Please fellow contributors have a look at my portfolio

[lennystan]

Please fellow contributors have a look at my portfolio, have some sales but only very few, how can I improve? thank you very much

[Martin L]

3 hours ago, lennystan said:

Please fellow contributors have a look at my portfolio, have some sales but only very few, how can I improve? thank you very much

How few is few?

The general average is about 1license a month for 1000 images (it's not MS)

With 200, you might expect about 2 a year with average photos.

If you are doing better than that then just keep pumping them in and licenses will climb.

I've used this analogy before but it is like a drainpipe. Images go in one end and licenses fall out the other. The more you pump in the quicker you fill the drainpipe.

The better quality of images the shorter the drainpipe and the faster licenses drop out.

 

Good luck

 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Martin L
Grammar

[spacecadet]

3 hours ago, Martin L said:

the drainpipe

Mine's got a dead rat stuck in it.

[spacecadet]

3 hours ago, Martin L said:

it is like a drainpipe.

Mine must have a dead rat stuck in it, then.🦦

[Sharon]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Mine must have a dead rat stuck in it, then.🦦

Haha!..  😆

[Joseph Clemson]

You have a mixed bag of images, which it pretty much the bread and butter of Alamy over the years (though they seem to be trying to switch the emphasis lately).

 

My own portfolio of a little under 4000 images is a similar variety of British subject matter to yours, stretching back 12 years now. This year I have sold 45 licences, my best ever annual performance. Unfortunately, both gross and net revenue are well down on previous years, so even my best is not as good as it used to be.

 

I hope this will give you an idea of where to pitch your expectations of stock photography at Alamy.

[Steve F]

Hi Lennystan,

Nice mix of pictures.

 

Some of your captions are too short, be aware that they are also searchable by clients. Include the Latin as well as the common name of plants, insects and the location (including the country). Some helpful links:

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

 

Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) tree brunch - Image ID: 2KE265H

Include the country, wouldn't hurt to include the month/season too. Watch the spelling, misspelled words won't show up in searches.

 

I like your food shots. This is difficult to describe, but the ones that tend to sell look like they're a snapshot of an actual found scene, even though a lot of preparation has often gone into them. So this image for example looks great:

 

 

 

Not so keen on this one, it looks a bit too much like someone trying hard with a cliché stock image setup (yes I'm aware it's a 'spring' concept, still looks too unnatural to me). Yes it's hard to explain, but see what sells.

 

 

Yes, I know you get lots of cliché stock images that sell, like Monopoly houses on bank notes to represent the property market. You get a feel for it and this is just my opinion.

 

 

Stock images, particularly editorial images, are trying to tell a story, illustrate a concept or particular subject. The following image doesn't particularly show the main subject well, it's good that you've got people in, but they're really small, and the bottom third of the image is just paving slabs. Negative space can be good, but it can also be quite boring if not done right. Long story short, there's a better composition that could have been found to illustrate the ruins or the tourists visiting the ruins:

 

 

If you've got images with another stock library, be aware that Alamy only has 150 characters for Captions, some of yours have been chopped short:

 

Coatbridge, Scotland: Look at High riser in Coatbridge under renovation and thermal insulation work. View from a street over Parkour Pa - Image ID: 2GBF3GE

 

If you can take an image of something that's in the news at the moment, that's great. Is this simply replacement of thermal cladding, or is it also related to the Grenfell Tower Fire and the cladding scandal? If yes to the latter, point it out. Also, you've got some people in another image in the series and you've labelled them as doing parkour. But you've also got parkour as a keyword for this image. Be aware that incorrect keywording will hurt your CTR and image placement in client searches. Also, this is not a 'high riser' - it's a tower block, or apartment block, or a block of flats, or a high-rise apartment block.

 

Finally, you need a lot more images if you want to sell in any sort of decent quantity. I'm adding 600+ a year and I'm slow compared to many contributors on here.

 

Best of luck,

Steve

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Steve F

[Allan Bell]

Done as you asked and agree with above comments.

 

Allan

 

[Mr Standfast]

On 29/11/2022 at 17:11, Allan Bell said:

Done as you asked and agree with above comments.

 

Allan

 

Classy reply🦔