PatsyCollins Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Hi, I just joined up today. Technology isn't my strong point, but I'll do my best. I'm a keen gardener and hope to upload pictures of my own garden, gardens I visit and wildflowers I see on my travels. I'm also a writer, of fiction and articles, many of which are about herbs, wildflowers and other garden related subjects. Other interests include history, campervanning and cakes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Welcome to Alamy! You'll find a great community here. Enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Just a note of caution (no intention to discourage): Alamy will already have millions of pics of wild flowers and herbs so make sure your captions are accurate and as detailed as possible. You may have better fortunes with the campervanning, although you will probably face stiff competition from our resident nomad in Australia! Spot the (entirely logical) oxymoron 😀 Alan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 16 hours ago, Marianne said: Welcome to Alamy! You'll find a great community here. Enjoy. Thanks for the welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 41 minutes ago, Inchiquin said: Just a note of caution... Thank you for the advice – and the oxymoron which made me smile. I haven't worked out how to add captions yet, but do see that including as much information as possible is a good idea. My first three images are in QC – I think I have to wait for them to pass that before I can add information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Take the time to look at how existing photographers have depicted, captioned and keyworded their images of the subjects you intend to portray. Historically, many of Alamy's contributors have been long established professional photographers, a significant number of whom specialise in plants and wildlife so you will face stiff competition. If you are visiting formal gardens and suchlike to take pictures, check their terms of entry don't prohibit taking photos for commercial gain. Enjoy working with Alamy, it can be fun but it's not a quick way to make money nowadays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 4 minutes ago, PatsyCollins said: Thank you for the advice – and the oxymoron which made me smile. I haven't worked out how to add captions yet, but do see that including as much information as possible is a good idea. My first three images are in QC – I think I have to wait for them to pass that before I can add information? For future reference, you can add caption and keyword information befoe you upload images, if you are using an image editing programme which allows you to enter metadata. Lightroom is a popular program, but not the only one an probably an expensive option if you are only dabbling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb photos Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Welcome. I believe you can still download from Alamy a test image. If you do eventually add captions and tags prior to uploading, it may be useful to identify the IPTC fields used for captions and tags. More so if you are not using Adobe software. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Joseph Clemson said: For future reference, you can add caption and keyword information befoe you upload images, if you are using an image editing programme which allows you to enter metadata. Lightroom is a popular program, but not the only one an probably an expensive option if you are only dabbling. Thanks. I use Nikon's NX Studio. It does allow keywords to be entered. So far I've not used that facility as there's no function to search them, but it might be useful for this. I'll try a few and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Joseph Clemson said: Take the time to look at how existing photographers have depicted, captioned and keyworded their images of the subjects you intend to portray. Good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 3 hours ago, sb photos said: Welcome. I believe you can still download from Alamy a test image. If you do eventually add captions and tags prior to uploading, it may be useful to identify the IPTC fields used for captions and tags. More so if you are not using Adobe software. Thanks. I'll look into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvallee Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Inchiquin said: Just a note of caution (no intention to discourage): Alamy will already have millions of pics of wild flowers and herbs so make sure your captions are accurate and as detailed as possible. You may have better fortunes with the campervanning, although you will probably face stiff competition from our resident nomad in Australia! Spot the (entirely logical) oxymoron 😀 Alan Funny you should say that Alan. I'm currently in Western Australia where a bumper explosion of wildflowers is expected in the desert in Spring, around September, due to heavier rainfall than usual. World class show it will be. As for my motorhome, I was ectatic to sell a pic of it recently camped in the Bush. But 'resident' nomad? Oh how I pray for it... a year and a half left on our visa before hopefully renewal. Edited June 25, 2021 by gvallee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvallee Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Welcome to Alamy Patsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MizBrown Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 For botanical and biological photos, make sure you've got the common names as tags/keywords and the most common one in the caption along with the scientific name, and also have both in the tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 4 hours ago, gvallee said: Welcome to Alamy Patsy! Thank you – and nice to 'meet' a fellow traveller. Before lockdown we spent about four months a year in our van and are hoping to get back to that soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 2 hours ago, MizBrown said: For botanical and biological photos, make sure you've got the common names as tags/keywords and the most common one in the caption along with the scientific name, and also have both in the tags. Thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radim Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Welcome to Alamy Patsy As MizBrown has already said, scientific names are very important. You miss it. Next time, I would recommend exploring what I photograph better. Do more work and find a specific sign with the name of the plant. I'm not saying that a picture called 'Summer Roses' cannot be sold, but an accurate description increases the chance of a sale. I would also recommend the UK tag. It is very important. I will be looking forward to your first 1000 photos, which we will be able to comment on later. Until then, I would not have high hopes for a quick sale. Working on the Alamy is also about patience. In another thread, you write that you will try to be patient. I wish you that because it is necessary for success here I recommend reading the blog and forum, everything has already been answered there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 Thank you. I'll look out for specific names, if I don't already know them, in future and will add the UK tag. It looks as if the tagging and captions are as important as the photography! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radim Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Tagging and captions is more important. A stupid photo with good markings will probably sell sooner than a beautiful photo with incorrect tags drowned in a black hole of 250 million photos. A beautiful photo and the right tags are ideal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MizBrown Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Other thing is to look at the competition on Alamy and see if there's a view of the plant or flower that is missing. Alamy has thousands of African violets but fewer double flowered African violets labeled as such. Also, one of my orchids has a common name in Spanish of El Torito (Little Bull). Most photos aren't of the view that shows how the orchid got its Latin American common name. The photos I didn't get include a black bee pollinating a terrestrial orchid that I no longer keep. Sigh. If you have a garden or if there's a nearby park, look for combinations of flowers and insects. The Guardian zoomed on two stink bug photos on Alamy. Mine didn't license, but the one of a stink bug on a flower did. If you have access to a university, the entomologist on the faculty can help with names, or use some of the internet-based image comparison tools, but check against Wikipedia and or reference books to confirm. Sometimes looking at the competition will encourage you to take a pass on adding your photos to the pool. A stupid photo with the right tags may be good enough to illustrate examples of something. I had two licenses for Poecilia mexicana (Mexican or Short-finned Molly, a fish I used to keep). Not a brilliant photo, but a group of the fish rather than one or a pair. If your collection is small, looking for holes to fill tends to be useful. "All of Alamy" (AoA) can show you how often an item was searched for over a year's time and how many examples of the item Alamy already has. Sometimes, the examples aren't what the searcher wanted: Nicaraguan Sign Language is not Spanish language signs on stores. Both generalists and specialists can do reasonably well on Alamy, but if you decide to specialize, be very thorough with the tags (and don't worry about maximizing discoverability and getting into the green). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 Thanks, that's helpful. One of my images in QC is of a flower with a bee on it. I do have a garden and it's designed to be wildlife friendly, so I could do a lot more of that kind of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Usually flowers look best if shot in the shade or on a hazy day, rather than in bright sun. Especially white flowers which parts can blow out with no detail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyCollins Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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