Contributor for 18 months. Comments welcome.

[zxzoomy 66]

I've just gone past 2,000 images on here. I've been taking photos since having a Brownie 127 in 1959. Some of you will remember it. Not a great lens but a big neg made up for it. I've had gross sales of about $338. I see it as a hobby which gets me walking about and talking to people. Any comments which can help me improve welcome.

My photos are here:

https://www.alamy.com/search/imageresults.aspx?pl=1&plno=649856

[spacecadet 4,065]

First impression- far too many similars of people on beaches, most of which could be anywhere.

[David Pimborough 333]

Looking at your link which mixes things up a bit more I think you have a pretty good portfolio and your keywords look fine I would have thought you should have made a lot more money by now.  Luck of the draw I guess.

 

Perhaps there are too many similars, but one of the most successful contributors on Alamy seemed to have lots and lots of similars and never seemed to have problem.

 

I see you have photos from the 1970s you might want to submit a lot more archive stuff and put them under a separate pseudonym as archive images do pretty well here.

Edited February 7, 2020 by David Pimborough

[IanDavidson 616]

Terry

I like your pictures.  Unlike some comments I am not seeing too many similar.  Your pictures are well composed and colourful

On keywording I would suggest that you ensure that you put in the keywords the words you use in the caption.  This will increase your views.

Unfortunately, these days it is a numbers game as well as being about quality, well keyworded commercial images.  One of the big learning points for me was not to take photos I like but to take photos that will sell.  I spend many hours in Downing Street taking pictures of Ministers.  Not an exciting assignment; but they provide steady sales.  Having said that, your pictures do seem, to me, to be quite commercial so it will be about building up the numbers.

[zxzoomy 66]

Thank you all for taking the time to comment. The link in my initial request does give a more varied impression than the recent stuff, as shown in the initial pages via the images number on the left. I did take a lot of beach photos in Nha Trang, Vietnam. After Manchester's lack of light in Winter it was a change to be doing exposures like 400th at f22. I will look again at the keywords, Ian. I had thought I was doing what you say, but clearly not. I will explore what I have from the 1970's and 80's, David. I have loads of them but I suppose it's the cost of quality scanning that puts me off. The reputation of the cheap negative scanners is a bit dire. I did sell one from the late 70's so that was pleasing.