Gladiatr Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Am a total newbie to the site. Only have about 56 images up at this point. Would it be possible to get some constructive criticism from some of you veterans out there? Best Regards, John Tresnicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Some of your images are looking pretty dark (on my monitor, anyway). Think about brightening them up and shooting in better light. Adding more caption info and keywords would be a good idea as well -- e.g. "Blooming flowers in landscape." What kind of flowers? What kind of landscape? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickfly Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Very dark, badly cropped infra red images are unlikely to sell, also you have numerous seascapes with slanted horizons, are you trying to wind us up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladiatr Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 Actually the infrared pictures are from the mid-1970s. Were it only that I could go back and re-shoot them. I do agree that after they were digitized, they came out a bit on the dark side. I considered cropping some of them a bit but was afraid that if I did so the resulting image might be too small to post. (I suspect I am revealing how new I really am to digital photography). The seascapes were taken from a badly rocking motorboat on the waters near Cabo San Lucas. On one of them, I thought the crooked image provided a different perspective of the Arch, etc. and I left it alone. I can go back and use the software to straighten them and see how they look. I do sincerely appreciate the comment from all. Keep them coming. Best Regards. John Tresnicky Austin, Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 You really do need to straighten those horizons. And the rocks look kinda flat. No real feel of ruggedness and awe. Perfecting post processing skills is mandatory to compete with the millions of other images out there. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Alamy has some helpful advice available on captions and keywords here. Keep in mind that the competition for a popular vacation spot like Cabo San Lucas is now ... well ... mind-boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Unfortunately the IRs don't really look like IR. They look like old faded slides. Just a thought on archives. Dingoes, lions and tigers are not extinct. I recently scanned my old negs and slides, about 5000 of them from 1976-2003. Only about 100 were worth putting up here for some historical or biographical interest. There may be another 100 at a push.The rest are, well, just old negs and slides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Yates Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Not sure how you passed QC with some of your images. As others have already said you have a lot of dark images so try and put together a workflow that gets the best out of each image. inject some colour brightness and contrast. sit back and look at each of your images could they be in a magazine,newspaper what do they show. what story could they tell. I am sorry to sound harsh but i would delete most of your images and start again. FX21P4 is a good shot but needs the horizon leveling and a the sea lion needs a bit more light on it if possible, and keyword with scientific classification e.g otariinae, put in as much relevant detail as possible to help the picture buyer find your image. FWHMMW needs more contrast and colour. Keywords, what type of rocks are they? Click on this image and look what the search engine brings up and compare yours to the rest which one would you buy? Regards Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladiatr Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 All excellent points. I definitely have some work and study to do. I looked at the images of the commentators and you all have many, many amazing images on widely varied subjects. It also appears that what may be saleable here is not necessarily the spectacular sunset or other such image (though there's nothing wrong with those if done well) but rather that a lot of common sights captured and rendered well also make for fine images that are saleable to buyers. Thank you again for your comments. Now if I can just figure out how to delete some of my previous postings, I can begin again. John Tresnicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 All excellent points. I definitely have some work and study to do. I looked at the images of the commentators and you all have many, many amazing images on widely varied subjects. It also appears that what may be saleable here is not necessarily the spectacular sunset or other such image (though there's nothing wrong with those if done well) but rather that a lot of common sights captured and rendered well also make for fine images that are saleable to buyers. Thank you again for your comments. Now if I can just figure out how to delete some of my previous postings, I can begin again. John Tresnicky Your gracious acceptance of what was said is well received here. Very often people ask for critiques or wonder why their images failed QC and then become somewhat upset and unaccepting of the replies. You should not be in a hurry to sell pictures - better to get a really solid base in all aspects and editing is a major part of modern photography. Digital image don't "come out". You have full control over how they appear. I second GS-Images comments - shooting raw and working on a calbrated monitor for sure. I wish you lots of luck in beginning again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 All excellent points. I definitely have some work and study to do. I looked at the images of the commentators and you all have many, many amazing images on widely varied subjects. It also appears that what may be saleable here is not necessarily the spectacular sunset or other such image (though there's nothing wrong with those if done well) but rather that a lot of common sights captured and rendered well also make for fine images that are saleable to buyers. Thank you again for your comments. Now if I can just figure out how to delete some of my previous postings, I can begin again. John Tresnicky John do not delete any of your existing images for now. You do not know what has been looked at already and anything sells. Yes transpire to the better image, even reworking images already uploaded and reload, I have some images from my early days of contributing to alamy which I do not like now but have left them in place because a couple have sold. When you reload a modified image just put Alamy reference number in the description and keywords of the other image so the buyers can look at both. Cross reference. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apsi Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Am a total newbie to the site. Only have about 56 images up at this point. Would it be possible to get some constructive criticism from some of you veterans out there? Best Regards, John Tresnicky Hi John T, it is a great idea. I am a total newbie too. I have about 77 images at the moment. This discussion has some very useful tips for us newbies. Thank you for initiating this. Apsi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Hi Apsi Just had a look at your images and you've got some very nice shots. You are overdoing the keywords a bit (far too many irrelevant keywords per image) and you are leaving out what is probably the most important thing for you - the location. The location field is not searchable on Alamy nowadays and, given that you are presumably living in China, you have a big advantage over the visiting photographer so you should use that fully: provide the location and similar details in the keywords and a good, accurate description in the caption field (which is searchable but apparently has less weight than the keywords). Good luck. EDIT: I see you have included location data in the keywords of some images but not in others. The comment about far too many irrelevant keywords applies to all the images I've looked at. The reason for not wanting irrelevant keywords is that your images will turn up in completely irrelevant searches which will dilute your click-through ratio which in turn will affect your Alamy rank I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Even though the caption holds less weight it is the only thing the buyer sees in rollover zooms so it is important to put as much information as possible in the caption. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladiatr Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Apsi, I agree that the comments from our distinguished veterans have been important and most insightful. Best to learn these lessons early on. I looked at your images and found them to be quite impressive. I wish you the best of luck in your experience on the site. John Tresnicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 As a rule i have very few keywords in the comprehensive box these days. Apsi, is that wedding shoot by the Peace Hotel? A popular place, there was one when I was there 5 or 6 years ago. My pix of it weren't good enough for Alamy alas. Hang on, I've just had a look. Maybe they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apsi Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Hi everybody, Thanks for taking the time to look at my pictures and giving me some great tips which I can only pick up from discussions like this. I must pay more attention when key wording my pics and choose the most relevant ones. I will review my current pictures shortly. All your comments are very encouraging. Thank you :-) Yes MDM I live in Beijing at the moment. Thanks, Apsi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apsi Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 As a rule i have very few keywords in the comprehensive box these days. Apsi, is that wedding shoot by the Peace Hotel? A popular place, there was one when I was there 5 or 6 years ago. My pix of it weren't good enough for Alamy alas. Hang on, I've just had a look. Maybe they are. It is in front of the Bund in Shanghai. I've been to Shanghai a few times and every time I am there I see a few photoshoots happening. Very popular spot indeed. This image was taken about two weeks ago during my last visit to Shanghai. Also lots in the French Concession, taking advantage of the tree lined boulevards I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Yes, I recognise the street from my pix. It must be near the register office or wherever they do weddings. I envy you your return trips although I arguably visited twice- Shanghai-Ningbo (oddly enough, for a wedding, as a guest) and back to Shanghai. Extraordinary places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladiatr Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Thanks for all of your very good comments to my request for constructive criticism. It has been valuable and I am trying to do a better job with both composition and with post-camera editing (though I still need to obtain the device for calibrating the monitor. I will do that soon.) I have added about 40 or so more recent photos to my initial uploads. Hopefully they do show some improvement. Best Regards to All and Thanks Again. John Tresnicky Austin Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Your new pictures look a lot brighter than your earlier ones on my monitor, which I admit probably needs re-calibrating at this point. Going to have to do something about that... Some nice compositions as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Apsi...you have some images set as RF which should probably be RM editorial. Any image which contains property (real or intellectual) which is uniquely identifiable might lead to a purchaser or the photographer being sued if it were to be used without the property owner's permission in a commercial application (ie. without a signed property release). I would include in this the Trendy Tram, the cat grafitti (even unsigned wall art can have copyright issues) and the cargo boat. Unfortunately, it is not possible to change an RF image to RM on Alamy after it has been submitted, the only option is to delete and resubmit with the 'no release available' setting chosen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Apsi...you have some images set as RF which should probably be RM editorial. Any image which contains property (real or intellectual) which is uniquely identifiable might lead to a purchaser or the photographer being sued if it were to be used without the property owner's permission in a commercial application (ie. without a signed property release). I would include in this the Trendy Tram, the cat grafitti (even unsigned wall art can have copyright issues) and the cargo boat. Unfortunately, it is not possible to change an RF image to RM on Alamy after it has been submitted, the only option is to delete and resubmit with the 'no release available' setting chosen. Member Services can change them for you. Paulette Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apsi Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Apsi...you have some images set as RF which should probably be RM editorial. Any image which contains property (real or intellectual) which is uniquely identifiable might lead to a purchaser or the photographer being sued if it were to be used without the property owner's permission in a commercial application (ie. without a signed property release). I would include in this the Trendy Tram, the cat grafitti (even unsigned wall art can have copyright issues) and the cargo boat. Unfortunately, it is not possible to change an RF image to RM on Alamy after it has been submitted, the only option is to delete and resubmit with the 'no release available' setting chosen. Hi Joseph, thanks for your very useful advice. It is difficult to navigate the website sometimes as a beginner and I really appreciate your tips. I changed the images to RM and Alamy informed me that the changes will be made within 3 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Gladiatre, your "hooded crane" is actually an East African Crowned Crane. If you are taking pictures in zoos you can help yourself with the keywording if you take a shot of the sign. It will often contain scientific name as well as useful info about the animal. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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