Alamy Blog - We want your suggestions

[Alamy]

Hopefully you're all regular readers of our Alamy blog, but if not, here’s the link.

 

The blog is updated weekly with exciting new topics, but we’d like your suggestions for future posts.

 

Whether it’s inspirational or educational pieces you’d like us to cover, let us know in this thread. We’ll read all replies and will try to cover as many topics as possible in the near future.

 

We look forward to reading all your suggestions!

 

Thanks,

Alamy

 

P.s Here are some of our recent posts in case you fancy a read:

 

• Captions and Tags: How and Why?
• Top locations you should visit and photograph post-Covid
• How to photograph: Food
• 25 of the most awesome golden hour images you’ll ever see
• An ethereal look at double exposure
• 11 graphic designers and illustrators you should know about
• Behind the lens with Stefan Rousseau
• 3 affordable alternatives to Photoshop

[Jill Morgan]

With so many new photographers (and many with little photography experience) there should be a whole collection of blogs for the new contributor.  Judging by the number of people asking for help with their ports, the usual problems are there.  Bad captions, useless keywords, no proper editing, etc.  Although you did have that one on captions and keywords, many see that poor discoverability phrase on their images  and think they must add more or their images won't be discovered.  A good blog on the discoverability would be helpful to some. (Personally, I think it should be eliminated all together).

 

Some Lightroom or PS how to blogs might be helpful, especially simple common things such as leveling your horizon, straightening up architecture  and using the adjustment brush in Lightroom and ACR.

 

With the influx of new photographers, these could all be helpful

 

Jill

[geogphotos]

I am not a regular reader of the blog. I don't find much that is of use to me.

 

I would prefer Alamy joined in with contributors on the forum to deal with real questions and issues. 

 

That would be real engagement.

 

Most of this blogging by the companies I am associated with - okay just Alamy and Photoshelter - seems to have little relationship with me and what I am doing. It seems to be done because somebody thought it would be a good idea. 

 

Which I suppose is why you are asking for ideas because you think you ought to do a blog but don't really know why.

Edited April 22, 2021 by geogphotos

[spacecadet]

17 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

I am not a regular reader of the blog. I don't find much that is of use to me.

 

I would prefer Alamy joined in with contributors on the forum to deal with real questions and issues. 

 

That would be real engagement.

 

Most of this blogging by the companies I am associated with - okay just Alamy and Photoshelter - seems to have little relationship with me and what I am doing. It seems to be done because somebody thought it would be a good idea. 

 

Which I suppose is why you are asking for ideas because you think you ought to do a blog but don't really know why.

They can sometimes stray towards the trite, but this one is rather revealing

https://www.alamy.com/blog/behind-the-lens-with-stefan-rousseau?utm_campaign=alamycontent&utm_medium=social&utm_source=forum

Edited April 22, 2021 by spacecadet

[Phil Crean]

26 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

I am not a regular reader of the blog. I don't find much that is of use to me.

 

I would prefer Alamy joined in with contributors on the forum to deal with real questions and issues. 

 

That would be real engagement.

 

Most of this blogging by the companies I am associated with - okay just Alamy and Photoshelter - seems to have little relationship with me and what I am doing. It seems to be done because somebody thought it would be a good idea. 

 

Which I suppose is why you are asking for ideas because you think you ought to do a blog but don't really know why.

Tend to agree with this...however the right articles could be usefully pushed to new photographers as a way of explaining how Alamy works.

 

Phil

 

[Gina Kelly]

I always appreciate any information that helps with increasing sales, such as trends, what customers are asking for, and things like keywording help to get ones photos seen in the first place (which helps with with sales). I also have enjoyed the posts about contributors who have passed big milestones (ie: 100k) and would like to see more of those. Thanks!

[John Mitchell]

 I'd like to see more  posts relating to the current state of the stock photography business, specifically about how Alamy plans to cope with increasing competition from microstock agencies and falling image prices. It seems to me that these pose "existential threats" to us all.

[Mr Standfast]

Alamy,

 

My comment is driven more by reading questions on the forum than wanting to read about image trends on the blog.

 

Contributor information to be honest needs some housekeeping.

Some contributor information is in in the blog; some is is in the FAQ, some in the contract, some in pdf files...

Some is non existent; particularly a big words and pictures version of accounts and payment. 

This lack of coherence makes it very difficult for new contributors; who often find it difficult to frame their questions.

 

If Alamy wants to be open and develop a rewarding relationship with contributors who are at the lower end of the learning curve I 

suggest a more focused approach.

 

Regards,

 

James

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Russell]

At the risk of teaching Grandmother ....

 

Who is the blog for? Customers, contributors, or the general public? I suggest that one blog cannot serve all of them.

 

If we focus on contributors, the forum offers a wealth of topics which could be explored in depth in a blog. But not necessarily an open blog - one requiring a contributor login could be far more focussed and tackle issues of concern with an openness not possible on a public blog for example PU/Presentation and misuse of licences.

 

A customer blog should have very different content. A public blog is merely a vanity project.

[NYCat]

I agree with Jill that it would be useful to have a place to send the people who are brand new and haven't a clue. The file size comes up still and I think a blog that includes images showing where to find the file size in Photoshop and in Lightroom and any other programs that are frequently used could be helpful. A picture worth a thousand words trying to explain to newcomers. Also, of course, the discoverability question with an emphasis on only using tags that are realistically part of the image. Tell people why it is sooooo important to keyword and caption accurately. We have been over and over these subjects and it would be great to have a single place to send people.

 

Paulette

[John Mitchell]

58 minutes ago, Russell said:

At the risk of teaching Grandmother ....

 

Who is the blog for? Customers, contributors, or the general public? I suggest that one blog cannot serve all of them.

 

If we focus on contributors, the forum offers a wealth of topics which could be explored in depth in a blog. But not necessarily an open blog - one requiring a contributor login could be far more focussed and tackle issues of concern with an openness not possible on a public blog for example PU/Presentation and misuse of licences.

 

A customer blog should have very different content. A public blog is merely a vanity project.

 

Yes, I think a separate "business blog" for existing contributors might become very popular.

[IanDavidson]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

They can sometimes stray towards the trite, but this one is rather revealing

https://www.alamy.com/blog/behind-the-lens-with-stefan-rousseau?utm_campaign=alamycontent&utm_medium=social&utm_source=forum

Thanks for pointing this out.  I know Stefan well and work alongside him in Downing Street.  You could not meet a nicer guy!   
 

I know it is a bit niche but I would like to see more blogs about the Alamy live news desk.  They are a great bunch of people but I would like to know more about how they work and what is key in getting images into news media....

[John Mitchell]

7 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

With so many new photographers (and many with little photography experience) there should be a whole collection of blogs for the new contributor.  Judging by the number of people asking for help with their ports, the usual problems are there.  Bad captions, useless keywords, no proper editing, etc.  Although you did have that one on captions and keywords, many see that poor discoverability phrase on their images  and think they must add more or their images won't be discovered.  A good blog on the discoverability would be helpful to some. (Personally, I think it should be eliminated all together).

 

Some Lightroom or PS how to blogs might be helpful, especially simple common things such as leveling your horizon, straightening up architecture  and using the adjustment brush in Lightroom and ACR.

 

With the influx of new photographers, these could all be helpful

 

Jill

 

The captions and tags blog post that Alamy linked to above is a useful one for new contributors. I agree, it would be great to see more like those.

[Colin Woods]

8 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

Some Lightroom or PS how to blogs might be helpful, especially simple common things such as leveling your horizon,

 

I am not so sure about that - if you don't know how to level the horizon (or that you have to) and make basic levels/curves adjustments then you are not ready to submit pictures for professional use via an agency. I entirely agree about the removal of the discoverability bar however.

 

4 hours ago, IanDavidson said:

blogs about the Alamy live news desk

That would be interesting - in fact information about how Alamy go about their daily tasks would be of general interest. But overall I agree with Ian and would prefer to see Alamy implicated here on the forum addressing specific questions rather than conducting PR on a blog.

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Colin Woods

[Jill Morgan]

15 minutes ago, Colin Woods said:

 

I am not so sure about that - if you don't know how to level the horizon (or that you have to) and make basic levels/curves adjustments then you are not ready to submit pictures for professional use via an agency. I entirely agree about the removal of the discoverability bar however.

 

 

 

That may be true Colin, but as you can see by the number of people asking for advice with those problems, plus other issues such as tons of similars dark images due to monitors not being calibrated.  These are all things that should be known before you start uploading, but everyone is in a hurry, not realizing how all this lack of knowledge will end up going against them in the end, even when they finally learn all the things they should.  With so many images on Alamy, if your rank falls low, it will take years to crawl up through the herd.

 

I know with me not uploading much for a couple of years, that has hurt my rank a bit. 

 

Jill

[Betty LaRue]

It seem we, the forum, spend an inordinate amount of time helping new contributors. I’m not griping, but I think it would be nice if Alamy would do what I suggest below.

Every single new contributor should be sent links on the how-tos. First off, making those how-tos clear and easy to understand as others have suggested above.

Tell each new contributor that after they read the information, they will be sent a Q&A in whatever amount of days. The contributor must answer these questions on a form before being allowed to send their first images.

If nothing else, the Q&A it will direct newbies to the information. Even if they have to refer to it to answer the questions, some of it will be absorbed. If the newbies come asking those very questions of the forum, we’ll have a link to refer them right back to it. Those who get mad because their being asked to read information aren’t really needed here. Bye-bye, don’t let the door.....

 

There are people who really do try to figure it out and come up short. Then there are those lazy ones who don’t want to read or study to find out what they want to know, so they come ask a question so we do the work of supplying what they need.

There are still many areas where the forum can help with those questions that are unique questions.

Like me needing computer help! 😂 Because I read it and still don’t have a clue! Or when something isn’t working and people put their heads together. All sorts of things rather than CAPTIONS, TAGS, SCIENTIFIC NAMES, 

I doubt my suggestion is practical because it might cause extra work for Alamy.

 

[Jay D]

Didn't realise there was one, and tbh not sure id use it. Quite content with just the forums and learning/listening in the shadows from the usual group of friendly more experienced who just happen to be the ones also commenting on here. 

 

 

[Jansos]

To be honest, as much as I love reading blogs, I find that I don't really have time to be able to follow all the excellent blogs out there. I have rarely accessed the Alamy blog (I am sure to my detriment) simply because there aren't enough hours in the day. If the blog content could be built into the normal Alamy workflow it might make it more immediate and accessible on a regular basis and I would, I am sure, be more tempted to delve into it. Just a thought.

[NYCat]

Hooray for the email I got today sending me to blog posts. The one on captions and tags is excellent and I will probably refer back to it when I get stuck on tags for a subject I don't usually shoot..

 

Paulette

[Colin Woods]

5 hours ago, David Pimborough said:

Perhaps Alamy should get tougher on acceptance

They have really lowered the acceptance criteria. When I joined you had to submit (I think) 20 images for inspection.

[Joseph Clemson]

10 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

It seem we, the forum, spend an inordinate amount of time helping new contributors. I’m not griping, but I think it would be nice if Alamy would do what I suggest below.

Every single new contributor should be sent links on the how-tos. First off, making those how-tos clear and easy to understand as others have suggested above.

Tell each new contributor that after they read the information, they will be sent a Q&A in whatever amount of days. The contributor must answer these questions on a form before being allowed to send their first images.

If nothing else, the Q&A it will direct newbies to the information. Even if they have to refer to it to answer the questions, some of it will be absorbed. If the newbies come asking those very questions of the forum, we’ll have a link to refer them right back to it. Those who get mad because their being asked to read information aren’t really needed here. Bye-bye, don’t let the door.....

 

 

Definitely a plus one on some kind of simple written test to check new contributors have at least studied the topics in the blogs on the contributor home page before they are let loose on the system. It's clear from what I have seen and read in the forums that many new entrants just dive in, espcially if they have some microstock experience, and fail to appreciate the different ways of Alamy. The way QC operates is the most obvious example which constantly trips up newbies.  I would also think it good if the number of test images was to be more than three, to demonstrate that the photographer can maintain some kind of consistency.

[Joseph Clemson]

I would also like to see some kind of index on the existing blog articles. I have on more than one occasion searched fruitlessly for a blog I know I have seen in times past.

[Foreign Export]

21 hours ago, geogphotos said:

I am not a regular reader of the blog. I don't find much that is of use to me.

 

I would prefer Alamy joined in with contributors on the forum to deal with real questions and issues. 

 

That would be real engagement.

 

Most of this blogging by the companies I am associated with - okay just Alamy and Photoshelter - seems to have little relationship with me and what I am doing. It seems to be done because somebody thought it would be a good idea. 

 

Which I suppose is why you are asking for ideas because you think you ought to do a blog but don't really know why.

 

+1

[meanderingemu]

22 hours ago, geogphotos said:

I am not a regular reader of the blog. I don't find much that is of use to me.

 

I would prefer Alamy joined in with contributors on the forum to deal with real questions and issues. 

 

That would be real engagement.

 

Which I suppose is why you are asking for ideas because you think you ought to do a blog but don't really know why.

 

 

I so agree with this.  So many subject come up around here, and Alamy just leaves it up to second guesses and speculations.  I thought the reaching out for the start of year video was a start of a partnership with PA, but even that came up quite one sided, and even to date little follow up.    

[meanderingemu]

1 hour ago, Joseph Clemson said:

 

Definitely a plus one on some kind of simple written test to check new contributors have at least studied the topics in the blogs on the contributor home page before they are let loose on the system. It's clear from what I have seen and read in the forums that many new entrants just dive in, espcially if they have some microstock experience, and fail to appreciate the different ways of Alamy. The way QC operates is the most obvious example which constantly trips up newbies.  I would also think it good if the number of test images was to be more than three, to demonstrate that the photographer can maintain some kind of consistency.

 

 

the three images only also doesn't allow Alamy to validate that applicant understand unpublished rules, such as limit of number of similar images.