Amarjit Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I am a brand new contributor to Alamy, I just passed the QC test! Alamy are the first stock photo agency I trying to sell my images to. So I have few very basic questions about Alamy services. I am a professional photographer and my passion is to photograph people and do travel photography. I have about 500 photographs of people mostly from India, Cuba and Eastern Europe (Romania) that I can put on this site. At the moment I am in Los Angles so I can do some landmark touristy photos from here. I also have to some erotic/abstract nude photographs. Being new to stock photo agency, my questions are. 1. What kind of photos sell the most. 2. If I have about 500 to 1000 photos on Alamy, how much average money I can make per month. I am planning on a long bicycle trip through India doing travel photos. How is the demand for photos from India? Kind regards to all. Amarjit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Welcome, Amarjit. Your questions are too hard. The pictures that sell the best for me are the ones I take. $$$??? Depends on your pix... and keywording... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I don't want to sound negative but you probably won't make much money per month with 500 to 1000 images on Alamy unless they are very special. There is an awful lot of competition on here. Also check out Alamy's rules on erotic/nude images. Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabbro Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 If my experience is anything of a norm, your photos from India may not generate whole lot of income. A few sales I made to India had the lowest license fee (all single digit), though distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gaffen Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Alamy guidelines say that they do not want images containing glamour or pornography. Whilst they do have images in their collection featuring the nude, or semi-nude human body, I'm am not sure if Alamy would accept images of an erotic nature? As to what sells, that's anyone's guess. Its a very difficult question to answer. But, in my book, stock photography is a numbers game, so the more images you have in your portfolio, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Check out "All of Alamy" (in AlamyMeasures 2.1) before you go to see what India subjects buyers have been searching for and what, if any, are the gaps in Alamy's coverage. That's a good place to start. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 People photos are more likely to do well, especially if you have model releases and can put them forward for commercial work, not just editorial. Touristy landmark photos have probably been done already, time and time again, so you may well have a lot to compete against. Do some research on the places you are going to visit and see what is already on Alamy (and other stock sites). See if you can come up with a new or creative viewpoint to make your images stand out from the crowd. That's what we are all trying to do so you'll probably have to work hard to succeed! If you have a 1000 images in your portfolio my own rule-of-thumb says about 1 sale per month at about $20-40. Some people do better, many do worse. Enjoy your ride (literally and metaphorically). Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icon Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 welcome, congrats on your acceptance!!! your 1/2 way home. Your late to the game but there is still p l e n t y of room for new players. with 500-1000 pics already in your port your well on your way to financial sucsess. starting right off the bat with so many pics you can eazyly bring in....a few hundred dollars a month, way more depending on the type of photos yo have? Regarding what to photograph to expand you port, well thats trial and error. but i would say take your time and get quality pics of your immidiate surroundings. ie: everyday things in your house. like your carpet, tv, dirty dishes, trash bin as empty and as overflowing~~~things others have not yet thought of doing, or cause they might think its beneth then taking those kinds of pics. i mean lock youself in a room and start taking pics of everything. did you catch that "everything" and when your done do it all over again form a diff angle. spend 3 days in the room doing just that. you will end up with thousands of pics to add to your port. then move onto the next room and so on. that should keep you bizzy for some time. oh yea and just go ahead and quit your day job if you have one, cause your gona need the time to spend photographing everything in your house. extra hint: dont forget your photoshop skills. hone them in and master it all, you will need it. but its even more importand to use the best equipment, in order to get the best quality photos to pas QC! right away, invest in some good lights, the best lenses~all of them,buy the most expensive tripod you can find, build a studio, dedicate a large room just for you photography, buy the best camera you can afford (if its not 4k or over, then your not a real pro, you understand?), hire models to get the obligatory girl shots, like sexy girl reading paper while sipping coffee, you know, the standard sexxy girl doing every day things. pay your models well use a pro modeling agency this way you will have experienced models and dont need to direct every little pose you need. DONT use modelmayhem full of amature wanabees.....and you might catch something . true you will have to pay them well since they are agency girls but hay with a little luck youl be raking it in soon. oh and forget the nudies, thats what google is for. and dont get discuraged by the ney sayers~~just caus the vast majority, and i mean the vast majority of photogs could not make it at this game doesent mean you cant, shoot your already a photographer right? your starting out already with 500-1000 portfolio!!! ooh im giving away too much, but ok one more. your trip through india on bike, one word motion blur, (ok thas two, so just mush them together) or just blury in general that WILL sell. we dont have to many photos of india from a bike that are blurry! ooooh, mabey photos of india, from a bike, in the dark, creating blur AND motion blur. thats the ticket!~ My friend it looks like your well on your way to the financial sucsess you always dreamed of. just think once you get 100-200k photos on line you can just sit back and reep the rewards of residual incom (thats $$ coming to you whithout doing anything. over and over again...forever!) while you sip your umbrella drink poolside at a swanky beach resort in the carribian. Ahh thats the life. Good luck my friend and when your ready come visit me in wikiki beach, il buy the mai tai's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulstw Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 lol @icon ^^ While it's come across in a sarcastic way, there is some truths in there lol. Amarjit, Take your time. Put up quality work that you'd buy. Look around you at the pictures that have been used so far everywhere you see images. After a while of looking you'll see a pattern on what images sell well. There may well be a hard and fast rule to the top, however, photography in its entirety is very much a solitary pursuit. People hold their cards very close to their chest and some of the best never let go of their secrets. You're asking the questions that require those secrets to be given up. It will come naturally once you start to see what sells. It's more about sticking with it than anything else in this game, and I firmly believe that the first 1000 images on most peoples portfolios are mostly about finding what sells. I got to 1200 and put the brakes on. I'd rather from now on put on a few quality images than 100 hopeful ones. Your monthly turnover can be good providing you have the right material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dov makabaw Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Hi Amarjit - welcome. You will find over time which of your images are in demand and that will help you to focus your efforts in a direction that is right for you. All important is keywording as your images need to be found by prospective buyers. This is a black art that you will again learn by reviewing your performance. Stock photography is, IMO, a numbers game. You will need to manage your portfolio(s) to optimize on success and the rewards are not that great. That said, if you can accommodate it within your other photographic work, then it will bring its own rewards. good luck dov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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