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Is There a Useful Purpose in Deleting Images?


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My collection is smaller than I intended it to be at this point, so deleting an image is of serious concern to me. Technically of course they have all past Alamy QC. I have a plan that after I hit 2,000 images I will delete the dozen or two shots I'm unhappy with. 

 

We were recently talking about food images and the backgrounds for those. Most of the closeups of cooked food that I have should really be called travel food shots, that is they were shot in restaurants where I had limited control. Sometimes this works well, and sometimes it does not. I'm wondering what the relative advantages or disadvantages of deleting them would be? 

 

Thanks, Ed

 

 

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Don't delete any image Ed. You never know if it has been seen but not zoomed and the customer may return to it. (one day)

 

I have deleted images in the past but replaced them with a reworked image. That is an improved image from the same base RAW file.

 

Allan

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Don't delete any image Ed. You never know if it has been seen but not zoomed and the customer may return to it. (one day)

 

I have deleted images in the past but replaced them with a reworked image. That is an improved image from the same base RAW file.

 

Allan

 

 I recently requested deletion of a photo that I wasn't happy with. I then uploaded an "improved" version of the same image, and it failed QC! No more deleting of approved images for me. The gods can be capricious, I've learned.

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Don't delete any image Ed. You never know if it has been seen but not zoomed and the customer may return to it. (one day)

 

I have deleted images in the past but replaced them with a reworked image. That is an improved image from the same base RAW file.

 

Allan

 

+1

 

I sent up some news images then reworked the RAW files later in the week to remove dust spots I hadn't noticed at the time and submitted as stock.

 

I've added the ref of the original into the caption of the new one so if anyone searches on the ref then both show up. I don't want to remove the original in case it screws things up and I don't think leaving it there makes much difference in a pool of 40 million images.

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I've not deleted any images (aside from when I closed my account in 2008 for a non-Alamy related reason).  I've heard an argument for deleting non-selling images is to improve rank...I suspect you will have just as much luck improving rank by submitting more images (the images that don't get licensed become a smaller rank-lowering factor the larger a portfolio gets) - of course only a mathmetician or statistician could prove that...and I don't have the patience to deal with the thought.  I'd rather just go out and make more pictures that I can upload :)

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I think the only reason for deleting images is to improve your Alamyrank. If you delete something, it can't sell. But it also can't come up in searches where it isn't wanted.

Rather than deleting images, a better approach might be to delete some of their keywords. If is isn't going to beat the competition, or you have better images of the same subject, maybe reduce the keywords to the few that might have less competition.

I've been going through my images recently (still at it) and have been playing with the keywords. Adding some that I hadn't thought of, yes, but also deleting or relegating others that weren't really that relevant or for which I myself had better examples.

I have deleted a few images, but usually only near duplicates or inferior versions of newly-processed oldies.

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Regarding Alamy rank:

Create a new pseudo and move the poor images to that trash pseudo instead of deleting them.

I do that but, after a couple of working days also start the delete process.

 

When I have retaken a shot in better light I have asked member services to delete the first one, and then added, as was suggested by another forum member, the code number of the deleted image to the key words of the new photo.

 

I have a concern that a customer might be presented with a not so good version of the concept, and not bother to look my alternatives. I therefore occasionally delete what I consider to be the weaker efforts. Need to get around to that right now.....

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I have 147 out of 2698 currently awaiting deletion. There was a period where I went a little overboard in loading everything in sight, and many/most of the deletees are from a 7-mp Canon G6 or from less-than-stellar slides. Yes, I know that the last one you decide to throw in from a shoot is sometimes the one that sells, and trust me, I do have plenty of those not awaiting deletion, and have sold some of them. But it was just time to clean house a little.

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My collection is smaller than I intended it to be at this point, so deleting an image is of serious concern to me. Technically of course they have all past Alamy QC. I have a plan that after I hit 2,000 images I will delete the dozen or two shots I'm unhappy with. 

 

We were recently talking about food images and the backgrounds for those. Most of the closeups of cooked food that I have should really be called travel food shots, that is they were shot in restaurants where I had limited control. Sometimes this works well, and sometimes it does not. I'm wondering what the relative advantages or disadvantages of deleting them would be? 

 

Thanks, Ed

I laughed when I read the last sentence you wrote in the first paragraph. While I admire many of your images, I do understand your question.

I just wish I could give you a solid answer to it...

 

Let's see who gets to 2,000 first and how many the winner deletes?

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