Tony77

[Tony77]

My trial pictures were rejected by alamy how do I upload new pics. I am new to alamy and new to photography. why has my account been frozen?

Thanks

Tony

[M.Chapman]

On 7/7/2018 at 10:01, Tony77 said:

My trial pictures were rejected by alamy how do I upload new pics. I am new to alamy and new to photography. why has my account been frozen?

Thanks

Tony

 

Your account should only be frozen for a short while (unless you've tried submitting several times and failed every time).

 

Before you try uploading again make sure you fully understand the technical requirements of submitting to Alamy. See https://www.alamy.com/contributor/how-to-sell-images/guidelines-for-submitting-images/. Images should be at least 2000 x 3000 pixels in size, sharp when checked at 100% size, free from chromatic aberration, noise, compression artefacts etc. and from a DSLR or equivalent camera. A mistake several new contributors have made recently is trying to submit images from mobile phones. These are not high enough quality for Alamy and will cause immediate fail and account may be frozen.

You should see a reason for failure from your test submission. Once you have this, search the forum or Alamy's website for help.

If you're new to Alamy and photography you may have a quite a lot to learn.

 

Mark

[MDM]

On 07/07/2018 at 10:01, Tony77 said:

My trial pictures were rejected by alamy how do I upload new pics. I am new to alamy and new to photography. why has my account been frozen?

Thanks

Tony

 

If you are new to photography, then you would be well advised to concentrate on learning the craft before trying to sell your work unless you have taken an exceptional picture.

[Allan Bell]

 

If you are absolutely brand new to photography then you need to know that you are using a camera with sensor which will produce images acceptable and able to pass Alamy's QC.

You need a camera with at least a 1" size sensor, and the bigger the better, through 4/3rds, APS-C to Full Frame (same size as the old 35mm negative). Even larger if you can afford it, but that is not really necessary for stock work with Alamy.

You also need good quality lenses. Usually, but not always, the kit lens gives an inferior quality image.

When you have those to hand go out and improve your photography by taking a few thousand pictures and investigate each one closely to see if you can be sure they are up to Alamy's technical standards to pass QC. (You have read Alamy's advice on how to pass QC, haven't you?).

When you are sure you are able to produce images good enough to pass QC then comes the harder bit, with a long learning curve, for someone in your position.

Shoot RAW images which you can then process in your chosen image processor, of which there are are few to choose from, to Alamy standard and better. Convert your images to JPEG to upload to Alamy. Upload your three best images to Alamy in JPEG (NOT RAW) and await your first pass QC confirmation.

The hardest part of all the above is learning to how to use your chosen image processor.

 

If you need further specific help read the forums and you will probably find your answer there. If not just ask and you will receive help. Please fulfil the above requirements first though.

 

Best of luck, Allan

 

 

[Sultanpepa]

Without trying to be unkind, it may be that you're not ready to be submitting professional/high quality images at this time. Sorry to be blunt but as a new photographer you have much to learn starting with all the info Alamy have given you on their website. Wishing you good luck though.

[Starsphinx]

I have been shooting for 5 years with DSLR - and have only just submitted and been accepted at Alamy.  As delighted as I was with my work 5 years ago there is absolutely no way it would pass QC (I did submit to a microstock site and lots got rejected there).  As incredible as the technology in our hands is it is not enough on its own - you do not become a reasonable or good photographer overnight it takes time and practice and practice and practice.  If the camera is new to you (and is of sufficient quality for Alamy) spend plenty of time using it while reading every article and lesson about basic photography you can find online.  You will delight yourself and your friends and family with what you produce doing this.  When it reaches the point that your friends and family are delighted with the images that you are looking at and thinking "that could be better" go back and look at the images you submitted this time, if you wince at them, read and re-read the Alamy articles on passing QC then try again. 

[Gareth]

I too was hesitant at submitting to Alamy about a year ago, having only been shooting for about a year at the time - I really didn't think my images were good enough, and I'm sure I'm right about them now.

They looked good to me at the time, but when I compared them to what Alamy had to offer, I quickly realised I had a lot to learn.

 

So that's what I did....I read every recent forum post from other new Alamy shooters, all the responses from experienced shooters, every guide both here and the Youtubes etc on how to improve my technique for stock work, and exhaustively read the terms and conditions/QC guidelines, and developed a workflow based on them all.

 

For now, since I'm still relatively new to photography, I always take a tripod and a shutter release cable (for static subjects naturally), and manually zoom in/focus on the back of the camera - you can get really sharp focus this way, then it's a matter of getting the correct exposure....I use the cameras meter set to evaluative....auto ISO and dial the shutter speed down until I'm at ISO 100 and balanced exposure (point the arrow at the bottom of the viewfinder at the middle of the scale).

Aperture at F8 is usually a good place for architecture/landscapes, so I usually go with that mostly.

Always shoot in RAW - it gives you WAY more flexibility when you get to processing the images....you can adjust things like exposure, white balance etc, so if you over/under exposed an image a little, the highlights/shadows can quite often be rescued very easily.

I treat each image as if it was my first submission - check at 100% (or greater sometimes) spot heal any imperfections like dust spots etc....even a distant bird in the sky can appear like a dust spot, so I spot heal them out too. Do your lens corrections and CA (chromatic aberration) corrections (one click in most image processing software), straighten horizons/verticals, do a quick dimension/image size check and that's about it.

Maybe a tiny bit of sharpening/noise reduction depending on image, but don't overdo these....it's tempting but really don't, they can wreck the image and if it needs that much sharpening, it's probably not worth sending anyway. 

 

Anyhoo, A year later (now) after practising nearly every day, I felt I was ready. After a nail-biting couple of weeks of "Should I? Shouldn't I?"-ing, I went for it a few weeks ago, and was accepted!

 

There is no quick fix, no special shortcuts, no substitute for putting in the hours....it's just something we've all had to do - we were all beginners once, but don't give up, keep practising, learn the QC requirements, and make sure your camera/lens is suitable.

You don't have to spend big money on gear....a lot of mine is second hand, but if you have the means, get the best lenses you can afford, or trade what you have for better glass, this is what I did and good lenses will always trump expensive camera bodies....so I've read!

 

All these posts may seem very daunting, but the more experienced photographers here are very generous with their help and guidance....I feel like I almost know them personally having read all their posts with so much valuable advice. Don't be afraid to ask, someone will be sure to help out, even though we are all technically in competition with each other!

 

Well, I think I've waffled on long enough, just thought it might help out to hear from another newcomer.

Get some practice, and keep dedicated to improving - I'm sure your images will be accepted here very soon.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

Gareth.