Difficulty getting through to Live News

[The Blinking Eye]

4 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

You might want to continue this on an individual case by case  situation until you have a track record of selling news photos.  The other option is to see about selling locally to get tear sheets together. 

 

Thanks so much!!! You all guide me. Each step of the way. It's so amazing. I will get more practice as well. It's almost impossible for me to turn photos around in an hour, which is what they ask. Case by case -- they seem to give you a bit more time to upload.

[MizBrown]

Just now, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Thanks so much!!! You all guide me. Each step of the way. It's so amazing. I will get more practice as well. It's almost impossible for me to turn photos around in an hour, which is what they ask. Case by case -- they seem to give you a bit more time to upload.

 

 I had a $350 Windows machine (Acer if I'm remembering correctly or LG) I bought to update Godox flashes, and that one was new here (more expensive than it would have been in the US).  I had an even cheaper refurb when I came here, but it couldn't run Photoshop Essentials but it could connect to the internet and I found some graphics program that would run on it. 

 

 

[Chuck Nacke]

Kristin,

 

Your title of "Alamy Live News is not Working" is 100% inaccurate.  Alamy Live News is working 24/7, I know because I have been using it, I was one of the first contributors to it and I still contribute to it .  After reading your posts as well as others, I am sorry to say that most should not be contributing to Live News.  Photo News is  a lot more than pushing the button on a 6MP+ DSLR and knowing the basics of PhotoShop.  I spent 4 year studying journalism at one University and another two years at a major U.S.  institution of higher education studying journalism.  I do not claim to be an authority, but "Photojournalism (Alamy Live News) or any other library licensing images and information requires some education and understanding of the medium.

 

P.S. My work for the major newsmagazines while I lived in San Francisco (1983-1991) and traveled the U.S. on corporate and magazine assignments is well known.

 

Chuck

[The Blinking Eye]

2 hours ago, MizBrown said:

 

 I had a $350 Windows machine (Acer if I'm remembering correctly or LG) I bought to update Godox flashes, and that one was new here (more expensive than it would have been in the US).  I had an even cheaper refurb when I came here, but it couldn't run Photoshop Essentials but it could connect to the internet and I found some graphics program that would run on it. 

 

 

 

Ah, good tip. A cheap laptop for uploading.

[The Blinking Eye]

40 minutes ago, Chuck Nacke said:

Kristin,

 

Your title of "Alamy Live News is not Working" is 100% inaccurate.  Alamy Live News is working 24/7, I know because I have been using it, I was one of the first contributors to it and I still contribute to it .  After reading your posts as well as others, I am sorry to say that most should not be contributing to Live News.  Photo News is  a lot more than pushing the button on a 6MP+ DSLR and knowing the basics of PhotoShop.  I spent 4 year studying journalism at one University and another two years at a major U.S.  institution of higher education studying journalism.  I do not claim to be an authority, but "Photojournalism (Alamy Live News) or any other library licensing images and information requires some education and understanding of the medium.

 

P.S. My work for the major newsmagazines while I lived in San Francisco (1983-1991) and traveled the U.S. on corporate and magazine assignments is well known.

 

Chuck

 

Dear Chuck,

 

I have been aware of your credentials and respect them and I changed the title of my thread to better reflect the reality.

 

Since we're throwing our credentials around...I have a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production (took me seven years, three years alone on a thesis film) in addition to a BA in Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, which included filmmaking and photography classes at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, in addition to an in-depth theoretical study of the meaning and production of images. I have studied 35mm photography and printing, and 16mm filmmaking, lighting, and direction, and taught such things at the university level. I have made and shot many short films, worked on several feature-length documentaries in various capacities, worked as a wedding videographer, and the list goes on.

 

In 1984, in my first black and white photography class in high school, I decided I wanted to be a world traveling photojournalist. Well, life took me on another path, that of cinema, but I do not think my dabbling on Alamy is so far-fetched. In some ways, it is a tempered realization of a distant dream.

 

Nobody has to let me into Live News. I know I do not have the commitment level or the resumé, yet, that you and others do, who have devoted your lives to mastering this specific craft. But on my second try, I sold three photos. Many here are encouraging me to go further.

 

Would you be willing to review my photos and let me know how I can improve them?   

 

Kristin

[Cal]

1 hour ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Dear Chuck,

 

I have been aware of your credentials and respect them and I changed the title of my thread to better reflect the reality.

 

Since we're throwing our credentials around...I have a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production (took me seven years, three years alone on a thesis film) in addition to a BA in Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, which included filmmaking and photography classes at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, in addition to an in-depth theoretical study of the meaning and production of images. I have studied 35mm photography and printing, and 16mm filmmaking, lighting, and direction, and taught such things at the university level. I have made and shot many short films, worked on several feature-length documentaries in various capacities, worked as a wedding videographer, and the list goes on.

 

In 1984, in my first black and white photography class in high school, I decided I wanted to be a world traveling photojournalist. Well, life took me on another path, that of cinema, but I do not think my dabbling on Alamy is so far-fetched. In some ways, it is a tempered realization of a distant dream.

 

Nobody has to let me into Live News. I know I do not have the commitment level or the resumé, yet, that you and others do, who have devoted your lives to mastering this specific craft. But on my second try, I sold three photos. Many here are encouraging me to go further.

 

Would you be willing to review my photos and let me know how I can improve them?   

 

Kristin

 

A pragmatic and respectable answer. Fortunately members of this forum (whether they have "credentials" or not) don't get to decide who does or doesn't have access to certain areas of the site, a somewhat protectionist view which I rather don't appreciate. Thankfully Alamy operates on the equality of opportunity principle and that's fine.

[spacecadet]

28 minutes ago, Cal said:

 

 Thankfully Alamy operates on the equality of opportunity principle and that's fine.

Er, well, thousands of us had live news access removed last year and Alamy didn't even tell us. We found out because someone reported on the forum that they had been locked out.

[Mr Standfast]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Er, well, thousands of us had live news access removed last year and Alamy didn't even tell us. We found out because someone reported on the forum that they had been locked out.

 

There was an e-mail.

[MizBrown]

5 hours ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Ah, good tip. A cheap laptop for uploading.

 

If you're not going to edit much on it on it and you're using hot spots, and you're hauling it around in a backpack on a bicycle, get something as small as possible and use a VPN when uploading to Alamy.   If you use your own phone as a portable hot spot, VPN isn't critical.

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, Mr Standfast said:

 

There was an e-mail.

When was that? I can't find it.

Are you sure it was before we were kicked out? I recall finding out on the forum but that's not conclusive.

Edited November 17, 2020 by spacecadet

[MizBrown]

25 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

When was that? I can't find it.

Are you sure it was before we were kicked out? I recall finding out on the forum but that's not conclusive.

I got this email sent out April 4, 2019: 

 

"This is just an email to let you know we are making some changes to the Live News feed. These changes will ensure our Live News clients receive the content they want, quickly and with all the relevant information needed to publish good news images. 

From today, Thursday 4th April 2019, you will no longer be able to upload to the Live News feed, however, the stock upload route will still be available without the strict requirements of Live News.

If you wish to upload to the Live News feed, you can apply to do so but you’ll need to follow the official application process under the ‘Additional Revenue Options’ section of your Contributor Dashboard."

 

So, not before we were kicked out, but to individuals who had contributed to news.

 

 

 

[spacecadet]

29 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

I got this email sent out April 4, 2019: 

 

"This is just an email to let you know we are making some changes to the Live News feed. These changes will ensure our Live News clients receive the content they want, quickly and with all the relevant information needed to publish good news images. 

From today, Thursday 4th April 2019, you will no longer be able to upload to the Live News feed, however, the stock upload route will still be available without the strict requirements of Live News.

If you wish to upload to the Live News feed, you can apply to do so but you’ll need to follow the official application process under the ‘Additional Revenue Options’ section of your Contributor Dashboard."

 

So, not before we were kicked out, but to individuals who had contributed to news.

 

 

 

Thanks. I didn't get that and I had submitted to Live News.

So as I said, thrown out without notice. But for the forum I would only have found out if I'd tried to upload. Pretty cavalier.

[Chuck Nacke]

6 hours ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Dear Chuck,

 

I have been aware of your credentials and respect them and I changed the title of my thread to better reflect the reality.

 

Since we're throwing our credentials around...I have a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production (took me seven years, three years alone on a thesis film) in addition to a BA in Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, which included filmmaking and photography classes at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, in addition to an in-depth theoretical study of the meaning and production of images. I have studied 35mm photography and printing, and 16mm filmmaking, lighting, and direction, and taught such things at the university level. I have made and shot many short films, worked on several feature-length documentaries in various capacities, worked as a wedding videographer, and the list goes on.

 

In 1984, in my first black and white photography class in high school, I decided I wanted to be a world traveling photojournalist. Well, life took me on another path, that of cinema, but I do not think my dabbling on Alamy is so far-fetched. In some ways, it is a tempered realization of a distant dream.

 

Nobody has to let me into Live News. I know I do not have the commitment level or the resumé, yet, that you and others do, who have devoted your lives to mastering this specific craft. But on my second try, I sold three photos. Many here are encouraging me to go further.

 

Would you be willing to review my photos and let me know how I can improve them?   

 

Kristin

Kristin,

 

Again I will say that you are not correct,  I was not "throwing credentials around" and if that is what you believed after reading what I wrote, then I did not state what I had to say clearly.  What I was attempting to say is there are too many who think that all photos are news.  These people do not spend enough time or have the training to know what is news, I was not writing about you or anyone specifically.  Brown and RISD are institutions that I admire and I have worked with many Brown and RISD grads over the years.

 

I will add that NEWS Photography is not like stock photography, There seems to be an idea among stock photographers of "you never know what will sell (sic)", I do not sell images, I allow the agents or libraries that distribute my images to license them. 

 

The world of news magazine photojournalism use to be photographers working under difficult conditions, working with chrome film (25 to 400 ASA) in cameras that you had to focus and determine the best exposure in fractions of a second.  Then the photographer had to figure out how to transport the unprocessed film and information about what was photographed to their agent or publication.

 

I do not claim to be an authority on photojournalism and what I express on the Alamy forum is my own opinion.  I also try not to insult people, but many on the Alamy forum seem to have very thin skins.

 

I do value Alamy and my experience with Alamy and those working with Alamy and specifically Alamy Live News (ALN) has for the most part been a very good one for me.  I do believe that ALN could be better, I.E. the images that ALN puts forward could be stronger, and the only way for those images to be stronger is for the contributors to be better "self editors" and practice better journalism?

 

Chuck

[MizBrown]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Thanks. I didn't get that and I had submitted to Live News.

So as I said, thrown out without notice. But for the forum I would only have found out if I'd tried to upload. Pretty cavalier.

 

Sometimes, people sending out bulk email screw up.  Also, depends on your spam filter.

[meanderingemu]

10 hours ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Ah, good tip. A cheap laptop for uploading.

 

 

yeah, i had on old laptop i used for that,  with some pre-organised wording based on scheduled event, and some templates for impromptu ones,  accessing internet through my phone.  sadly it is now on fritz, so whenever i start doing more i'll have to find another solution. (for now i just bike rush home, but most news have been soft ones recently so 30 minutes delay not as crucial) 

[MizBrown]

I never had any photography training other than reading about photography, looking at photography, and taking photos.  My only journalistic experience was taking photos (head shots, sports shots, kids eating school lunches) for a weekly paper in Virginia.   I think I came between Chuck's world and Kristin's when getting a journalism job on a small daily or a weekly was still possible, though it's become less and less possible.   My Masters thesis was on the linguistic features of Edith Sitwell's theories of poetics compared to Jakobson, Fant, and Halle's "Distinctive Feature Analysis."   (I'm not going to Google to see if I spelled those names correctly).

 

Kristin a while back said that someone told her that doing stock would spoil her eye, so given what academics said about science fiction, I figured a relatively recent academic background.   I'm floundering around with photography because I like learning new things and I don't know if I could sell another novel.

 

Back when I lived in New York, I saw an exhibit of news photographs from the Speed Graphic days that Diane Arbus curated for the Museum of Modern Art.   I've always felt squeamish about Arbus's work, but loved the collection she curated. 

 

I like knowing you both. 

[sb photos]

6 hours ago, MizBrown said:

I got this email sent out April 4, 2019: 

 

"This is just an email to let you know we are making some changes to the Live News feed. These changes will ensure our Live News clients receive the content they want, quickly and with all the relevant information needed to publish good news images. 

From today, Thursday 4th April 2019, you will no longer be able to upload to the Live News feed, however, the stock upload route will still be available without the strict requirements of Live News.

If you wish to upload to the Live News feed, you can apply to do so but you’ll need to follow the official application process under the ‘Additional Revenue Options’ section of your Contributor Dashboard."

 

So, not before we were kicked out, but to individuals who had contributed to news.

 I remember having the same email, reading it early morning. Filed away in my Alamy mail folder.

[Mr Standfast]

Just two personal observations...

 

The issue that always worries me when people start take news pictures is personal safety. It is so easy for an enthusiastic person to get in over their head quickly. In a post on 2nd June, about photgraphing a protest Kristin wrote "I assessed the situation, spoke to one of the participants, felt the energy was ominous and left." Seems like Kristin is an aware person; I have no qualms with offering her some encouragement. Her attitude is totally different to the chap with his bridge camera who approached me at an extinction rebellion protest and asked "when is it going to kick off then?"

 

Chuck's comment on self editing is spot on. It's helped me.  The competition on a news desk is very high, why on earth defeat yourself by hiding your best pictures within some nearly best ones, when the picture desk has so may to choose from.

 

All the best and stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Blinking Eye]

8 hours ago, Chuck Nacke said:

Kristin,

 

Again I will say that you are not correct,  I was not "throwing credentials around" and if that is what you believed after reading what I wrote, then I did not state what I had to say clearly.  What I was attempting to say is there are too many who think that all photos are news.  These people do not spend enough time or have the training to know what is news, I was not writing about you or anyone specifically.  Brown and RISD are institutions that I admire and I have worked with many Brown and RISD grads over the years.

 

I will add that NEWS Photography is not like stock photography, There seems to be an idea among stock photographers of "you never know what will sell (sic)", I do not sell images, I allow the agents or libraries that distribute my images to license them. 

 

The world of news magazine photojournalism use to be photographers working under difficult conditions, working with chrome film (25 to 400 ASA) in cameras that you had to focus and determine the best exposure in fractions of a second.  Then the photographer had to figure out how to transport the unprocessed film and information about what was photographed to their agent or publication.

 

I do not claim to be an authority on photojournalism and what I express on the Alamy forum is my own opinion.  I also try not to insult people, but many on the Alamy forum seem to have very thin skins.

 

I do value Alamy and my experience with Alamy and those working with Alamy and specifically Alamy Live News (ALN) has for the most part been a very good one for me.  I do believe that ALN could be better, I.E. the images that ALN puts forward could be stronger, and the only way for those images to be stronger is for the contributors to be better "self editors" and practice better journalism?

 

Chuck

 

No I did not get that point at all from your previous post. That people don't understand the difference between stock and news and they need to edit their live news images more carefully and be more selective about what they submit. And that Live News could be stronger by being more selective. None of that came across. Thank you for clarifying.

 

It seems that not only did the process of submitting in pre-digital days require more legwork, I would assume there were a lot fewer images to submit. Because 35mm film was expensive and part of the training and practice and affordability of being a photographer was getting the photo right when you shot it, keeping your shooting ratio low, and thereby eliminating the acres of glut we have now in the digital age. I understand that much.

[The Blinking Eye]

1 hour ago, Mr Standfast said:

Chuck's comment on self editing is spot on. It's helped me.  The competition on a news desk is very high, why on earth defeat yourself by hiding your best pictures within some nearly best ones, when the picture desk has so may to choose from.

 

 

This is precisely why I asked for feed back on my Live News submissions. I felt I was a bit sloppy in submitting so many, but also didn't feel I could take the time I needed to choose fewer. Two of the photos picked up by the Sun, I considered the best of the group. But the third one, I didn't, and very likely would not have submitted it. I am definitely examining published news photos and studying them. I can see in Chuck's portfolio, he is being extremely selective about what he uploads, and I like his choices a lot.

 

I come from the art world, and value abstraction, beauty and subculture, which are not priorities in the news world. So bending my brain toward news photography takes some rewiring.

[The Blinking Eye]

6 hours ago, MizBrown said:

I never had any photography training other than reading about photography, looking at photography, and taking photos.  My only journalistic experience was taking photos (head shots, sports shots, kids eating school lunches) for a weekly paper in Virginia.   I think I came between Chuck's world and Kristin's when getting a journalism job on a small daily or a weekly was still possible, though it's become less and less possible.   My Masters thesis was on the linguistic features of Edith Sitwell's theories of poetics compared to Jakobson, Fant, and Halle's "Distinctive Feature Analysis."   (I'm not going to Google to see if I spelled those names correctly).

 

Kristin a while back said that someone told her that doing stock would spoil her eye, so given what academics said about science fiction, I figured a relatively recent academic background.   I'm floundering around with photography because I like learning new things and I don't know if I could sell another novel.

 

Back when I lived in New York, I saw an exhibit of news photographs from the Speed Graphic days that Diane Arbus curated for the Museum of Modern Art.   I've always felt squeamish about Arbus's work, but loved the collection she curated. 

 

I like knowing you both. 

 

Love the conversation. It's so great to be able to come here and talk about this stuff while in the process of attempting to up my game as a photographer. I would LOVE to see that Diane Arbus curated show. I know very well that some photographers meld art and journalism, and I am always very impressed with those who do. However, I also notice that even the most famous newspapers publish what appears to me mediocre visual content, so there's plenty of room to not shoot National Geographic quality stuff. I am always aware of that line and continue to define it for myself on a very personal level, with an aim to get some photos out there in the world, which can be great fun. I think it's amusing to get my photos into a Murdoch tabloid, but when all is said and done, that's not my main goal. 😁

[meanderingemu]

44 minutes ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

This is precisely why I asked for feed back on my Live News submissions. I felt I was a bit sloppy in submitting so many, but also didn't feel I could take the time I needed to choose fewer. Two of the photos picked up by the Sun, I considered the best of the group. But the third one, I didn't, and very likely would not have submitted it. I am definitely examining published news photos and studying them. I can see in Chuck's portfolio, he is being extremely selective about what he uploads, and I like his choices a lot.

 

I come from the art world, and value abstraction, beauty and subculture, which are not priorities in the news world. So bending my brain toward news photography takes some rewiring.

 

 

but remember time is of the essence.  You will miss your better image sometimes, you will not get your best edit all the time.  It's also important to look through after, and see if you had missed something and if any of the files are worth uploading to Stock or Reportage after.  

 

 

Get an idea what stories you want to tell from your images. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by meanderingemu

[The Blinking Eye]

1 minute ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

but remember time is of the essence.  You will miss your better image sometimes, you will not get your best edit all the time.  It's also important to look through after, and see if you had missed something and if any of the files are worth uploading to Stock or Reportage after.  

 

Thanks. Oh yes, while shooting, I'm just snapping and to be honest, I don't actually feel like I know how to control my camera very well. So I'm mostly just setting it on auto and concentrating on the frame, hoping I get something. I notice it helps a LOT to review the photos quickly after taking them, to get better ideas on how to frame things, what works, what to look for, and what I need to do differently. But it feels rather haphazard. During the election night parade and piñata whopping, I had to move FAST. The piñata had started before I walked upon the scene, and if I didn't grab my camera and point, I would have missed the whole thing a minute later. I discovered I really like the blur and the fly-by-pants aesthetic that I don't have in my other photos that are well composed and well lit. That energy is exciting to me and I think the photos express the moment pretty well.

[The Blinking Eye]

6 hours ago, MizBrown said:

I never had any photography training other than reading about photography, looking at photography, and taking photos.  My only journalistic experience was taking photos (head shots, sports shots, kids eating school lunches) for a weekly paper in Virginia.   I think I came between Chuck's world and Kristin's when getting a journalism job on a small daily or a weekly was still possible, though it's become less and less possible.   My Masters thesis was on the linguistic features of Edith Sitwell's theories of poetics compared to Jakobson, Fant, and Halle's "Distinctive Feature Analysis."   (I'm not going to Google to see if I spelled those names correctly).

 

Kristin a while back said that someone told her that doing stock would spoil her eye, so given what academics said about science fiction, I figured a relatively recent academic background.   I'm floundering around with photography because I like learning new things and I don't know if I could sell another novel.

 

Back when I lived in New York, I saw an exhibit of news photographs from the Speed Graphic days that Diane Arbus curated for the Museum of Modern Art.   I've always felt squeamish about Arbus's work, but loved the collection she curated. 

 

I like knowing you both. 

 

I graduated in 2003. So my academic background is not so recent. It's just that I've had a lot of it and thoroughly brainwashed. But I skate around that by making handmade postcards, being obsessed with K-pop, and getting my photos published in a tabloid and on some news scraper sites.

[meanderingemu]

11 minutes ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

Thanks. Oh yes, while shooting, I'm just snapping and to be honest, I don't actually feel like I know how to control my camera very well. So I'm mostly just setting it on auto and concentrating on the frame, hoping I get something. I notice it helps a LOT to review the photos quickly after taking them, to get better ideas on how to frame things, what works, what to look for, and what I need to do differently. But it feels rather haphazard. During the election night parade and piñata whopping, I had to move FAST. The piñata had started before I walked upon the scene, and if I didn't grab my camera and point, I would have missed the whole thing a minute later. I discovered I really like the blur and the fly-by-pants aesthetic that I don't have in my other photos that are well composed and well lit. That energy is exciting to me and I think the photos express the moment pretty well.

 

You were showing a celebration, euphoria.  Don't forget you need to make life easy for the News Editor to tell the story they want to tell.  The whole world was watching you guys, you gave them that angle of crazy...  Blur might not work for a sombre protest, but for this it tells the story.

 

 

one of the thing I had to learn after my first few  is control my anxiety about missed opportunity.