KateR

I just logged on to also ask whether anyone has found shooting to the "what should i shoot" list (as against looking for zero result queries in AoA), because when i randomly checked a couple of the terms they had plenty of decent quality existing results! For example, El Rey Ruins is on the list currently, as is St James Hotel and Club. Both perfectly well covered when you do a normal search. So, is there any point at all in looking at that list?!

Ah, I wonder then whether "publication" would include putting the images on websites, social media etc, in which case for someone looking to use them as part of his art / portfolio, they would be next to useless. Maybe that's what he meant and the subtleties got lost in translation. He did definitely talk about a case in which someone in a crowd recognised themselves in an image used online, and successfully sued. Sorry, my inaccuracy

I think we can let them off, if they are German. I learned at a Street Photography festival recently, that in Germany their privacy laws actually do forbid taking identifiable photos of others without their permission, even in the most public of public spaces. The guy saying so was a German street photographer (masochism or what), so I guess he'd likely be correct. (Totally off topic but I was really surprised by that, maybe everyone else knows, but worth bearing in mind if you're travelling in Germany!!)

I did exactly that because my neck and shoulders are shot to hell from an old whiplash injury. I love my Fujis (an X Pro and a teency X-A2 i almost bought as a toy and now end up using most of the time) but you're so right about the lenses. I spend a LOT of time faffing between the 18mm , 35mm and the 55-200. Having said that, as i'd ground to a halt with taking my big old Canon setup out with me almost ever, I am still getting 100% more shots than I would have with a camera left at home in the cupboard

Ok thanks - I'm sure the FT are doing things properly, so I'll keep an eye out for the next few months!

Hi folks An image of mine appeared in the online edition of the FT a couple of days back. (The link is here, but it's firewalled so may not work, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to insert a screenshot here! https://www.ft.com/content/ace1dbe0-7ece-11e8-8e67-1e1a0846c475 ) The image in question has been licensed quite a few times, but never for anything saying "newspaper". One license says "single company multiple use, editorial only" but doesn't say who the company was. So, with the vagueness of the license detail, how can I know whether this usage was legitimate or not? Is it reasonable to report it to Alamy as a possible infringement and ask them to confirm whether they have a sale logged to the FT? Thanks, Kate

Firmly agree with this! The vast majority of what I put on Alamy is exclusive, because I think they are the agency coming closest to protecting reasonable prices - moreso with the optouts of the cheapie schemes. More revenue for us is also more revenue for Alamy, and if a client wants a particular image and it's not available elsewhere, I'm quite sure they'll be able to find the additional few quid

Right, i've opted out of the newspaper scheme, but apparently can't deal with the Distribution bit until next April. Annoying - arguably i should have read some small print more carefully, but it doesn't mean much until you see the numbers in practise....

Yes this is exactly what i was getting at, really. I also don't subscribe to "every little helps" - it doesn't, quite honestly, in the face of current living expenses, it helps the buyer a very great deal more than it helps us! Especially when the image in question is actually unique on Alamy (it is - i went out and shot it specifically to fill a stock gap) and wouldn't be likely to even be accepted on those "other" cheapo sites because it's not in their style. I also won't put my images with the s***stocks of this world for the same reason. I only have a small portfolio and i'd be the first to admit they're not worldbeatingly good, but that isn't the point - I don't want to feed the race to the bottom. OK so opting out of the "newspaper scheme" and "distributor sales" is the best way to knock this on the head - that's fine by me. I've edited the original post to take the prices out, although i don't really understand what the issue is since the buyers seem to have all the clout anyway - is the problem that Buyer B sees the stupidly low numbers that Buyer A got and insists on it also?

I've just had two sales drop in for the end of last month, with usage as follows: First one: Country: United Kingdom Usage: Editorial Media: Newspaper - national Print run: up to 2 million Placement: Inside and online Image Size: 1/4 page Start: 01 May 2018 End: 02 May 2018 Any placement in paper and online. One use in a single editorial article used within the print and digital versions of a single publication. Digital usage includes archive rights for the lifetime of the article. Second one: Country: United Kingdom Usage: Editorial Media: Newspaper - national Print run: up to 2 million Placement: Inside and online Image Size: 1/4 page Start: 01 May 2018 End: 02 May 2018 Any placement in paper and online. One use in a single editorial article used within the print and digital versions of a single publication. Digital usage includes archive rights for the lifetime of the article. Sale value (before comms!!) is a very small number indeed. I have all my images set as rights managed and exclude personal use, so as to try and avoid the "peanuts" sales, and apart from a couple of online only sales this is by far the lowest number i've seen come up. Another sale for what looks like the same purposes, but for Switzerland, came through at approximately ten times the amount last month. So first question: is there any logic to these prices., or do Alamy just generate random numbers on the fly?! And second question, is there any way of setting a minimum price for each image?

Presentation, for a magnificent $13 (before all the deductions. I must start a thread on trying to understand the "My Account" tab at some point, i seem to be paying commission to half the world on some shots ) Still, taken within 1/4 mile of my flat, so that's nice.

Thankyou Wim, very helpful thoughts. I've not got to grips at all with the Pseudonym idea (strategically i mean, i know what it is but just hadn't worked out if / how it could help!) In answer to your first question, i do genuinely think there is a chance that a pic of the FCA headquarters being built might be needed to illustrate a story at some point in the next year or so. It's the "headline act" of a major new post-Olympic regeneration in London, so it's more about that that people wanting to illustrate the FCA as an organisation. I struggle a bit with the quantity vs quality thing. All the images you commented on, except one, were taken on "once in a lifetime" type trips. If i only posted shots of that quality i'd probably be dead before my port hit 100, and I keep being told volume is key...and lots of the contributors here have plenty of "normal" pics in their ports (ie, technically correct, but not obviously of massive interest or anything you'd want to hang on your wall!). So what I'm thinking is, I'll move those shots which are unexciting but quite niche - often they are shots of things locally that i've taken to fill gaps on AoA - into a new Pseudo, and keep the "better" shots on the Pseudo i already use. Unless there's a reason to do it the other way around?! Starting to rock slightly here, the more i think about this the more it starts to feel like figuring out SEO for my other business. Which feels like a neverending road to insanity whenever i engage with it I'm sorry to be clueless but you've lost me a little on the last part - what is stemming? How should I check for it in AoA? thanks again

Do you think you're sales and zooms are of your best images? Or of your mediocre or worst images? Have you had lots of views of subjects that have not been zoomed? Are your images as good as the ones that did get zooms and sales? It's three shots that have sold, mainly. One is (slightly depressingly, from a "how do i do more of that" POV) an image I alone (or almost alone, give or take a handful of neighbours) could have taken, because the height of my balcony gives me a unique view over that particular area. It's not a bad shot, though. The others, both of the same subject, were total "grab shots" done in passing while I was travelling and which I nearly deleted from my camera. Then it occurred to me that they could usefully be used to illustrate something, and I don't think there's much on the same subject available on Alamy. They are far from great shots, though. The views / zooms I'm less sure of. I get LOTS of views for keywords which, although they need to be on the shots they are on, aren't ever going to be the "archetype" for that shot. They'd only lead to a sale if a user was searching for them combined with other keywords. For example H35KJT, which is the new Financial Conduct Authority HQ being built near me. The keyword "FCA" has to be on it, but most people searching "FCA" are looking for the current HQ with the signage on it, i'd have thought. However if for some reason someone did want the *new* place, they'd probably search "FCA" + "stratford" or "international quarter" or "olympic park". Still, i have to have "FCA" on it. Consequently my CTR has gone way down from where it was 6 months ago. Is there a cure for this?!

You seem to be doing pretty well sales wise. My fancy studio lighting is basically a window, some reflectors, and one off camera strobe. A great place to start is the http://strobist.blogspot.com Your "studio" shots look great to me, especially the food ones which my few dabblings with have been terrible. Maybe it's the styling, I just don't have the eye for arranging things nicely?! I don't know.

I'm just past my first year, too. Alessandra you have done much better than I at building up your portfolio! I think I spend too much time second guessing what to take pictures of...I've beaten AoA to death for gaps in my local area, but still struggle for volume because I've never really mastered indoor / studio lighting. Anyway my stats are: Images online: Just under 200, a few just waiting for update Sales: $331 gross, 4 sales. One of the sales accounted for $200 of that, but it was my first one so very exciting. All been downhill since then