Alexander Staridas Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Hello to everyone, I joined alamy 30 August of 2021.I start to upload images regularly from the March of 2022 and later.My portofolio is now 1564 images. My total views is 947 and my zooms only 5.My total CTR is 0.53 and my average the same 0.53 with alamys average for this month 0.49 .Until now i have no sales and i know that i have to wait .My big concerne is the difference of the views with the zooms and if the number views is low in relation with the number of the images. English is not my native language and i know that this is a big negative.Please check my portofolio and give my your critique and suggestions. I would be grateful for any help. Alexander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanDavidson Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 I think you need to work on your captions. Remember, who,what, when, where, why? Also, it appears that these photos were taken on a beach in Greece? What beach, where,? My perception is that your composition needs a lot of work. There are odd elements in the corners and sides of the pictures distracting from the main subject. These are more holiday snaps than stock photography. You are in competition with hundreds of other photographers. Have a look at the forum sections on photos sold and photos found. when you take stock photos you need to think why someone would buy this photo. What theme one concept does it illustrate, ideally before you take the photo…. Apologies for being so critical, but my perception is, and I am no expert, that you need quite a lot of improvement before you get sales, given the nature of our market. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 Hi Alexander, On the upside, you've got lots of well exposed, colourful and striking images. As Ian says, you do however have an awful lot of images that look like family holiday snaps. Stock photos like that really need to illustrate a concept, e.g. putting on sun tan cream because it's hot. Or a particular location. Not just pictures of family smiling at the camera. Take a step back and ask yourself, what would someone buy my photo for? Are you keeping a look out for published stock photos (easy to find, they're everywhere)? Obviously these are the 'winners'. How well do they illustrate the concept? How good is the lighting and composition? What subjects do you see that sell? How do your images compare in terms of lighting, composition, choice of subject matter, composition...? You should then get a better idea of what sells so you can be more commercial with you choice of subject matter. Also, your captions are far too short. Clients will look at your captions and move on, because they don't really describe what's in the photo. You should include the location and be specific. e.g. "People sitting ,staring and taking selfies at a port - Image ID: 2JHG3R1" Which port, which town, which country? The only way this photo is likely to sell is if someone wants an image of the specific port. And you haven't said which one it is. These links will be useful: https://www.alamy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Captions-and-Tags-checklist.pdf https://www.alamy.com/blog/tips-for-your-captions-from-the-sales-team https://www.alamy.com/blog/captions-and-tags Steve 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 26, 2022 Author Share Posted July 26, 2022 1 hour ago, IanDavidson said: I think you need to work on your captions. Remember, who,what, when, where, why? Also, it appears that these photos were taken on a beach in Greece? What beach, where,? My perception is that your composition needs a lot of work. There are odd elements in the corners and sides of the pictures distracting from the main subject. These are more holiday snaps than stock photography. You are in competition with hundreds of other photographers. Have a look at the forum sections on photos sold and photos found. when you take stock photos you need to think why someone would buy this photo. What theme one concept does it illustrate, ideally before you take the photo…. Apologies for being so critical, but my perception is, and I am no expert, that you need quite a lot of improvement before you get sales, given the nature of our market. No apologies , thank you for your time to critique my portofolio.The only reason i didn't put names in some locations is because they are not popular and my thinking was to be more generic.I guess i am wrong.I will try to improve my compotition and think before release the shutter.Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 26, 2022 Author Share Posted July 26, 2022 31 minutes ago, Steve F said: Hi Alexander, On the upside, you've got lots of well exposed, colourful and striking images. As Ian says, you do however have an awful lot of images that look like family holiday snaps. Stock photos like that really need to illustrate a concept, e.g. putting on sun tan cream because it's hot. Or a particular location. Not just pictures of family smiling at the camera. Take a step back and ask yourself, what would someone buy my photo for? Are you keeping a look out for published stock photos (easy to find, they're everywhere)? Obviously these are the 'winners'. How well do they illustrate the concept? How good is the lighting and composition? What subjects do you see that sell? How do your images compare in terms of lighting, composition, choice of subject matter, composition...? You should then get a better idea of what sells so you can be more commercial with you choice of subject matter. Also, your captions are far too short. Clients will look at your captions and move on, because they don't really describe what's in the photo. You should include the location and be specific. e.g. "People sitting ,staring and taking selfies at a port - Image ID: 2JHG3R1" Which port, which town, which country? The only way this photo is likely to sell is if someone wants an image of the specific port. And you haven't said which one it is. These links will be useful: https://www.alamy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Captions-and-Tags-checklist.pdf https://www.alamy.com/blog/tips-for-your-captions-from-the-sales-team https://www.alamy.com/blog/captions-and-tags Steve Thank you for your time Steve.My thinking was not to put details of the location because they are not popular (like the Greek islands) and no one will ever search them with their name.I wanted this images to be more generic if this is the right word to describe it. I guess i am wrong. As Ian said i need a lot of improvement.Thank you for your critique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 Just now, Alexander Staridas said: Thank you for your time Steve.My thinking was not to put details of the location because they are not popular (like the Greek islands) and no one will ever search them with their name.I wanted this images to be more generic if this is the right word to describe it. I guess i am wrong. As Ian said i need a lot of improvement.Thank you for your critique! Alexander, no problem. It normally doesn't ever hurt to put the location. Unless you're shooting in a restricted area, which raises other questions. Alamy is primarily an editorial agency. It will sell generic pictures, but that's not a primary focus. Generic images would be more appropriate on Microstock. Additionally, the image should still illustrate some sort of concept, otherwise its unlikely to sell in any case. Have a look at published stock photos and see what sells. And Greek islands are popular tourist destinations. Get some more touristic shots of well known areas, but off the beaten track areas might also sell too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 26, 2022 Author Share Posted July 26, 2022 44 minutes ago, Steve F said: Alexander, no problem. It normally doesn't ever hurt to put the location. Unless you're shooting in a restricted area, which raises other questions. Alamy is primarily an editorial agency. It will sell generic pictures, but that's not a primary focus. Generic images would be more appropriate on Microstock. Additionally, the image should still illustrate some sort of concept, otherwise its unlikely to sell in any case. Have a look at published stock photos and see what sells. And Greek islands are popular tourist destinations. Get some more touristic shots of well known areas, but off the beaten track areas might also sell too. You are right it doesn't hurt to put the location.It's not easy for me to travel to more touristic places this period but it's in my future plans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 As others have said here, you are much better off being more specific with your captions and keywords then being vague and generic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 26, 2022 Author Share Posted July 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Michael Ventura said: As others have said here, you are much better off being more specific with your captions and keywords then being vague and generic. Thank you , i will be more specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) On 25/07/2022 at 20:29, Alexander Staridas said: My big concerne is the difference of the views with the zooms and if the number views is low in relation with the number of the images. Alexander, I have 41,029 views and 236 zooms from 1st July 2021 to date. I've increased my portfolio from approx. 3500 to 4084 images in that time. My average CTR is 0.58. 180 sales. Edited July 27, 2022 by Steve F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 2 hours ago, Steve F said: Alexander, I have 41,029 views and 236 zooms from 1st July 2021 to date. I've increased my portfolio from approx. 3500 to 4084 images in that time. My average CTR is 0.58. 180 sales. So you have 10 times the number of your loaded images in views.From the other hand i have a little bit more of the half of my loaded images for almost the same period.My performance is really,really bad.Thank you for sharing your numbers it helps me a lot! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 23 minutes ago, Alexander Staridas said: So you have 10 times the number of your loaded images in views.From the other hand i have a little bit more of the half of my loaded images for almost the same period.My performance is really,really bad.Thank you for sharing your numbers it helps me a lot! No, that's since July 2021, not 2022. It's about one view per image per month, which is very good- mine is about half that, CTR 0.4. But you don't have a lot of variety, so your effective port size is much smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 1 hour ago, spacecadet said: one view per image per month, which is very good ...depends if I'm keyword spamming 😝 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Steve F said: ...depends if I'm keyword spamming 😝 Yes, but with those sales numbers your spam is obviously delicious. Edited July 27, 2022 by spacecadet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdCoffee Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 On 26/07/2022 at 07:48, Alexander Staridas said: You are right it doesn't hurt to put the location.It's not easy for me to travel to more touristic places this period but it's in my future plans. Actually, photos from obscure and unknown places do sell on Alamy, so definitely include the location in the caption. I have quite a few sales from small unknown places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) 26 minutes ago, ColdCoffee said: Actually, photos from obscure and unknown places do sell on Alamy, so definitely include the location in the caption. I have quite a few sales from small unknown places. Exactly. These days you have to think in terms of scarcity -- i.e. look for subjects and locales that aren't well covered. For instance, Corfu looks like a wonderful place to visit, but there probably isn't much point in going there to shoot stock photography. Edited July 27, 2022 by John Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 3 hours ago, spacecadet said: No, that's since July 2021, not 2022. It's about one view per image per month, which is very good- mine is about half that, CTR 0.4. But you don't have a lot of variety, so your effective port size is much smaller. Yes since july 2021 ,so after a year is as Steve says almost 41000.He has a portofolio of almost 4500 images x 10 to 12 mounths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 5 minutes ago, John Mitchell said: Exactly. These days you have to think in terms of scarcity -- i.e. look for subjects and locales that aren't well covered. For instance, Corfu looks like a wonderful place to visit, but there probably isn't much point in going there to shoot stock photography. I dont think that anyone will search anything in the place where i live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdCoffee Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 25 minutes ago, Alexander Staridas said: I dont think that anyone will search anything in the place where i live. You'll be surprised 😀 .. especially if it is not well covered on Alamy. Make sure if there are any sales of this location, and the nearby places, that it's your photos! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Yarvin Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Wow, there is a huge difference between traveling to a place to shoot stock images and taking photos of the place where you live and submitting them for stock. For the life of me, I can't see any way you can justify spending money on a trip for stock shooting but I believe that wherever in the world you live, there will be something about it that's of interest to buyers of stock photos. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 2 minutes ago, Brian Yarvin said: Wow, there is a huge difference between traveling to a place to shoot stock images and taking photos of the place where you live and submitting them for stock. For the life of me, I can't see any way you can justify spending money on a trip for stock shooting but I believe that wherever in the world you live, there will be something about it that's of interest to buyers of stock photos. I agree , i just wish when i was traveling some years ago to all over the Greece to now about photography and stock agencies and build a portofolio with popular locations of Greece.Locations that people know all over the world like the Greek islands and historical sites.In my town Larissa we have one of the oldest ancient theatres from the 3th century BC , but Epithauros museum is the most knowened in the world. I dont believe that a buyer from another country will ever search for this theatre.I use it as an example 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 7 minutes ago, Alexander Staridas said: I agree , i just wish when i was traveling some years ago to all over the Greece to now about photography and stock agencies and build a portofolio with popular locations of Greece.Locations that people know all over the world like the Greek islands and historical sites.In my town Larissa we have one of the oldest ancient theatres from the 3th century BC , but Epithauros museum is the most knowened in the world. I dont believe that a buyer from another country will ever search for this theatre.I use it as an example Epithauros theatre not museum, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 17 minutes ago, Alexander Staridas said: In my town Larissa I have pictures on sale from Larissa 🙃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Staridas Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 2 minutes ago, Steve F said: I have pictures on sale from Larissa 🙃 If you have saled any there is hope🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 1 minute ago, Alexander Staridas said: If you have saled any there is hope🙂 Errrmmm.... 😇 No, but I don't have many on sale. I liked the amphitheatre there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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