weird to have a camera at that angle otherwise, but representative of things that actually occur.

I'm not really sure anything done in the average lab makes for a great picture tbh.

But look at their faces, they're having a gas.

Having been the subject of a number of photos for the local paper when I was a nerdy high-achieving high school student, awkwardly posed “candid” shots are kind of par for the game.