Fed Up

[Ognyan Yosifov]

Just now, Steve F said:

 

Because QC keeps failing him.

34 photos online within 7 years. Just saying...

[Steve F]

18 minutes ago, Ognyan Yosifov said:

34 photos online within 7 years. Just saying...

 

Agreed. But if he wants to build up his presence on Alamy, needs to be passing QC.

[Steve F]

25 minutes ago, Ognyan Yosifov said:

I've seen photos with awful quality sold here.

 

I also think QC lets too much dross through.

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Brian Yarvin said:

Erin, I don't think you need any of that. It's more about the settings you're choosing. At some point, you'll need to calibrate your monitor, but this is more about the mistakes you're making when you shoot. The only thing you need to buy is a modern prime lens. Otherwise, try less underexposure, Adobe1998 instead of sRGB, wider f/stops and faster shutter speeds. They should all work together to give you a vast boost in file quality. 

 

And then, after you nail those things, try a tripod and monitor calibration - with that, you'll be a master.

 

I agree. 

 

The worst sort of photographer friends are those that say your images are lovely Erin. Listen to what knowledgeable people here are saying and you will become a much better photographer. You have a nice artistic eye but you need to learn how to use the tools. It is very clear that you have a lot to learn about basic photographic technique and indeed about the basic technicalities of using a 36MP camera. The fact that you are fed up failing QC and yet did not consider that a new lens might help is a good indicator of your level of knowledge. The sample image is underexposed with very poor shadow detail - poor technique.

 

Once again, to repeat what I said on P1, the higher the MP count, the better the lens needs to be and the better the technique needs to be. As I said back there, this reminds me of when Nikon introduced the D800 back in 2012 - at that time 36MP was considered enormous. Loads of people were complaining about the camera that they couldn't get sharp pictures but it wasn't the camera that was at fault - it was the shooters' technique and the lenses used. I last failed Alamy QC in 2012 when I got my first D800 because I made incorrect assumptions about focusing. Failing QC was a positive thing. I learned from it and never made the same mistake again

 

So first of all Erin, do yourself a favour and get a decent lens worthy of a 36MP camera, either a prime or a high quality zoom if any are available for that camera. Then learn about proper exposure and how to control that with a clear understanding of aperture, shutter speed, ISO,  focusing and depth of field. Then learn the basics or re-learn the basics if you think you are beyond that. And above all enjoy the learning journey. If you follow the advice here, you will no longer find yourself fed up and frustrated. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11 by MDM

[Ognyan Yosifov]

15 minutes ago, Steve F said:

 

I also think QC lets too much dross through.

+1

[Steve F]

4 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

I agree. 

 

The worst sort of photographer friends are those that say your images are lovely Erin. Listen to what knowledgeable people here are saying and you will become a much better photographer. You have a nice artistic eye but you need to learn how to use the tools. It is very clear that you have a lot to learn about basic photographic technique and indeed about the basic technicalities of using a 36MP camera. The fact that you are fed up failing QC and yet did not consider that a new lens might help is a good indicator of your level of knowledge. The sample image is underexposed with very poor shadow detail - poor technique.

 

Once again, to repeat what I said on P1, the higher the MP count, the better the lens needs to be and the better the technique needs to be. As I said back there, this reminds me of when Nikon introduced the D800 back in 2012 - at that time 36MP was considered enormous. Loads of people were complaining about the camera that they couldn't get sharp pictures but it wasn't the camera that was at fault - it was the shooters' technique and the lenses used. I last failed Alamy QC in 2012 when I got my first D800 because I made incorrect assumptions about focusing. Failing QC was a positive thing. I learned from it and never made the same mistake again

 

So first of all Erin, do yourself a favour and get a decent lens worthy of a 36MP camera, either a prime or a high quality zoom if any are available for that camera. Then learn about proper exposure and how to control that with a clear understanding of aperture, shutter speed, ISO,  focusing and depth of field. Then learn the basics or re-learn the basics if you think you are beyond that. And above all enjoy the learning journey. If you follow the advice here, you will no longer find yourself fed up and frustrated. 

 

 

 

 

+1

[Brian Yarvin]

14 hours ago, Steve F said:

 

I also think QC lets too much dross through.

 

This is a separate topic but one that is really important. Things are tightening up out there! Publishers I work with (or am trying to work with) are expecting much more in the way of image quality - passing Alamy QC is no longer an indicator of my ability as a commercial photographer. Let's thank Erin (and the others who've posted similar messages) for reminding us that as professional photographers, we always have be one step ahead.

[Erin1]

I haven't asked any photography friends for their input, but if I did, I know they would give me an honest answer. I did get some important advice on shutter speeds, which I will put into practice. Others have told me the same thing I've read here - that a high-megapixel shot is more prone to blur.

[MDM]

On 06/02/2024 at 12:42, Erin1 said:

I've asked photographer friends if they see problems with the rejected photos, and they don't. Only Alamy does. I'm wondering if belonging to this site is worth the hassle of having photos rejected when they look fine.

 

29 minutes ago, Erin1 said:

I haven't asked any photography friends for their input, but if I did, I know they would give me an honest answer. I did get some important advice on shutter speeds, which I will put into practice. Others have told me the same thing I've read here - that a high-megapixel shot is more prone to blur.

 

Contradiction. The first quote is from your initial post.  

 

Fundamentally it seems like you think you are being hard done by failing QC whereas the fact is your work is simply not good enough to put it bluntly. The first step in getting things right is recognising where you are going wrong.  If the shot you posted yesterday is typical of your work and you don't see what is wrong, you definitely need to go back to basics and start with learning how to control exposure. That is fundamental to everything in photography. And It's not that high MP shots are prone to blur from slow shutter speeds - it's more about softness due to inadequate lenses and general technique. 

Edited March 12 by MDM

[M.Chapman]

12 hours ago, Erin1 said:

Others have told me the same thing I've read here - that a high-megapixel shot is more prone to blur.

High megapixel cameras are far more demanding in many areas because the images they produce can be (and are by Alamy QC) scrutinised more closely. (More pixels allows a closer look at any image imperfections). They therefore place higher demands on technique (accuracy of focussing, selection of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, avoiding camera shake etc.), but also on the lens (needs better sharpness and smaller chromatic aberrations).

 

One way of reducing the chance of failing Alamy QC is to downsize the images to 6MP before submitting, but that rather defeats the point of using a high MP camera in the first place...

 

Mark 

Edited March 13 by M.Chapman

[MDM]

2 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

 

 

One way of reducing the chance of failing Alamy QC is to downsize the images to 6MP before submitting, but that rather defeats the point of using a high MP camera in the first place...

 

Mark 

Not at all Mark but I'm guessing you've never used a high MP camera as you like those little Panasonics. In general, the high MP sensors are higher to much higher quality with greater dynamic range than the smaller sensors, especially the crop format ones. This is especially true for the Nikons and the Sonys.

 

The high MP cameras tend to be the professional level cameras and generally have numerous features not available on the consumer or prosumer cameras. Although there is usually not much point in submitting large images to Alamy, the quality of a downsized image will always be better than one taken at the actual pixel size, all else being equal. As I have said many times, one of the greatest advantages of high MP cameras is the ability to crop very significantly which can be very important if working fast where time for accurate framing is limited. These are not just cameras for landscape and architecture as is often mooted, they also have great advantages in portraiture and action photography where getting the shot quickly is more important than accurate framing in-camera. 

 

All that said, high MP cameras are not really suitable for beginners, especially beginners who are not open to learning the craft from the bottom up. 

Edited March 13 by MDM

[M.Chapman]

But if the lens or technique is not up to scratch, cropping is not an option. OP needs a better lens and better technique or the higher MP is a waste of time.

 

You're right I haven't used particularly high MP cameras, a 24MP APSC Canon was my upper limit. I was actually quite pleased to swap to mirrorless M43, not only because of the obvious weight and size reduction, but also because I found it more "forgiving" resulting in far fewer rejects. With my Canon I always had to take several shots of the same subject to increase chances of a keeper. Some of the improved yield was down to more accurate focussing of mirrorless systems, but also the increased depth of focus of M43.

 

Mark

Edited March 13 by M.Chapman

[MDM]

1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

But if the lens or technique is not up to scratch, cropping is not an option. OP needs a better lens and better technique or the higher MP is a waste of time.

 

 

I totally agree. I was just talking about the general case of why high MP cameras can be beneficial even for Alamy stock. Having this high MP Pentax DSLR is almost certainly impeding her progress. The zoom lens may actually be ok if the rest of the technique is addressed. The other lens mentioned way back is not likely to be usable though. 

Edited March 13 by MDM

[Jill Morgan]

3 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

I totally agree. I was just talking about the general case of why high MP cameras can be beneficial even for Alamy stock. Having this high MP Pentax DSLR is almost certainly impeding her progress. The zoom lens may actually be ok if the rest of the technique is addressed. The other lens mentioned way back is not likely to be usable though. 

 

I currently use a Canon 90D which is a 32.5 MP cropped sensor camera.  It pretty much pushes the edge on the max of mp for cropped sensors.  The first thing I noticed when I used it with my old 70-250 lens was the quality of the images.  At first of course I thought it was the camera, as I had perfectly great images with that lens on my Canon T4i which is an 18MP camera.  I soon learned that the lens was not good enough for my new camera so purchased the 100-400 f/4 L lens (used) and noticed the difference immediately.  All my bird images are taken with this lens and camera combo.  It pretty much lives on the camera.

 

Jill

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Jill Morgan said:

 

I currently use a Canon 90D which is a 32.5 MP cropped sensor camera.  It pretty much pushes the edge on the max of mp for cropped sensors.  The first thing I noticed when I used it with my old 70-250 lens was the quality of the images.  At first of course I thought it was the camera, as I had perfectly great images with that lens on my Canon T4i which is an 18MP camera.  I soon learned that the lens was not good enough for my new camera so purchased the 100-400 f/4 L lens (used) and noticed the difference immediately.  All my bird images are taken with this lens and camera combo.  It pretty much lives on the camera.

 

Jill

 

Yes definitely. It's the first lesson you learn. I went from 12MP D700 to 36Mp D800 and i made some basic mistakes including going on a long trip abroad. I was able to rescue my images from the trip by downsiziing to 12MP. Lesson learned - also don't take a new camera on a trip without thorough testing beforehand.  

Edited March 13 by MDM

[John Mitchell]

I prefer to downsize images when needed. It's a lot cheaper than running out and buying expensive lenses that I couldn't really afford anyway. I find that it also helps to get to know each lens' strengths and weaknesses -- i.e. which focal lengths and apertures work the best / worst in different situations. My current main camera is 24 MP (Sony a6000). Can't see needing more megapixels than that. I still use a 16 MP camera (Sony NEX-6) as well. No point in breaking the bank these days. 🙃

[Rebecca Ore]

The a6000 is my only camera now that the two a7 cameras blew either their shutters or their motherboards and needed a trip to Panama or maybe Costa Rica for repairs.  Sold those with two lenses.  More busy with researching and writing a novel right now than with photography.  Don't know if I can sell the novel, but then if I can, the money is likely to be better than my total earnings from photography, and my agent only takes a 15% cut (don't know, could be more now). 

 

By the way,  COLLECTED OGOENSE AND OTHER STORIES has been out for a while now, and is available from Amazon and possibly other sources, including directly from  Aqueduct Press (more money for my publisher if you buy directly, yeah it's a small press).   It's a dark collection of grim stories.  A teenage girl gets turned into a magical young mare.

[Inchiquin]

17 hours ago, MDM said:

 

don't take a new camera on a trip without thorough testing beforehand.  

 

 

Oh yes! I once went on a trip all round Europe with a camera I'd just bought secondhand. When I got home I found that everything was underexposed by a couple of stops. This was in the days of film when there was no RAW file to ride to the rescue.

 

Alan

[geogphotos]

Oh yes, once bought a brand new camera from a camera shop in Manilla and spent several weeks travelling.

 

Nothing came out. Of course I should have had a film developed before setting off just didn't think about it.

 

Mind you Canon did compensate me with a couple of rolls of film. 😵‍💫

[Phil]

On 12/03/2024 at 12:48, Brian Yarvin said:

 

Publishers I work with (or am trying to work with) are expecting much more in the way of image quality - passing Alamy QC is no longer an indicator of my ability as a commercial photographer

 

Brian - have you discussed with these same publishers if they are willing to pay license fees commensurate with much more image quality given the significant downward trend of stock license fees in recent years?  Or maybe they don't they license stock?

Edited March 17 by Phil
typo

[Rebecca Ore]

16 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Brain - have you discussed with these same publishers if they are willing to pay license fees commensurate with much more image quality given the significant downward trend of stock license fees in recent years?  Or maybe they don't they license stock?

 

What I've read elsewhere is that photo editors who have a decent budget would rather work with a photographer directly and pay more for what precisely fills their needs rather than something that is the closest they could find on line.  Doesn't help that pages and pages of photos that turn up for "repair clock" have more non-clock repair photos than of people fixing clocks.  Some are "concept" shots: an adolescent girl with a hard hat holding clocks, clocks and hammers, clocks over her head.   Zero zooms for any of them.  One of mine was on the front page, but probably not the type of clock and repair shop they were looking for.  Or not composed ideally?

[Jill Morgan]

4 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

What I've read elsewhere is that photo editors who have a decent budget would rather work with a photographer directly and pay more for what precisely fills their needs rather than something that is the closest they could find on line.  Doesn't help that pages and pages of photos that turn up for "repair clock" have more non-clock repair photos than of people fixing clocks.  Some are "concept" shots: an adolescent girl with a hard hat holding clocks, clocks and hammers, clocks over her head.   Zero zooms for any of them.  One of mine was on the front page, but probably not the type of clock and repair shop they were looking for.  Or not composed ideally?

 

This is now the problem with having so many images to choose from.  With poor keywording on many images, clients find themselves in a sea of unrelated images, spending valuable time sifting through them all.  Of course, if I were searching for a person repairing a clock, I would search "person repairing clock", not "repair clock".  Clients need to be more definitive in their searches.  I'm still surprised to see so many vague searches when I check out All Of Alamy.

 

Jill

[KitJames]

When I look for lenses and I'm unsure how they turn out, I try to find sample images of the specific lens with the same camera. And it can help. 

 

DPReview's sample galleries might be useful, so you can see the images they have taken with the K-1 Mark II and K1 @Erin1 since they also provide the name of which lens they used. There are cheaper Pentax lenses too, that don't seem to be all that bad and have a reasonable range.

 

The other photographers on here can be trusted for advice too. Practice and practice and practice, and don't give up.  

[Rebecca Ore]

2 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

 

This is now the problem with having so many images to choose from.  With poor keywording on many images, clients find themselves in a sea of unrelated images, spending valuable time sifting through them all.  Of course, if I were searching for a person repairing a clock, I would search "person repairing clock", not "repair clock".  Clients need to be more definitive in their searches.  I'm still surprised to see so many vague searches when I check out All Of Alamy.

 

Jill

One of the problems looks like using "interns" or low-paid assistants to to a first sweep and being under time limit.   I'd see people searching for image IDs, which makes it look like whoever did the first sweep made a list of image IDs to pass on to photo editor (another All of Alamy thing). 

[Ognyan Yosifov]

20 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

 

This is now the problem with having so many images to choose from.  With poor keywording on many images, clients find themselves in a sea of unrelated images, spending valuable time sifting through them all.  Of course, if I were searching for a person repairing a clock, I would search "person repairing clock", not "repair clock".  Clients need to be more definitive in their searches.  I'm still surprised to see so many vague searches when I check out All Of Alamy.

 

Jill

...and the intern picture researchers who have no idea what they do. I just stumbled upon a kind of search that brings so awful results that I'm not sure if the same "researcher" or the business that hired them will get back and search again for this particular place...Such a shame!

Edited March 18 by Ognyan Yosifov