Keywording help

[jcarmo]

Hi, I'm new at this and am wondering if there is software available to help with keywording.  

[Mr Standfast]

Probably best if you do it yourself. Have a search of the forum especially the portfolio review thread, accuracy is more relevent than quantity. 😀

[Steve F]

Jcarmo, there is software available. I've not used any, but anecdotally, from what I've heard, it's often not that accurate. A lot of Alamy customers are doing quite specific searches, so as Mr Standfast says, you're probably better off doing it yourself. If you use, e.g. Lightroom, you can build up keyword collections, which makes keywording a lot quicker in any case. This keyword information from Lightroom will then already be in Alamy Image Manager once you upload an image there and it is approved.

 

Also, inaccurate keywording will hurt your CTR rank - this determines your image placement on Client searches.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Steve F

[Steve F]

Really great images btw. 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 and animals, 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

[Gnans]

I would avoid any software for Alamy keywording. I have tried a couple and they just spam. The algorithm here is different to other stock sites.

[Rebecca Ore]

You've got a swimming white pelican labeled as a egret, and an egret pair labeled as roseate spoonbills.   This is possibly a selection error except that it's in captions.   The Peterson guide for Central and Eastern US is one I have.  The western states version is also probably good.  My other bird books are two specialist books on hummingbirds and raptors, and a range of books from Mexico to Costa Rica.   White Egrets come in three sizes: Cattle, Snowy, and Great.  Cattle and Great have yellow beaks; Snowy has a black beak and black legs with yellow feet.  Your pelican has the protrusion on the top of the bill that indicates the bird is breeding (info from "Birds of Eastern and Central North America.") 

[Rebecca Ore]

Same experience with keywording software.   It doesn't work.  It gets things wrong.  And it doesn't know scientific names.   Couple of programs to use to ID things are Lens and Seek.   Wikipedia pages give lots of information on other common names, ranges.   Groups on Flickr and Facebook can also be helpful. 

 

Also, if you can get the varietal name of plant hybrids, that's useful.  University of Oklahoma has a web site of domestic animal breeds used in agriculture.