Larry Kinsella Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Hi there folks, So I recently joined Alamy and was raring to get some photos up, I had looked through the guides and FAQ and was pretty sure my photos would be good enough to go up on the site. I made my first submission of my three best images and eagerly awaited an e-mail, none came. I seen on the site that QC were away on holidays so there might be a backlog, okay I said and waited. No email still so I signed into Alamy and discover my images were rejected but I got no email either way as I was supposed to which annoyed me. The first image failed as it was soft or lacking definition I am only an amateur so I don't really understand exactly what they mean and thought okay maybe try something better, anyway underneath it stated the camera was unsuitable and that's what grinds my gears, its a Olympus VG120 14 megapixels I done some research and with it having a 1/2.3'' sensor and being 14 megapixels I thought it was adequate. So i find myself asking what to do am I just wasting my time because my camera will never be ''good'' enough and therefore should close my account? Any opinions or help welcome, I don't mean it if my tone sounds off in this post I am just a little bit disheartened by it all was really getting a buzz because I honestly thought all was good and I bothered to do some research its just a bit overwhelming for an amateur with all the technicalities. I would add the image in question to my post only I don't know how. Thanks Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Elephant Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Hi Larry, welcome to Alamy! Disappointing that you didn't get an email, I find that generally Alamy are very good with notifications, although sometimes they may look like spam & get blocked somewhere along the way. The Olympus VG120 is a lovely point & shoot camera, but I'm really not sure that it's a suitable professional camera Larry, the sensor size is a little small. Perhaps you'd like to post one of the images here, so that we can check & give some thoughts & advice? Olympus camera & lenses are very good, perhaps something with a larger sensor such as an OMD EM10 might be worth a look? It's a great camera for the money. If you're in the UK, Olympus offer an excellent "Try & Wow" system where you can borrow a camera free for a day. Check their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 As an "amateur overwhelmed with all the technicalities" you may not be ready for a professional market, which is what Alamy is. A search on the forum may help you with which equipment is suitable but you are wasting your time with anything under 1". Personally I couldn't afford to gamble with anything under APS-C. If this means nothing to you, that's an indication of how far you have to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 It may be best to take a course on photography. Most start with understanding your camera and settings. After you learn about your camera, then you have to master post processing in software such as Photoshop, Lightroom and/or Adobe Camera Raw. Post processing comes a close second to actually taking a good image. Giving your image some punch, correcting highlights, exposure, white balance, etc not to mention more sophisticated things like cloning, removing and blending. In the Alamy market you are competing against photographers who are exceptional at all ends of the photography business, both shooting, post processing and doing proper captioning and keywording. You have to be competitive. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Jill Morgan said: It may be best to take a course on photography. Most start with understanding your camera and settings. After you learn about your camera, then you have to master post processing in software such as Photoshop, Lightroom and/or Adobe Camera Raw. Post processing comes a close second to actually taking a good image. Giving your image some punch, correcting highlights, exposure, white balance, etc not to mention more sophisticated things like cloning, removing and blending. In the Alamy market you are competing against photographers who are exceptional at all ends of the photography business, both shooting, post processing and doing proper captioning and keywording. You have to be competitive. Jill And then take a business course, first and foremost success in photography comes from understanding business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 9 hours ago, Jill Morgan said: It may be best to take a course on photography. Most start with understanding your camera and settings. After you learn about your camera, then you have to master post processing in software such as Photoshop, Lightroom and/or Adobe Camera Raw. Post processing comes a close second to actually taking a good image. Giving your image some punch, correcting highlights, exposure, white balance, etc not to mention more sophisticated things like cloning, removing and blending. In the Alamy market you are competing against photographers who are exceptional at all ends of the photography business, both shooting, post processing and doing proper captioning and keywording. You have to be competitive. Jill I have to say Jill that's one of the best posts I've seen, unfortunately Alamy seem to be pushing the current "modern" message that everyone who has even an iPhone can be a photographer and to sell on Alamy, obviously the unmentionable S place is fine for that platform, but on here, you really need a basic knowledge of post processing, I'm fed up of saying to family members or people I know who are now "photographers" that taking a photo is not only the easiest part it is the quickest part and once you have the images on the computer that's where the work begins and it all takes a massive amount of time because they have no idea of copyright or quality, let alone metadata, tagging, jpeg, or Raw images, processing or what a digital darkroom or monitor calibration is etc etc You've hit the nail on the head, go on a course or buy some books or go the library, but spend some time learning about processing Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Elephant Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Looks like the OP has given up on us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 32 minutes ago, Orange Elephant said: Looks like the OP has given up on us... As they do... Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kinsella Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 Thank you guys for all your input some really good information and some great points also no body was mean to me Sorry for my delay in replying back to your posts I do appreciate you guys taking the time to read my post and reply as well, after all you could have spent your time looking at some nice photo's instead so I am grateful, I guess I have a long way to go before I would be up to the standard required but it does not put me off, learning a new skill would not be a bad thing and could be fun. I don't for one minute think photography is easy to get into and agree with Chris C its definitely not as easy as taking a photo and off you go, in my own opinion taking the photo may be the easier part as there is a lot involved in processing your images and you need to have at least a basic understanding of it. His point also about the fact Alamy may make it seem as thought anyone can do it may be why many people become discouraged and annoy you good people, so maybe they could make it a bit more clear that they are more geared towards that market or skill set but having said that Alamy is a great site for the right people at a certain skill level. Thank you Orange Elephant for your advice and kind words, i think you may be right about the email some spam filters are notorious for deleting the wrong sometimes important emails. Jill and Martin thank you too, a course would be a great idea and understanding the business aspect would be a great advantage also the legal side of photography with model and property releases I would reckon many people have found themselves in hot water over some pictures they have taken and sold without the proper releases. Thank you Geoff (GS images) that illustration was interesting and goes to show the vast differences in size, Thank you Space Cadet APS-C would require a Google search so your point is proven Well thanks again guys you are a great bunch, I have plenty to think about and things to look into, I think I'll keep my account for a day when I am better suited, equipped and skilled but the site looks like it would be a great resource especially the forums while I'm on that learning curve. Take Care All Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Elephant Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Nice response, have an upvote young Skywalker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 On 8/24/2017 at 15:23, Larry Kinsella said: Thank you guys for all your input some really good information and some great points also no body was mean to me Sorry for my delay in replying back to your posts I do appreciate you guys taking the time to read my post and reply as well, after all you could have spent your time looking at some nice photo's instead so I am grateful, I guess I have a long way to go before I would be up to the standard required but it does not put me off, learning a new skill would not be a bad thing and could be fun. I don't for one minute think photography is easy to get into and agree with Chris C its definitely not as easy as taking a photo and off you go, in my own opinion taking the photo may be the easier part as there is a lot involved in processing your images and you need to have at least a basic understanding of it. His point also about the fact Alamy may make it seem as thought anyone can do it may be why many people become discouraged and annoy you good people, so maybe they could make it a bit more clear that they are more geared towards that market or skill set but having said that Alamy is a great site for the right people at a certain skill level. Thank you Orange Elephant for your advice and kind words, i think you may be right about the email some spam filters are notorious for deleting the wrong sometimes important emails. Jill and Martin thank you too, a course would be a great idea and understanding the business aspect would be a great advantage also the legal side of photography with model and property releases I would reckon many people have found themselves in hot water over some pictures they have taken and sold without the proper releases. Thank you Geoff (GS images) that illustration was interesting and goes to show the vast differences in size, Thank you Space Cadet APS-C would require a Google search so your point is proven Well thanks again guys you are a great bunch, I have plenty to think about and things to look into, I think I'll keep my account for a day when I am better suited, equipped and skilled but the site looks like it would be a great resource especially the forums while I'm on that learning curve. Take Care All Larry No problem Larry, glad you understood what people are saying and didn't take offence, or get defensive, as some do. As with most things in life, you do have to work at things and understand that nothing is easy, but good luck with whatever you, if that's photography or whatever, I hope it works Good luck Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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