nandemofoto Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 How do you guys approach image description? Do you bother with it at all? Do you basically repeat your caption or do you do your research and write a proper description including e.g historical facts about a place or a building? Do you think it improves sales and rankings significantly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Quist Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 It depends a lot on the type of image, but yes, I consider the description to be important. To come around most of the contents and denotations and connotations in the image. I do this for my own sake to maintain an interest, sales, and to be a help for the journalist/ media worker using the photo. F.inst. in your description of "Nabana no Sato flower park" the high carousel is half of the image. I'd include a short description of the amusement park and especially of that specific ride. I'd also include the key words for this ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MircoV Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I am very sure Niels knows what he is talking about but i guess he doesnt advice to do it with every single photo. I didnt see such extended description option on any other agency and i think that buyers know what they are looking for (maybe i am wrong?). A buyer will eventually first look for information on Internet and if they know what they need they will search on Alamy. The description field is not searchable. This is my thinking but perhaps i could be wrong since i am not using it and i am not especially a news photographer. I am open for discussion. Mirco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I also use the description filed to explain any digital alterations I have made to an image. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 "i think that buyers know what they are looking for" - Mirco That's basically what I think, too . . . but we must make a decision about each and every image. In fact what we do in stock calls for making countless little decisions about every aspect of things. If the explanation, the information, we're thinking of putting into the description box is really important it should be searchable, so I would put it in the caption or the keywords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Never used it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpics Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I try to cram all the info into the caption and if I run out of space I put the rest into the description field. Anything in the description field is no longer searchable. Keywording is key, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultanpepa Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 The description field is also useful for stating facts about digital manipulation which you have made and may be of concern to the buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Brooks Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I try to get enough information in the caption field so the buyer can look up more information in wikipedia. I occasionally use the description field to point out technical details that may not be obvious in the thumbnail. If you are using the description field for subject information be sure to write it yourself. Do not cut and paste paragraphs from a copyright source, as the image buyer may get in trouble if they publish it. On this shot the description field contains “Frost and post entirely in sharp focus” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I use the description field only when I think that a buyer might appreciate a little more information than I've given in the caption. I also use this field to state "Editorial Use Only" or add other incidental comments about some images. Back when the description field was searchable, I used to use very brief captions (my bad) and put most other relevant info in the description field. However, after Alamy decided to make the description field unsearchable, I had to go back and flesh out the captions and edit or eliminate the description fields for many of my images. It's still a work in-progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nandemofoto Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 Thank you for your input everyone. I like the idea of using it for digital manipulation explanation, but since it isn't searchable I don't see the point of writing there anything else, just waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Here's something I just noticed while reediting my keywords in Manage Images v2.4--there is no description box. ??? So either it's been discontinued or, possibly, if you do not put anything in the box the box does not show up. The box still appears in the older version of Manage Images. Hmm. Which is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Here's something I just noticed while reediting my keywords in Manage Images v2.4--there is no description box. ??? So either it's been discontinued or, possibly, if you do not put anything in the box the box does not show up. The box still appears in the older version of Manage Images. Hmm. Which is it? Ed, I just put some info in a description field. Showed up for me fine. Now, I had zoomed the image and clicked on the "edit image" button on the zoom page. Didn't do it through Mange Images. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Description field showing up fine for me in v2.4 -- don't forget to click on the "Description" tabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
York Photographer Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I think a decent description can help the purchaser easily write a decent caption in their publication, which might be enough to sway them between buying your image over another equally relevant picture. The more specialist the image, the more important the description becomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Robinson Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I just use it as an overflow for the caption. I caption everything before uploading - if it's too long and ends up in the description field I leave it there and put an edited version as the caption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Never say Never! I normally do not use the description field, but do so when, as has been suggested above, there has been digital manipulation to change content, e.g. cloning out power cables, or if I feel additional information is required that will help the purchaser come to a decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 As many above, I rarely put anything in the description field. However if I have have said "Yes" in the box asking if the image has been digitally manipulated I explain that in the description field, for example, darkening or colouring of the sky for effect if I have done that.. Also on those rare occasions where the caption is not enough for an accurate explanation of whats in the image - As York Photographer said, "The more specialist the image, the more important the description becomes" Finally, if I have an image that I think is very important for it to be only used for Editorial purposes I state that in the description field. The restriction fields are too cumbersome for this and Alamy ask you to take the restrictions off as it tends to prevent sales. Kumar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Here's something I just noticed while reediting my keywords in Manage Images v2.4--there is no description box. ??? So either it's been discontinued or, possibly, if you do not put anything in the box the box does not show up. The box still appears in the older version of Manage Images. Hmm. Which is it? I noticed only last week that if you don't have a description it doesn't show up, Also I searched for an old image that had a word in the description but wasn't in the rest of the data and it turned up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 I still get the (in my case empty) tab in 2.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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