Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Hi everyone, a quick question from a newby here. I shoot color exclusively but I do sometimes convert images to B&W that will simply work better (for me anyway) in B&W. Mostly high contrast images or with "busy" skies. Is it worthwhile uploading both versions of the image? Does B&W actually sell? Thanks! Happy shooting, Rudi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The general consensus is that b&w images don't do well on Alamy. However, I've had two b&w images license recently, one for presentation use and one for personal use. Both were architectural shots. I'll sometimes post a b&w version along with the original colour one if I think an image looks particularly good in b&w. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 7 minutes ago, John Mitchell said: The general consensus is that b&w images don't do well on Alamy. However, I've had two b&w images license recently, one for presentation use and one for personal use. Both were architectural shots. I'll sometimes post a b&w version along with the original colour one if I think an image looks particularly good in b&w. Fantastic, thanks for the reply and advice John. B&W does work well for architecture, thanks, will post the odd one that I like or think might be liked, if it sells fine if not it is not a loss. Thanks again for your time, Rudi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Estall Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The usual advice is to upload both the B&W and the colour versions. After all, you presumably have done all the dust & sweet-wrapper removal as well as the caption, so why not double your chances? They won't necessarily appear side-by-side on a search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 33 minutes ago, Robert M Estall said: The usual advice is to upload both the B&W and the colour versions. After all, you presumably have done all the dust & sweet-wrapper removal as well as the caption, so why not double your chances? They won't necessarily appear side-by-side on a search You have a good point Robert, might as well upload it since the hard work is done! Thanks, Rudi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starsphinx Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 I admit I have no experience of the market at Alamy but I would guess black and white will be something that comes in and out of fashion - some young designer will "discover" how effective and different it is in certain situations and go for it - others will be impressed and copy for a while - then colour will come back in - then when the first young designer is no longer young you will get another one "discover" it all over again. It would only make sense to put both versions up - in case yours is the image that young designer discovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 1 minute ago, Starsphinx said: I admit I have no experience of the market at Alamy but I would guess black and white will be something that comes in and out of fashion - some young designer will "discover" how effective and different it is in certain situations and go for it - others will be impressed and copy for a while - then colour will come back in - then when the first young designer is no longer you will get another one "discover" it all over again. It would only make sense to put both versions up - in case yours is the image that young designer discovers. That sounds a bit like me, every now and then I "discover" B&W again.... I have done quite a bit of street photography (mostly people/faces that show emotion) that I ended up converting to B&W, but I have no model releases for those... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Estall Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Back in Art School it was pretty well all B&W and we got experienced in printing. That was great! Then when I started collecting and selling stock photos, I kept hearing publishers saying "it's only B&W, that'll be half price won't it?" Well, of course, everything about B&W was far more expensive so I took exception to this idea and for a long time would have nothing to do with B&W. I'm not too sure about the in/out fashion aspect to B&W but as long as the price isn't discounted, I'm OK with it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Someone zoomed another of my b&w images yesterday, architecture shot again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 2 hours ago, Robert M Estall said: Back in Art School it was pretty well all B&W and we got experienced in printing. That was great! Then when I started collecting and selling stock photos, I kept hearing publishers saying "it's only B&W, that'll be half price won't it?" Well, of course, everything about B&W was far more expensive so I took exception to this idea and for a long time would have nothing to do with B&W. I'm not too sure about the in/out fashion aspect to B&W but as long as the price isn't discounted, I'm OK with it now. I agree, takes just as much work, if not more, to prepare a B&W image, no discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudix Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 13 minutes ago, John Mitchell said: Someone zoomed another of my b&w images yesterday, architecture shot again. I will put some B&W images into my upload queue, have spent the last 4 days selecting images and uploading/keywording, hard work but fun as I see images I have forgotten about and I have discovered a few hidden jewels I never noticed because they were hidden in large batches from shoots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertSnapper Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 I've quite a few black & white photographs here, particularly some reportage/documentary type images. Yet to have any licenced here (done very well elsewhere tho). As already mentioned, upload both b/w and colour versions. And maybe use different supertags for each image ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starsphinx Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Maybe worth putting that the image is available in both formats in the extra information bit if that is allowed - if the photos do not appear next to each other in the results then it might be useful for anyone zooming one to know it has a twin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nacke Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The only time I upload B & W's is if I only shot it on B & W film, ah the good old days, or if there is some other compelling reason to convert it to B & W. My older B & W's, Tri-X, have done OK. I've also done some Duo-Tones at the request of clients, but never uploaded one to Alamy. I would think that the only reason to upload both an original and a B & W conversion would be if you could do something really exceptional in the process of converting the image to B & W. Just my opinion. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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