categories and tagging

[Flick Merauld]

How important are categories? I find the Alamy ones really difficult as many of them seem to be dual, but not to fit my content exactly. For example, is an old building archive and historical (that kind of suggests maps and documents to me) or architecture and interiors, or something else? Also, I've just spent a day tagging 44 images: please tell me there's an easier way! Any advice much appreciated 

[NYCat]

As far as we know, this has never been used by Alamy. They suggest we fill it out in case they decide to use it in the future.

 

Paulette

[MDM]

We (a small group of contributors in the broad vicinity of Cambridge) used to meet up occasionally for a social lunch and chat. At the last of these meetings, very shortly before the Covid pandemic, James Allsworth of Alamy came along to join us and one of the things he mentioned was the use of these categories. He said that there was a plan at that time to increase the importance of these categories in relation to the search engine. I don't know if anything ever happened as Covid arrived, Alamy was taken over by PA and the world did not end for most of us, although it seemed like a close call at times.

 

As you say, the categories are very difficult to apply with any accuracy, as they are very broad and non-comprehensive, but they may or may not be worth the few seconds it takes to click on one if you think it is relevant.

 

Maybe someone from Alamy could pop in here and enlighten us all.

Edited November 9, 2023 by MDM

[Flick Merauld]

7 minutes ago, NYCat said:

As far as we know, this has never been used by Alamy. They suggest we fill it out in case they decide to use it in the future.

 

Paulette

oh, how strange. thank you, that's good to know

 

[Flick Merauld]

4 minutes ago, MDM said:

We (a small group of contributors in the broad vicinity of Cambridge) used to meet up occasionally for a social lunch and chat. At the last of these meetings, very shortly before the Covid pandemic, James Allsworth of Alamy came along to join us and one of the things he mentioned was the use of these categories. He said that there was a plan at that time to increase the importance of these categories in relation to the search engine. I don't know if anything ever happened as Covid arrived, Alamy was taken over by PA and the world did not end for most of us, although it seemed like a close call at times.

 

As you say, the categories are very difficult to apply with any accuracy, as they are very broad and non-comprehensive, but they may or may not be worth the few seconds it takes to click on one if you think it is relevant.

 

Maybe someone from Alamy could pop in here and enlighten us all.

 

That's interesting. I'm applying them as much as I can. but it's a bit hit and miss and random TBH 

[Ed Rooney]

 

Welcome to Alamy, Flick.

 

You might want to add the tag 'copy space' to images where there is some.

[Flick Merauld]

40 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Welcome to Alamy, Flick.

 

You might want to add the tag 'copy space' to images where there is some.

Thank you Ed. Do you mean copy and paste. I've been doing that. Also tagging multiple images together when they have tags in common. Is that what you meant?

[Ed Rooney]

 

 

No, I do not mean copy and paste. In your tags, add one that says copy space. That lets buyers know that they can drop in a headline or comment on your image.

[NYCat]

As an example your image A6F1YA could be used for a magazine cover with room at the top for the name of the magazine.

 

Paulette

[Ed Rooney]

 

Thanks, Paulette.

[Harry Harrison]

Apart from that rather off the cuff and vague remark from James Allsworth at that meeting which was relayed to us on here there has never been any evidence from Alamy or elsewhere that these categories are used at all, or ever have been. Absolutely nothing on the record from Alamy. They were introduced with the new AIM back in 2015 so there has been plenty of time for them to enlighten us, and to suggest how we might use them most effectively, even just to put something up on a blog. Yes, it would be very good if someone from Alamy or PA would enlighten us all.

 

The case against categories - quite clearly the list of categories is outdated, and no-one can possibly have a clue if they are filling them in correctly. None of the enormous quantities of images coming in from other places will have them at all. In practice Alamy can't modify the list or even add new ones because no-one is going to go back and retrospectively change their images now even if they did back in 2015.

I've never bought into the idea that Alamy researchers use them behind the scenes because if they did they'd be missing out on including in their selection any of the vast numbers of images that don't have any. However none of that logic prevents Alamy from ranking images with categories higher than ones without  so we keep on entering them, better to be safe than sorry etc.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Harry Harrison

[Flick Merauld]

30 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

 

No, I do not mean copy and paste. In your tags, add one that says copy space. That lets buyers know that they can drop in a headline or comment on your image.

ah, thank you, I had no idea ...

[Flick Merauld]

26 minutes ago, NYCat said:

As an example your image A6F1YA could be used for a magazine cover with room at the top for the name of the magazine.

 

Paulette

 

thank you Paulette, that makes sense

[Flick Merauld]

26 minutes ago, Harry Harrison said:

Apart from that rather off the cuff and vague remark from James Allsworth at that meeting which was relayed to us on here there has never been any evidence from Alamy or elsewhere that these categories are used at all, or ever have been. Absolutely nothing on the record from Alamy. They were introduced with the new AIM back in 2015 so there has been plenty of time for them to enlighten us, and to suggest how we might use them most effectively, even just to put something up on a blog. Yes, it would be very good if someone from Alamy or PA would enlighten us all.

 

The case against categories - quite clearly the list of categories is outdated, and no-one can possibly have a clue if they are filling them in correctly. None of the enormous quantities of images coming in from other places will have them at all. In practice Alamy can't modify the list or even add new ones because no-one is going to go back and retrospectively change their images now even if they did back in 2015.

I've never bought into the idea that Alamy researchers use them behind the scenes because if they did they'd be missing out on including in their selection any of the vast numbers of images that don't have any. However none of that logic prevents Alamy from ranking images with categories higher than ones without  so we keep on entering them, better to be safe than sorry etc.

 

I will continue to use them in that case! It takes longer to tag and categorise the photos than it does to take them and edit them in Lightroom ... 

[Ed Rooney]

 

And by the way . . . you need not worry about your images having enough tags to make them 'discoverable'. It's best to stay with just important tags. I have no discoverable images -- not one.

[Flick Merauld]

12 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

And by the way . . . you need not worry about your images having enough tags to make them 'discoverable'. It's best to stay with just important tags. I have no discoverable images -- not one.

 

Oh, that's useful to know. I will go back through and cull some of the vaguer ones. I also have image on Stockimo and they encourage emotions etc in tags. Anyway, I have 44 new images on sale after today's efforts, and no sign of them, so I guess it takes time to filter through 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Flick Merauld

[Steve F]

7 minutes ago, Flick Merauld said:

so I guess it takes time to filter through 

 

Database normally updates once every 24hrs.

[Harry Harrison]

32 minutes ago, Flick Merauld said:

Oh, that's useful to know. I will go back through and cull some of the vaguer ones.

This is good actually:

 

https://ablog.wpengine.com/captions-and-tags

[Harry Harrison]

54 minutes ago, Flick Merauld said:

It takes longer to tag and categorise the photos than it does to take them and edit them in Lightroom

It generally takes me about 6 months longer, must try harder.

[Flick Merauld]

9 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

This is good actually:

 

https://ablog.wpengine.com/captions-and-tags

This is super useful. thank you! Back to the drawing board ...

[Inchiquin]

10 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

 

It generally takes me about 6 months longer, must try harder.

 

 

I don't know if your 6 months is genuine or meant jokingly, but I've certainly had images sitting in limboland for 3 or 4 months while I get round to tagging them. This usually happens with archival images because some of them require hours of research just to idenitfy the damned things.

 

Alan

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, Inchiquin said:

 

I don't know if your 6 months is genuine or meant jokingly, but I've certainly had images sitting in limboland for 3 or 4 months while I get round to tagging them. This usually happens with archival images because some of them require hours of research just to idenitfy the damned things.

 

Alan

I have a bunch from April still waiting, but I did make sure the shortage subjects got tagged promptly, and it's just as well because one licensed recently.

Now if I could just get round to editing, or even selecting, those ones from May.............

[Harry Harrison]

2 hours ago, Inchiquin said:

I don't know if your 6 months is genuine or meant jokingly

In my head I'm joking, but in my heart...there's some truth there.

[Allan Bell]

I do most of my tagging when processing the RAW image in LrC and put in the caption.

 

These then pass on to the tiff and jpeg images.

 

All I need to do when they pass QC is a quick double check and mark up the "super tags". Into "option" column and fill that out.

 

Bingo all done before they come up for sale next day.

 

Allan

 

[Mr Standfast]

On 09/11/2023 at 21:29, Ed Rooney said:

 

And by the way . . . you need not worry about your images having enough tags to make them 'discoverable'. It's best to stay with just important tags. I have no discoverable images -- not one.

 

I'll sheepishly admit to 214. No idea how.

[Ed Rooney]

 

As long as they're useful tags, go for it.