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3000 images milestone :)


Mirco Vacca

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Interesting briefly reading this thread!

 

I for one am not interested in picture numbers on Alamy - that said I still intend to grow the collection on here, but the numbers that interest me are the number of sales!

 

Why have 1000s of images all very similar - or is the 'kick' getting them past QC? 

 

As someone who provides the 'end users' with images I would not dream of sending 100 images where the vast majority are almost the same; imagine the face of the picture editor.

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Let's not make this topic purely about me or the type of wildlife images I upload. Non-birders for instance will find a sequence of about 18 images of a bird carefully preening its feathers probably boring regardless.  Period.

 

A potential buyer then again might be looking for a specific pose or for example a bird with wings spread and facing the camera.  I don't care too much about all of my pictures that might be discarded because they do not exactly match what a client is looking for, I care about the sale I might or might not make. As long as the client is looking at my images, that's good.

 

That some buyers might be put off by seeing lots of similar images grouped together (how? That would imply them scrutinize only my images, that's already one successful hurdle in the eliminating the competion game taken ;) ), maybe that's the case, but how can you be sure? Choice is good here I'd say. It could also make the contributor stand out as a capable wild-life photographer, standing out from those who made some shots once of that cute robin on the bird feeder, but have a very different porfolio otherwise.

 

The most common objection read here so far seems to be that 'similar stuff hurts you CTR'

I'd say: similar stuff to your own images uploaded by others and showing up higher in the search results THAT hurts your CTR much more. I rather have them look at 120 images on page 6 where 15 are mine, than only have one hidden at the bottom of page 2 among myriads of similar shots.

 

Sure everyone agrees that having a very high CTR helps tremendously in becoming visible. But thinking that as a newbie simply uploading a couple of images of any species and then expect to be cornering the market AND at the same time also seeing your CTR rise to astronomically heights..... is imho also a fallacy. Without your pics being noted in the first place, your CTR will remain very low.

 

Anyone else feel like chiming in? Maybe someone also selling wildlife stock images?

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Ger, I apologize for remarking on your images. It has apparently made you uncomfortable. I did it because I see some wonderful, wonderful images in your portfolio and I think you are hurting yourself by uploading the ones that are inferior (many in bad light). I wish you good fortune.

 

Paulette

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Ger,

 

I also find you having great images. I would love to have such wildlife images. Everybody is trying to help you it looks like.

 

Actually partialy it makes also sense what you say. Somebody looking for a dog facing up and you have only the one that faces left and you loose the sale to somebody else that has the right dog image. I understand very well your thinking. It is a dilemma.

 

Mirco

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Ger, I apologize for remarking on your images. It has apparently made you uncomfortable. I did it because I see some wonderful, wonderful images in your portfolio and I think you are hurting yourself by uploading the ones that are inferior (many in bad light). I wish you good fortune.


Paulette


Ha, ha, not offended at all, Paulette. Actually you will be hard put to find any images of me that are taken in bad light, I only go out shooting when it's very sunny weather. (-;



Ger,


I also find you having great images. I would love to have such wildlife images. Everybody is trying to help you it looks like.


Actually partialy it makes also sense what you say. Somebody looking for a dog facing up and you have only the one that faces left and you loose the sale to somebody else that has the right dog image. I understand very well your thinking. It is a dilemma.


Mirco

Yes of course, I appreciate everyone's comments, I'm basically here to learn and value anyone's input. That said, some people seem very adamant that their own system is best (they got the CTR to prove it) but fail to understand that just uploading a very limited number of images and hoping for the best is also hardly likely to boost your CTR any time soon.

It is a tricky dilemma for sure.

Those people that seem to think I'm simply a one trick-pony, might care to check out my flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerbosma/ (-;


Thanks for the input everyone!
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Ger, I meant the way the light falls on the subject. You have some great shots with the detail showing in feathers and fur and a catch light in the eyes. I think you have the ability to do wonderful work. I'm going to shut up now.

 

Paulette

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I always go back to the words of the master when I find myself getting too shutter-happy.  HCB would probably not have done very well on Alamy, but his advice seems even more relevant in the digital age:

 

"We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole." - Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Ger Bosma: "I'm focusing on several key-species that I have tons of high-quality material like foxes, buzzards, storks, godwits etc, but there the competition is of course tougher... impressed by some of the excellent stuff available here on Alamy!"

 

 

Just wondering!

Why are you submitting your high-quality material to a generalist agency and not to a wildlife specialist like FotoNatura, RSPB, etc. which have less competition (in-house) and offer much higher prices? Remember that serious specialist agencies will require exclusivity. Aren't you "burning your bridges" now, because you can't submit the same imagery (or sister images) - which you already placed here - to the specialists.

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

Thanks for the tip, Philippe

 

Actually, I've got hundreds and hundreds of images of foxes and godwits and storks, believe it or not, only a small fraction here on Alamy.

I also use Alamy as a showcase for material, redirecting potential customers there as I haven't come around to creating a very extensive own website yet

But obviously I'm open to exploring other venues for selling my wildlife images.

 

The fotonatura application procedure sounds very cumbersome and I couldn't find much about rates.

Anyone else has experience selling wildlife stock to specified agencies?

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  • 7 months later...

Hi all, this is my first post here and I'm quite new to Alamy and my question/s to Paul and others after seeing some of your work as examples are, what advice can you give me regarding posting images from Namibia (I have a good variety) is concerned on Alamy? I guess what I try to work out is, if images from my region will sell on Alamy? Lastly, the thing that bothers me is that you need model releases even for people in your shot from a distance or from strangers that you photograph in say other towns and cities. What is the norm? Do you drive around with a pack of releases and ask everyone to sign after you had to convince them first as to why they should sign your form?

 

Thank you.

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Hi all, this is my first post here and I'm quite new to Alamy and my question/s to Paul and others after seeing some of your work as examples are, what advice can you give me regarding posting images from Namibia (I have a good variety) is concerned on Alamy? I guess what I try to work out is, if images from my region will sell on Alamy? Lastly, the thing that bothers me is that you need model releases even for people in your shot from a distance or from strangers that you photograph in say other towns and cities. What is the norm? Do you drive around with a pack of releases and ask everyone to sign after you had to convince them first as to why they should sign your form?

 

Thank you.

 

Hi Johan...

 

One thought for you, before your Alamy portfolio gets much bigger. Maybe rethink your captions: ie forget about "this makes an interesting photo" and "this great lighting" and concentrate on more factual wording. Some captions don't mention location at all; some don't even mention Africa. Terrific pics...

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