Brizbee Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hello folks. So that's me been uploading on Alamy for a year now and, by and large, I don't think I've done too bad. I've uploaded 880 images, had just under 2300 views, got 20 zooms and made two sales. And I have to admit it's a lot better than I was ever expecting. Now, I read the forum comments quite regularly and try to apply any advice given to my own images, especially in my captioning and keywording, but I thought I'd take the plunge and put my own portfolio up for review to see if there is anything else I can do to push on. https://www.alamy.com/portfolio/brianhird Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Beautiful portfolio, Brian. It's really irksome when one can't find anything to criticise 😉. You are in a competitive genre but you have every right to be successful, as far as I can see. Maybe a flower specialist may find some further advice to offer, but it all looks good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Keast Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hello Brian good images in your portfolio two sales as well just keep adding more images Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 Joseph, John, thanks for your feedback. Good to know I'm on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 I agree you have a way with flowers and plants. Lovely. The only thing I might suggest is for you to take a vertical along with your usual horizontal. I might take 3. One horizontal, one vertical, one zoomed out a touch and offset to allow room for copy space on one side, or on the verticals, above or below. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blinking Eye Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 Envious of the quality and quantity, congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 Agree with others some very nice shots and well captioned. Also agree with Betty that a few vertical format would not come amiss. However one thing appears to be missing, and I didn't look at every photo, but I couldn't find any people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 19 hours ago, Betty LaRue said: I agree you have a way with flowers and plants. Lovely. The only thing I might suggest is for you to take a vertical along with your usual horizontal. I might take 3. One horizontal, one vertical, one zoomed out a touch and offset to allow room for copy space on one side, or on the verticals, above or below. Betty Hi Betty, thanks for your reply. I agree that I need to start taking more vertical and offset images and I've been trying to do that this year. In fact my two latest zooms were of offset images with the subject at one side of the frame and an out of focus area on the other. Verticals I find a bit more of a struggle to get right though. Most I take seem to come out squint even though they looked ok through the viewfinder. My brain must be set at a weird angle or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 9 hours ago, Bryan said: Agree with others some very nice shots and well captioned. Also agree with Betty that a few vertical format would not come amiss. However one thing appears to be missing, and I didn't look at every photo, but I couldn't find any people. Hi Bryan. The reason you couldn't find any people is because there aren't any people. In the 30+ years I've been taking pictures I just haven't wanted, or felt a need, to turn my camera towards them. I know Alamy is an editorial based agency and pictures of people doing things sell well, but I just have no interest in doing it. It probably limits my sales potential but I'm ok with that. So, foot thoroughly shot, I shall limp on, shooting pictures of the things people normally take no notice of in their busy lives. That'll do me fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 Thank you for putting your portfolio up Brian. I'm not really a plant person but I was just lost in the colours. Betty makes a good point about offset for copy space. I could imagine some text down the side of so many of your pictures and they deserve to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanDavidson Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Brian, you are a talented photographer (unlike me). You have found a happy niche. I choose not to photograph nature (yet) or landscapes but if I did I would use your portfolio as a model. As noted, and very much in my experience, people sell but you are happy with what you do so just keep doing it and get your sales by growing your excellent collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 2 hours ago, IanDavidson said: you are happy with what you do so just keep doing it and get your sales by growing your excellent collection. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Paske Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Great Photos Brian! Look amazing. A question for you if you dont mind. At the top of your page, there is a series of tabs, for example Fungi, Landscapes etc etc. How did you create these? Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Michael Paske said: Great Photos Brian! Look amazing. A question for you if you dont mind. At the top of your page, there is a series of tabs, for example Fungi, Landscapes etc etc. How did you create these? Michael Thanks Michael. Making new tabs for your pictures is quite simple. At the top of your portfolio click on the tab with the "+" in it. This allows you to create new galleries. Name it, save it and then go through your pictures clicking on those you want in that gallery. Simple as that! Hope that answers your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 11 hours ago, IanDavidson said: Brian, you are a talented photographer (unlike me). You have found a happy niche. I choose not to photograph nature (yet) or landscapes but if I did I would use your portfolio as a model. As noted, and very much in my experience, people sell but you are happy with what you do so just keep doing it and get your sales by growing your excellent collection. Thanks Ian and don't put yourself down. I've seen what you do and it's something I couldn't contemplate doing in a million years. We've all got our talents and our areas of expertise. Yours is definitely people, news and current affairs and your damn good at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Paske Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 15 hours ago, Brizbee said: Thanks Michael. Making new tabs for your pictures is quite simple. At the top of your portfolio click on the tab with the "+" in it. This allows you to create new galleries. Name it, save it and then go through your pictures clicking on those you want in that gallery. Simple as that! Hope that answers your question. Thank you so much for this! it is really appreacated Take care Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 08/06/2019 at 15:00, Brizbee said: to see if there is anything else I can do to push on. How about this, I did a search for Arbroath Smokie WOP. It returned 5 results. All were boats. Not a single fish. That is not as crowded a market as nature pictures. If you've already thought of this and dismissed it then fair enough, but I'd be kicking myself if I didn't sugest it. James (for those who don't watch UK cookery/travel tv programmes, its a sort of smoked fish) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Nice photos Brizbee; it may be worth making sure all your flower images have "flower" "flowers" and "flowering" in the keywords... Kumar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 14, 2019 Author Share Posted June 14, 2019 On 13/06/2019 at 17:59, Doc said: Nice photos Brizbee; it may be worth making sure all your flower images have "flower" "flowers" and "flowering" in the keywords... Kumar Thanks for the advice Kumar. All of my wildflower images should have "flowers" as a keyword because it's part of a set that gets pasted in everytime I process one. I then add in the name, latin name, etc. I'll now add "flower", "flowering" and "in flower" to that set. I've also just been on AIM and added those keywords to the images I've uploaded this year. That just leaves the 400+ I uploaded last year to do. But I think that'll be a weekend job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Very good flora images, Brain. Keep shooting and adding to your portfolio. It's up to you, of course, but you might consider expanding your subject matter. Edo, who doesn't know a violet from a viper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 Hi Ed, thanks for your comment. It just so happens that I recently purchased a pretty good 70-300mm lens (nothing special as I'm on a tight budget) and I've been pointing it at the local wildlife, mostly the seabirds that frequent the beach and harbour. Thing is the little blighters won't sit still while I try and get them composed - it's almost as if they don't want their picture taken - so results have been underwhelming so far. But I shall persevere and, who knows, in the next few months I might have the odd ornithological image ready for viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giphotostock Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Add bugs, pests and diseases. Add shots of whole plants, not just flowers. GI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Beautiful. You've already got lots of suggestions, and I can't think of any others, except if I lived where you do, I'd shoot even more boats. Those colorful fishing boats are gorgeous, but then about 75% of the photos I sell are pictures of lighthouses, with the occasional boat, beach and gull thrown in. Seriously, your photos are outstanding. I got a very heavy and pricy macro lens for my Sony late last year which more than doubles the weight of my gear and I have been struggling to shoot even a handful of images that approximate yours. Really beautiful work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizbee Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 Marianne, thanks very much for your comments, and I know what you mean about macro lenses. I've had mine for over ten years now and I still feel it when I've got my camera hanging round my neck. Thought I might have been used to it now. As for the fishing boats, I would love to shoot more of them but they are a pretty rare sight in the town's harbour nowadays. Most fish out of the bigger ports and harbours. The inner dock is now a marina for small pleasure craft and the occasional yacht and they tend to be a bit monochrome - all blues and whites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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