Martin P Wilson Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I am completely rethinking my photography now I can be as full time as I wish but it has to pay its way (and more). I am in two minds. Do I use a new pseudonym in my existing under-performing account or do I create a completely new account for the new, more disciplined (dare I say professional) work? I am sure there was a thread on this topic but I can't find it. I appreciate the new pseudonym will start at a median level but will it be dragged down by the other, less successful pseudonyms (around 3k images)? Or will it lift the old stuff? I am leaning towards a clean start so I can really see what is happening. Any thoughts or experience? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I am completely rethinking my photography now I can be as full time as I wish but it has to pay its way (and more). I am in two minds. Do I use a new pseudonym in my existing under-performing account or do I create a completely new account for the new, more disciplined (dare I say professional) work? I am sure there was a thread on this topic but I can't find it. I appreciate the new pseudonym will start at a median level but will it be dragged down by the other, less successful pseudonyms (around 3k images)? Or will it lift the old stuff? I am leaning towards a clean start so I can really see what is happening. Any thoughts or experience? Thanks. My understanding is that pseudonyms are independent and cannot be brought down by another poorer performing one. If you have one that is doing well now, move out the images you consider to be 2nd tier to a new pseudonym. Or, if you don't have a pseudonym that is performing well now, transfer the better images to a new one. I can't imagine there is any benefit from setting up a new account..... but someone with greater knowledge in these things may confirm otherwise . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 My understanding is the same as Martin's. Starting a new pseudonym for under-performers shouldn't hurt your main pseudo. I did just that not long ago. My under-performers are still under-achieving, but the new pseudo doesn't seem to be affecting my main collection in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Thanks guys, I will ponder it a little further. I was of the same opinion but when I extracted some of my "best" stuff to a new pseudonym (a year or so ago) it did not seem to make much difference. I was probably not thorough enough in addressing all aspects such as selection, keywording, captioning etc as DK reminds us in his 30 tips thread in "Let's talk about pics". From what you are saying I guess the only advantage of a new account would be to have a "clean" portfolio to send to possible clients. I will be redoing my web site for that purpose anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoDogue Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Two thoughts: I wonder if Alamy allows multiple accounts for individuals. Most websites don't and since they do allow pseudonyms that would seem to be their solution for people who want to separate their collections. Second thought, you would have to meet the minimum threshold for payment for sales for each account in order to be paid so it seems like improving the overall performance of your present account would be a better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie5 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Martin, I went through your portfolio and you have some fine photos in there. I took four of your photos and did searches for the subjects and none of you photos showed up. I did your "French Macrons" and found yours, but used "macaroons" as a search term with no success. I searched for "ford GT 40" and couldn't find yours as that is one that I also have a photo for. I searched "Chateau Royal night" and Chateau Royale night" and your photos didn't show up. I also searched "Dodge Charger" and your photo doesn't show up. I think you need to work on your keywording which should improve your sales. Its time consuming and a pain but its necessary. Try doing searches for photos you know you heve in your collection and see what happens, if you can't find them then no one else can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Thanks everyone.. I have started to review my keywords but as you say it is time consuming and VERY boring. I am surprised by some of the searches that did not produce any of my images (so I do need to do work on keywords) but my search for Chateau Royale showed one of mine at position 6 of out of 514 (my M-dash pseudonym) but other searches showed nothing or put me well down the ranking. Your comments give me a new focus. Oh, to see our work as others see it! I know what I will be doing over the next few weeks of evenings! That is something I can do during the long evenings while I plan 2014 - get my current portfolio straight. Worrying about pseudonym or account is not the [priority/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie5 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Try allocating maybe an hour a day to checking and improving keywords and chip away at it. If I get a zoom a usually check my keywords for that image. My brain usually goes numb when I have to keyword a lot of images so I return to them individually later and add keywords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Whitehead Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Thanks everyone.. I have started to review my keywords but as you say it is time consuming and VERY boring. I agree. I try to keep my mind on the income it brings; that does concentrate attention a bit more. Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.