Fed Up

[Rebecca Ore]

23 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

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. 

 Given Alamy's searches using individual words, somewhat better search results, but still lots of not really a person repairing a clock, one of people repairing a clock tower, and the same cute girl with hammer and a variety of expressions, and a maintenance man using a screwdriver on a door, among other things.  My photo of a man repairing a tower clock while his boss looks on didn't show up with person in the keywords, did with "repairing clock."   Added your suggested search terms to appropriate photos from my clock works project shoots.   Sigh.  Alamy's search algorithms are trying to be helpful.  I check my  views and if I find an inaccurate search, I fix the keyword if I can, but sometimes, when a word is pulled out of a phrase, I can't.

 

And oh, mmmmmhhhh, why doesn't Central America(n) be left as a two word phrase and why can't gringos realize that America covers more than Occupied Mexico, the Louisiana Purchase, and the land from the Atlantic to the Mississippi and the Great Lakes.   Search USA works better than searching for anything between the Bering Sea and Tierra del Fuego.  Okay.   I use USA when I mean the United English-speaking (mostly) States of North America.

 

Funny other thing is I can see when the photographer used a model rather than an actual crafts person.   Model doesn't look quite right at the work.

 

At this point, if I were the photo editor on a project, I'd be calling the best pro for doing people working on things, with some first rate lights, and a willingness to take directions, and real workmen who'd take directions but also point out bouts of unreality.  If this project is a textbook for clock repair, getting detaiils right is significant, and both the art director and photographer have to know the topic.  A magazine or website article on clock repair could be less accurate, I suppose.

 

I'm also probably pissed because around 2018 before the riots, I took three sets of pictures where I was sure I'd license something.  One shoot, of deaf kid, I've licensed two or three.  The gun collection, I've licensed one.   The clock works project, nada.  

Edited March 18 by Rebecca Ore
more speculations

[Brian Yarvin]

On 17/03/2024 at 10:33, Phil said:

 

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?

 

No need to. They don't use images from stock. My stock is limited to outtakes from projects at Alamy and one other agency that also starts with A.

 

I've long given up on selling single images directly to clients. It's not just the low prices, but I find that I'm selling my own talent short. My story; writing, photography and whatever else goes with it, is as good as the competition and I'm proud of it. Putting it all out there isn't boasting, it's confident. I only wish I knew this twenty years earlier.

[ColdCoffee]

Someone may have already reminded you that when you are using a tripod, you need to turn off the stabilizer, Otherwise, the photo will not be as sharp as it should. I keep forgetting that.