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Lets say you have a set of images illustrating the process of making a cup of tea.

 

How would / should you connect the images?

 

Photoshop into one image, and upload that?  Upload individually, but mark it as series in description, with the Alamy ref number of first image onto all the other images?

 

Any other method?

 

Simon

 

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I have previously done this by photoshopping into 1 image - I remember some time ago that Alamy asked for series images of this type, it may have been an old blog post (very old).

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Good question.  I just shot a series of images of a horse vet treating our horse with a novel "nanoflex" technology - the first use in Canada (other than clinical trials).  Maybe a series number in the caption?

 

After spending thousands on the horse for his self-inflicted injury, I figured I should get at least a picture or two (if not a licence or two).

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The selling of a series on Alamy has always interested me.

 

I once shot a series of evening landings for an airport book: Of one airliner repeating across the frame (not as a multiple exposure but typically 5 frames from bottom right to top left - the first in the distance being sharp and the closer ones almost overhead a little blurred). In the caption I put, " Fourth of a sequence of 5 consecutive images, a jet airliner lands over  .. "  and in the description, I cross-referenced all the preceding and subsequent files names.

 

I like the idea of merging the series into one Photoshop image but the buyer would be tied to that layout. Needless to say mine haven't sold as a series to date. 

 

Rgds,

Richard. 

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Haven't done that sort of thing but I would include 'series, sequence,' etc in the keywords / caption then when they are live add the other alamy reference numbers to the description so the buyer can see all the images in the sequence at native size and do with as he will.

 

Edit: pretty much as Richard has said above only I missed it

 

Have you checked on AoA whether any searches have been done for this sort of thing?

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As a photo buyer, I generally appreciate anything that makes my job easier. Tracking down previous and subsequent (or otherwise related) images using image numbers can be a pain in the neck, so (as a contributor) if I don't have too many images in the series, I will generally try to combine them into one image. Assuming there's a bit of space around the subject in each image, the photo buyer should have some freedom to rearrange them. A word of caution, though: I used to leave a border around each image, but I actually had one such image rejected by QC for having "borders or film rebate"! It's interesting to see the old post Callie dug up, which offers up photos with internal borders as suggestions for uploads. Given the punitive policy toward QC failures, though, I'm not inclined to take any chances, so now I fit my serial images together without any borders.

 

If you are not inclined to combine images, I would definitely recommend indicating in the caption that each image is part of a series (e.g., "#1 of 5 in a series") and listing the all the other image numbers in the description. The option at Alamy of viewing more photos from any given contributor makes this less important than at other agencies, but it's always worth bearing in mind that anything you can do to make the buyer's job easier can help in promoting your own photos over the competition.

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Thank you for this topic. I recently uploaded a series of ten images that show a mother polar bear stalking and killing a seal for her cubs and then carrying it off where they all ate. I think I need to do some more keywording. When I search "polar bear catching seal" I get 6 images (by clicking the more button) and then I only get the other 4 when I search for "polar bear eating". I tried polar bear catching and eating seal but, interestingly, none of my images come up. Work to do on this!!! I was trying to only keyword with what was actually going on in each image but I need to tie them together.

 

Paulette

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Thank you for this topic. I recently uploaded a series of ten images that show a mother polar bear stalking and killing a seal for her cubs and then carrying it off where they all ate. I think I need to do some more keywording. When I search "polar bear catching seal" I get 6 images (by clicking the more button) and then I only get the other 4 when I search for "polar bear eating". I tried polar bear catching and eating seal but, interestingly, none of my images come up. Work to do on this!!! I was trying to only keyword with what was actually going on in each image but I need to tie them together.

 

Paulette

 

 

Put a unique 'made up' keyword in the Essential field, such as 'pbesequence', then add a note in the description field instructing the viewer to click on that keyword.

You should then get just those images showing.  It has to go in the essential field as only these keywords are visible to the buyer.

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actually it was a very old post from October 2007 - http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2007/10/30/2386.aspx

not sure if the images on the lightbox still work, they won't load for me.

Hopefully if this is out of date info Alamy will let us know here.

The image loads for me. The post is official advice from Alamy and hasn't been removed or, it seems, updated, so I would take it as current best practice.

I do like Vincent's idea above though, especially as series like this in one image will not look great, or even recognisable, as a thumbnail. (Though, on the plus side, that might mean they get more zooms, just to ckeck out what they are).

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I have previously done this by photoshopping into 1 image - I remember some time ago that Alamy asked for series images of this type, it may have been an old blog post (very old).

If you photoshop several images into a single image don't you run the risk they'll be licensed as a single image?

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 .. don't you run the risk they'll be licensed as a single image?

 

Good point - and I'd imagine it wouldn't command an extra fee for its complexity or context either. All that work for just $15!

 

Rgds,

Richard.

 

Like all things, this is a balance.  Yes, you only get one license but you may get a sale that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise.  I know of at least one prominent photographer and former active forum member that uploaded quite a few series as composite images and claimed to sell them often.  There is nothing to prevent you from upload the individual images and a composite.  Tie the images together with keywords, or as suggested put some connecting keyword in the essential field, though I don't think it really needs to be in essential.  I often name my images CWLUP- so that I can find them when they get snagged; for example I would add CWLUP-Vegetables.

 

The Alamy mantra is truer than you might think, "anything can sell". Series in a group composite will if the series is what the buyer is looking for.  If the buyer needs larger images they can by them separately. One buyer scenario might be, one large image for a two page spread and one composite to show the series in smaller placements.  It would make life easier for a buyer, and that's always a good thing. 

 

To maximize your profit you have to sell things first.  If the series is very unique it might not make sense to let the buyer off easily.  On the other hand, not many buyers these day is going to pay for 5 to 10 images for a single story.    

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Tie the images together with keywords, or as suggested put some connecting keyword in the essential field, though I don't think it really needs to be in essential.

It has to be in the essential field if you want potential buyers to click on it in order to find the other related images, as only the essential field is visible to them. Of course, if it's only for your own use then any any field will do.
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Tie the images together with keywords, or as suggested put some connecting keyword in the essential field, though I don't think it really needs to be in essential.

It has to be in the essential field if you want potential buyers to click on it in order to find the other related images, as only the essential field is visible to them. Of course, if it's only for your own use then any any field will do.

It shows that I haven't been keeping up with all of the changes to the Alamy interface. In the past, just about everything was visible to people searching. I sort of liked it like that but I can see the benefits of doing it the current way. For one thing, it keeps all of you from knowing all of my keywording "secrets" :-)

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My composite series images have generally sold as multiple uses, with a full price initial sale and half-price reuses (in the same publication). As Vincent says, it's a balancing act. Would the images have sold at all if I had left them separate? We'll never know.

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