KODAKovic Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 (edited) Hi all, today i was considering we active forum contributors (regular plus some newbie) barely arrive at 500,000 pictures alltogether. What about the others? I mean, in your opinion how is Alamy going for the other 109 millions pictures of contributors never writing in forum threads? Are they just reading tricks and secrets of seniors and then use them for their own or may be they left pictures alone since years? Just wondering what you think. We often say we have to compete with 110 millions pictures then re-keyword and boring activities; are we sure this is the "right" number we have to compete with? Edited November 9, 2017 by KODAKovic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I would imagine that a large amount of the Alamy collection is made up from other agency collections and the contributors to those agencies would have little reason to look at the Alamy forum....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelshots Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Some large agencies with100,000 images plus are on Alamy and don't write anything and possibly 25 million images never sell and their owners are not really interested enough. Would be interesting to know the statistics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Yarvin Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I have suggested this forum to photographers I know that don't fit the mold; of a certain age, shooting travel or journalism and taking sides in various industry debates and they aren't interested. Nobody is stealing secrets - there are no secrets - it's just that like the rest of humanity, we congregate by age, background and interests. 2 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KODAKovic Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 I also believe that many see other successfully portfolios to understand what sells. i'd create something like "black friday" for photography ... Alamy listen here.. for Black friday every ph who has more than 150 positive reviews on this forum will be rewarded with one-day 100% royalties (i'm only at 30). Wouldn't it be a gift for many helping directly or in-directly here ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 18 minutes ago, KODAKovic said: every ph who has more than 150 positive reviews on this forum will be rewarded with one-day 100% royalties (i'm only at 30). Wouldn't it be a gift for many helping directly or in-directly here ? Can't argue with that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelshots Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 (edited) deleted Edited November 9, 2017 by Travelshots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windmillskies Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Long way to go on the positive reviews front, but can't argue against 100% royalties. Even with my drop in the ocean sized portfolio I get regular zooms and sales. What reading others posts has done is made me really think about the image and the key wording behind it-so yes there's an element of learning from others mistakes, but isn't that what forums are for as well? martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 This is an interesting question. I often wonder how the tens of thousands of contributors whom we never hear from are doing. Are they all getting fat and rich? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 26 minutes ago, geogphotos said: I think the trouble is that a public forum is neither one thing or another. It's not a place for serious business discussion, important topics are off limits, and although some of us clearly value it, many people do not want to spend their time chattering about nothing much in particular. Few of the most successful Alamy photographers can be bothered - why would they want to share their success. And a lot of those 60,000 individual contributors are not active. Right, there are a lot of reasons why relatively few contributors participate in the forums. As a result, I wonder how accurate a picture we are really getting of how the average Alamy contributor is actually thinking and doing. I don't do Twitter, but I wonder if the Alamy Twitter feed gives a better, or at least different, perspective. The odd time that I check it out, I notice that the tone and content of the tweets are quite different from forum posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 17 minutes ago, geogphotos said: You mean from Alamy? Yes always more friendly and inclusive on Twitter, whereas here it is more terse and censorial? To me Alamy has always been a flirt, always on the look-out for the next conquest, and a bit bored with the past ones who just prove to be rather irritating disappointments. Mentioning the Alamy Twitter feed was a bit dumb of me. It is totally one-sided. However, the contributor comments on the Alamy blog posts that the tweets often link to give a little more insight. Guess we'll never really know how things are going -- financially and otherwise -- with the legions of mum contributors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famousbelgian Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Before I joined in 2010 I was blissfully unaware of Alamy. Just today, I happened to meet a photographer who has an enormous archive of potentially valuable aviation images and he was blissfully unaware of Alamy. No doubt, in ten years time, there will still be people blissfully unaware of Alamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Lewis Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I have been wondering about all of the same things myself as Alamy, in my estimation, is the premier editorial stock house. First off, Alamy does not make it easy to find this Forum. It is difficult to find the link on the homepage or on the Dashboard. It is very easy to overlook, so, I imagine that is part of the equation. Second, is time management for may people. A lot of people just don't have the time for Forum browsing. I'm retired, I do. :-) I agree with @geogphotos that this Forum is a good resource for "newbies" to Alamy and stock photography, no, to editorial stock photography, in general. I imagine many just don't see the value in contributing. That 60,000 photographers touted is a huge number, but I would like to know how may contributors have over 1,000 or 5,000 images posted. That would be interesting to me. Rick 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 (edited) 14 hours ago, geogphotos said: Think I just tipped you into the 2000 plus points - normally don't do them. Now 2001. A good Odyssean number. Edited November 10, 2017 by spacecadet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Convery Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 (edited) I used to get the top performer emails, but I was only averaging $500 gross a month so I'm not sure how accurate they were. When you look at how well Wim & Doc do in the monthly reports I'm a long way down. Years ago Alamy released a video of a contributors meeting, and the top 10 were earning over $100,000 a year each. Edited November 10, 2017 by Robert Convery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I'll post occasionally.... but after working on photography / videography all day it's nice to look at non work stuff. I try not to frequent forums of any type while I'm working.... I'm trying to become less distracted.... there are so many ways to fail at this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, spacecadet said: Now 2001. A good Odyssean number. Thanks. I thought that HAL must have done it. Edited November 10, 2017 by John Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panthera tigris Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 As someone who also runs a non-profit forum, I thinks its simply a few people like forums and a lot of people don't. Just because we do engage, we should never assume that others are right or wrong for not engaging or that everyone should be like us. By far the majority of people do not like forums of any kind IMHO. Baffles me as well but IMHO its as simple, as that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Lewis Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 On 11/13/2017 at 08:28, Panthera tigris said: As someone who also runs a non-profit forum, I thinks its simply a few people like forums and a lot of people don't. Just because we do engage, we should never assume that others are right or wrong for not engaging or that everyone should be like us. By far the majority of people do not like forums of any kind IMHO. Baffles me as well but IMHO its as simple, as that. I totally agree with this. I really like the Alamy Forum people though, because, for the most part, everyone is very supportive and usually give positive feedback, honest assessment without being snarky, and good advice. I've really only been on one other forum that I enjoyed and that was a Fuji forum. I don't have much to offer here due to my lack of experience in editorial stock but I really enjoy the atmosphere. I'm assuming that many others, having had bad experiences with other forums, just assume this is the same. It is not, but it is their choice. Rick 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian58 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Haha! I doubt any member is getting fat and rich nowadays in this stock business, well off perhaps but not rich! most are probably on the Dole! hahaha! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post cksisson Posted December 15, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) I don't post very often here in the forums, but I'm actively working on my Alamy files. I'm working hard to get all my past stuff edited along with shooting new stuff. So far, I'm pleased with my Alamy sales, though my family thinks I'm wasting my time. The "1 sale per month for every 1,000 files uploaded" observation has been true in my case, with some months exceeding that. I don't heavily curate my work as many of you do, and I thought being in the U.S., the South no less, would hurt my sales, but every month I'm seeing improvement. I am a long way from making a living doing this, but it repays the expenses and time spent shooting things I would have shot anyway. I mostly come to the forums when I'm having a problem. Today the (uploads not appearing in AIM) issue is driving me crazy. But yes, some of us are just quieter. Everyone here seems to know one another so well, it's often hard for a newcomer to find a way to fit in. But I've learned a lot from you guys, and this forum has helped tremendously with what I consider to be a worthwhile endeavor. Sure, I wish we made more and miss the old days when sales were higher, but I'm all in on Alamy, so I guess I'll be around until the turn the lights out. For me, there's still a pride factor and an immense loyalty to Alamy that some may call naive, but it makes me happy. As I struggle with depression often, anything that makes me happy is a win. Edited December 16, 2020 by cksisson Typo 10 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ramsay Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 On 09/11/2017 at 17:37, John Mitchell said: This is an interesting question. I often wonder how the tens of thousands of contributors whom we never hear from are doing. Are they all getting fat and rich? One of these, certainly Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 13 hours ago, cksisson said: The "1 sale per month for every file uploaded" observation has been true in my case, with some months exceeding that. ?? Isn't an average return on Alamy reckoned to be about 1 sale per month per 1,000 images uploaded? Are you talking Microstock sales? Or have I misunderstood? Mark 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanderingemu Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, cksisson said: I mostly come to the forums when I'm having a problem. Today the (uploads not appearing in AIM) issue is driving me crazy. But yes, some of us are just quieter. Everyone here seems to know one another so well, it's often hard for a newcomer to find a way to fit in. But I've learned a lot from you guys, and this forum has helped tremendously with what I consider to be a worthwhile endeavor. Anyways you would suggest to make it easier to integrate and more welcoming? I know some of us have some edges, i feel this year has turned me in a young grumpy old man some days, but i think we all gain from getting various perspective. Edited December 16, 2020 by meanderingemu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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