Picture need: Famous Landmarks Request from Alamy..... Again so vague

[meanderingemu]

So yet again one of these "Picture Needs"  

 

"We have a request for images of famous landmarks from around the world, shot from unusual perspectives. Try to think differently from the traditional views that you expect to see.

Check out this lightbox for inspiration."

 

 

No definition of famous landmarks- one of the image in sample is of traditional footwear, and a local bus in India, i have some of those?  What of the images we already have loaded?  Why not create a special KW instead of having to e-mail with lists.

 

 

Like i have famous landmarks in Tirana, Oaxaca, Ljubljana, Rovijn or do you only care about the Eiffel Tower. Big Ben and those overdone "landmarks"?   

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by meanderingemu

[meanderingemu]

like is this a "Famous Landmark from around the world, shot for unusual perspective"

 

someone cycling during a snowstorm on the Rideau Canal Skating rink

 

 

 

Famous Landmark: Unesco world heritage ✔️

Unusual Perspective 1: Not sunny perfect weather ✔️

Unusual Perspective 2: Not spot with typical building ✔️

Unusual Perspective 3: Cycling not skating (unusual enough that it's not allowed 😆) ✔️

[wiskerke]

The lightbox gave some direction. I have made a small lightbox of my own and replied with that.

 

wim

[meanderingemu]

26 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

The lightbox gave some direction. I have made a small lightbox of my own and replied with that.

 

wim

 

as stated the lightbox includes a public bus in India, sandals of a traditional costume, trees in bloom in South Africa so that is pretty wide as far as "Famous Landmark"

 

 

 

[meanderingemu]

38 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

The lightbox gave some direction. I have made a small lightbox of my own and replied with that.

 

wim

 

that said, the idea of a Lightbox is great.  thanks.  I will wait to see what they say on the above example to figure out how wide they want

 

(need to find out how i create a lighbox  😉 )

Edited July 13, 2022 by meanderingemu

[wiskerke]

2 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

that said, the idea of a Lightbox is great.  thanks.  I will wait to see what they say on the above example to figure out how wide they want

 

(need to find out how i create a lighbox  😉 )

That was the idea. 😁

Upper left hand corner on a search page.

 

wim

[meanderingemu]

So here are images included in the Lightbox that are supposed to tell us what they want

 

People walking on a beach with minor level touristy geological formation

People on a train looking at a window.  Train probably fits in celebrated of train rides in the world, but image could be in any train

A boardwalk in a minor outback spot of Australia 

Image looking at a trees, in a location on secondary landmark list ( how many people go to the Bungle Bungles)

Sandals on traditional outfit

Someone in the desert, feet on a salt lake

Someone walking through non identifiable water canal in Oman

Skyline view of Santiago Chile at sunset- was is unusual, Santiago as a Landmark? Fact image is at dawn not sunset?

Unidentified High Peaks (R9J8HC )

Pear blossom against wall in China with focus on blossom

Traditional courtyard of Japanese houses-

Jacaranda in bloom with nothing identifiable of Pretoria in image.

Inside a Public bus in India

 

 

 

 

and from Contributor support is "We are more after images of famous landmarks e.g. a building and photographed from a different perspective. Just look at the Lightbox (sic!)"

[wiskerke]

1 minute ago, meanderingemu said:

So here are images included in the Lightbox that are supposed to tell us what they want

 

People walking on a beach with minor level touristy geological formation

People on a train looking at a window.  Train probably fits in celebrated of train rides in the world, but image could be in any train

A boardwalk in a minor outback spot of Australia 

Image looking at a trees, in a location on secondary landmark list ( how many people go to the Bungle Bungles)

Sandals on traditional outfit

Someone in the desert, feet on a salt lake

Someone walking through non identifiable water canal in Oman

Skyline view of Santiago Chile at sunset- was is unusual, Santiago as a Landmark? Fact image is at dawn not sunset?

Unidentified High Peaks (R9J8HC )

Pear blossom against wall in China with focus on blossom

Traditional courtyard of Japanese houses-

Jacaranda in bloom with nothing identifiable of Pretoria in image.

Inside a Public bus in India

 

and from Contributor support is "We are more after images of famous landmarks e.g. a building and photographed from a different perspective. Just look at the Lightbox (sic!)"

 

Maybe the client is in Australia or the editor? I sort of see the idea, however is this the client's or the editor's choice? Taste is a difficult thing. Describing it even more. Which is why we've invented the mood board. Think of the lightbox as a mood board.

My take. Feel free to take it apart the same way.

Because they're landmarks, this will always a problem, because honestly it has all been done before. 1; 2; 3.

And it's not impossible the client in the end wants more traditional images, just with even more saturation; pov; elevated; overhead; slice of life or whatever the latest Insta trend is at the moment. Which is fair, because that's why he/she is the client.

 

BTW what is the latest Insta trend?  Oops maybe I should start wasting my time on researching Instagram. 😂

Maybe a new perspective is not the latest trend at all. It's so 2015.

 

AoA:

Landmark (400 searches for the rolling year)

Unesco (200 searches for the rolling year)

Maybe I should update my keywords.

 

wim

 

 

[meanderingemu]

15 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

 

Maybe the client is in Australia or the editor? I sort of see the idea, however is this the client's or the editor's choice? Taste is a difficult thing. Describing it even more. Which is why we've invented the mood board. Think of the lightbox as a mood board.

 

 

wim

 

 

 

 

and this would be information that would add value to the request to focus on actual needs.  Looking at your take, i love the Doubtful Sound cruise image under that view.  If they are based in the US, Doubtful Sound is likely not in mind (gorgeous place, horrible horrible sandflies) 

 

and yes I am pushing on this one, but this goes for all these requests, from the punctual one to the what should i shoot.   Like Alamy do you want me to go to the most famous landmark in Halifax (Can) and do different point of view as per specs, are is client in an environment where it is highly unlikely an image in a second tier location in Canada is what they need. 

[wiskerke]

3 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

Looking at your take, i love the Doubtful Sound cruise image under that view.  If they are based in the US, Doubtful Sound is likely not in mind (gorgeous place, horrible horrible sandflies)

Not when it's raining like that. 😁

 

wim

[Rebecca Ore]

1 hour ago, meanderingemu said:

Contributor support is "We are more after images of famous landmarks e.g. a building and photographed from a different perspective. Just look at the Lightbox (sic!)"

 

The request for various ethnicities and skin colors in illustrations of medical skin problems seemed real.  This seems like "what?" 

 

That said, I've seen some Indian photographer getting photos of the Taj Mahal which were far more interesting than yet another full frontal view of the thing.  He had people walking and sitting with parts of the building showing.  I'm trying to think of what would work for tourism and retirement promotions and, yeah, people and the famous place, not the typical tourist photo of people posing with famous architecture behind them.  Or Erwin Blumenfeld's fashion photos of the model, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn,  hanging off the Eiffel Tower (taken in 1939, so this concept isn't exactly new). 

 

The concept can go in so many directions and photos roughly with different perspectives of famous landmarks can used in so many ways.  Is Managua's Crown Royale hotel from an overlook an unusual perspective?   Is a cathedral reflected in rain pools?   "Don't shoot cliche shots" is good enough advice, but....

[MariaJ]

4 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

Maybe the client is in Australia or the editor? I sort of see the idea, however is this the client's or the editor's choice? Taste is a difficult thing. Describing it even more. Which is why we've invented the mood board. Think of the lightbox as a mood board.

My take. Feel free to take it apart the same way.

Because they're landmarks, this will always a problem, because honestly it has all been done before. 1; 2; 3.

And it's not impossible the client in the end wants more traditional images, just with even more saturation; pov; elevated; overhead; slice of life or whatever the latest Insta trend is at the moment. Which is fair, because that's why he/she is the client.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting your lightbox, that's a great collection.  Statue of David's butt cheeks, oh my! 

[John Mitchell]

For many years, I contributed to a small stock photo library specializing in Latin America. The owner used to supply his photographers with detailed lists of specific subjects that he needed. They were very helpful. Vague requests like "famous landmarks around the world" just waste our time, I'm afraid. A list of names of actual landmarks that the client is looking for would be another story.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by John Mitchell

[meanderingemu]

49 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

For many years, I contributed to a small stock photo library specializing in Latin America. The owner used to supply his photographers with detailed lists of specific subjects that he needed. They were very helpful. Vague requests like "famous landmarks around the world" just waste our time, I'm afraid. A list of names of actual landmarks that the client is looking for would be another story.

 

 

 

 

 

wow, that sounds incredible./

 

this is made even worse by a totally incoherent hodge-podge of images "for your inspiration", with no note how it fits with the request.  

 

Like: Rear View Of Person Holding Heart Shape Umbrella While Standing On Suspension Bridge

Image ID: WEMMJA

 

Honestly not even mention of bridge is.  So you want Instagram pic of day circa 2017? 

[Michael Ventura]

I'm gonna be rich!! I just booked a round-the-world trip that stops at all the famous landmarks!! How much do I get for each photo sale???  Ha!

 

If the landmark happens to be near me and I am there anyway. I will take some snaps.  Traveling for the sake of stock just isn't worth it anymore.

 

 

[meanderingemu]

45 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

I'm gonna be rich!! I just booked a round-the-world trip that stops at all the famous landmarks!! How much do I get for each photo sale???  Ha!

 

If the landmark happens to be near me and I am there anyway. I will take some snaps.  Traveling for the sake of stock just isn't worth it anymore.

 

 

 

 

exactly.  The most famous landmark to me is 50km away, even if i owned a car i probably wouldn't go even if i had more certainty this is what the client was looking for. 

[Pancaketom]

For the 1 cent I got for some of my recent sales it probably isn't worth it for me to walk outside to take a pic of the mountain I can see from the road in front of my house, let alone pay to go to Yosemite or Death Valley or some other relatively nearby landmark.

[meanderingemu]

latest input

 

"The picture of the cyclist is great; however, we need more of the famous landmark in the photograph as well. For it to be identifiable.We really would like to get worldwide landmarks"

 

btw, i never expected that image to be in line but it fit what was in the Lightbox as illustrated above....  I just wonder why it is sometimes so hard to frame the request of the client.  Wouldn't they rather have my 4 images that actually fit precisely what the client wants that have to sift through 20-30 of maybes 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by meanderingemu

[meanderingemu]

hey Alamy, would this one work?  If you think it is worth it, i can go reproduce it.....

 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by meanderingemu

[sb photos]

On 13/07/2022 at 11:10, meanderingemu said:

So yet again one of these "Picture Needs"  

 

"We have a request for images of famous landmarks from around the world, shot from unusual perspectives. Try to think differently from the traditional views that you expect to see.

Check out this lightbox for inspiration."

 

 

No definition of famous landmarks- one of the image in sample is of traditional footwear, and a local bus in India, i have some of those?  What of the images we already have loaded?  Why not create a special KW instead of having to e-mail with lists.

 

 

Like i have famous landmarks in Tirana, Oaxaca, Ljubljana, Rovijn or do you only care about the Eiffel Tower. Big Ben and those overdone "landmarks"?   

 

 

Likely in most instances the picture requests are to expand the range of images available to clients, to potentially increase sales. I suspect very few of the request are in relation to customer requests. I wonder if Alamy will ever notify us what percentage of image request actually relate to positive customer requests.

[Cryptoprocta]

3 hours ago, sb photos said:

 

Likely in most instances the picture requests are to expand the range of images available to clients, to potentially increase sales. I suspect very few of the request are in relation to customer requests. I wonder if Alamy will ever notify us what percentage of image request actually relate to positive customer requests.

Haven't they always said that they are in relation to positive customer requests?

And they have said that if they are still on the list, they are still active customer requests.

However, there was one very longstanding customer request on the list for a building which was reasonably close (c8 miles) to me. I wouldn't go specially, but I reported before that the 'good angle' on the building's website was a photorealistic artist drawing, that 'clear view' angle doesn't actually exist. Eventually, I happened to find myself unexpectedly in the area with a spare hour, and luckily I had my sony in my handbag and it was a nice, sunny day. I took photos from all accessible angles, came home and checked. Since I'd last looked, there had been a few photos uploaded by another contributor, taken on a really wet day, fair enough, we have lots of these. However, it was still on the request list, so as I had them, I uploaded them. The building was still on the request list for another couple of months at least and my pics weren't reported in measures as searched on, although I acknowledged the upload as instructed.

I suspect that the original customer had long since (it had been on the request list for at least nine months when I took the photos) either sourced the image elsewhere, had used the rainy day pics or had decided they could manage without the image, but WDIK?

LIke I've said before, I would not go out of my way to fulfil a request - we have no idea what the client would pay for the image - but if you're in the area anyway, it probably can't do any harm to take and submit these subjects.

[Cryptoprocta]

Just now, Cryptoprocta said:

Sorry, repeat

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by Cryptoprocta

[meanderingemu]

1 hour ago, Cryptoprocta said:

Haven't they always said that they are in relation to positive customer requests?

And they have said that if they are still on the list, they are still active customer requests.

 

 

 

Maybe for these e-mail request, but Contributor Support have confirmed in past that some of the items listed in "WSIS" are not emanating from specific request but from gaps identified by Alamy.  

[John Mitchell]

18 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

exactly.  The most famous landmark to me is 50km away, even if i owned a car i probably wouldn't go even if i had more certainty this is what the client was looking for. 

 

Looks like someone beat you to it. 😎

 

I'm not sure that Vancouver has any famous landmarks. Perhaps the Gastown steam clock qualifies as every tourist who comes here snaps a pic of it. I always figure that clients who make vague photo requests aren't serious -- i.e. they don't really know what they are looking for.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by John Mitchell

[meanderingemu]

7 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Looks like someone beat you to it. 😎

 

I'm not sure that Vancouver has any famous landmarks. Perhaps the Gastown steam clock qualifies as every tourist who comes here snaps a pic of it. I always figure that clients who make vague photo requests aren't serious -- i.e. they don't really know what they are looking for.

 

 

 

but there is no "Flashing Peggy's Cove" on the database  😆