MicrostockGroup

Can't help you, I just searched for "attitude" on IStock with the slider all the way towards most relevant and the keyword "attitude" did not show up in the first 11 keywords of the number one image.  All I can say is that "attitude" is very elusive even for a multi million dollar company.

Thanks Leaf! I will look at the units soon...

hi Lisafx,

I will take your advice- time to get some serious training on my composition...


Thanks.

Tom

FYI You have some broken portfolio links (SS and FT were) you should fix.

In addition to the above suggestions, I would suggest you try to think about your styling a bit. For example, on SS you have one image of peppers in red wine glasses and another of what appears to be a cooked shrimp on top of a pile of raw ones.

Perhaps where you are people put peppers in red wine glasses, but I'm betting that's a very tiny niche if it even is one. Don't get so wrapped up with doing something "different" that you do things that no buyer would ever want.

And on the shrimp, restaurants that put raw and cooked meat and fish together get shut down by the health department. I'm guessing you were looking to make a "one is different" image, but don't forget the obvious while you're doing that.

Good luck

I am going to sound really stupid on this question- If I understand Steve correctly I shouldn't be using catchy names but instead keep it simple and what the photo is actually about? For example, for example if I have a photo of a tennis racket hitting the ball over the net I should use a photo name of say "Tennis Volley" instead of "Killer Tennis Volley Wins Match"    I just checked of Fotolia of some of the most downloaded tennis pics and the titles were- Tennis, Grass, Summer Tennis and so on. Just want to make sure I understand.

Thanks for being patient with my questions...


Tom

Really good suggestions.  Titles are important at Dreamstime, but also for google image searches.  They need to be descriptive. 

I really used to like to give clever titles to my images too.  I have learned to compromise.  For example "Decision Time" is a cool title.  A compromise would be "Chess Player - Decision Time".  That way you have your descriptive title, but threw the clever one in too. 

Who told you -  "to stop using keywords in my description area"?
I think almost everyone does the exact opposite.
The sites differ on which filed they use (Title or Description) so I try to optimize both fields in my EXIF data.
I also enter my keywords by importance first - for those sites that prefer them that way.

Edit for spelling

Actually, I think you are doing quite well in the sales department.  DT: 73 images online and 8 sales in a short span of time with little experience; I say that is pretty good.  You are thinking of good concepts, I like the car with the money in the gas and tailpipe.  You are missing a lot of other concepts; why only two shots of the pistol.  Why not a photo of someone crawling into a window with the pistol in the waist; why not a direct shot of the pistol with you holding it outstretched, and so on.  Just watch Law and Order or similar show for lots of ideas about gun shots.

Regarding lights; I do not know your financial situation; if is bleak, then just get some shop lights (home depot clip on lights with regular bulbs); use them to be able to see the light better.  I agree your food shots look lifeless, no way I want to eat any of that stuff-these need alot of help in the lighting dept.

when I need to feel my image setups, I turn off all the lights and make the room dark; then I work with only one light at a time to see what angle, direction, distance, etc has on my setups.

Good luck but don't be so hard on yourself; you are starting the Monte Carlo race with no experience driving a run-of-the-mill car against experienced pros.  Believe in yourself and fight to be better.  You want to read a good story, read the story of Ted Turner, yeah, the guy that started CNN, TBS, etc.  He also won some of the most prestigious sailboat races with average equipment (when he first started); built a television company when all said it could not be done; rebuilt his father's business after his father committed suicide, etc.  Granted, this has nothing to do with photography but it does show that if you believe in yourself and work hard, the sky is the limit.

Best of Luck

Start looking at the best images online or top sellers to see what's selling well and what's not. Learn to look for patterns of those best sellers and then look at your own portfolio to see if your own work stacks up against those images. If you think it doesn't, learn what they're doing that you're not. At the end of the day, you will need to develop your eye and become your own worst critic. For example, for any given number of photos I take, only 5% or so will ever see the light of day on my personal website or on any of the agencies I contibute to. Sometimes it's as few as 2-3% if I've had an off day at my studio. I only put up my absolute best work and keep everything else under wraps. When I go through my images I quickly see what pictures are truly the gems and which ones are not worth uploading.  And the ones that aren't worth uploading, I can usually quickly tell what I should've done different (should have stytled the model differently, should have used a different focal length, should have used a fill card, etc.). Without a good eye for your own work, it will be much more difficult to make it. 

Amen to that.  Exceptionally well put.

Excellent advice, but it depends on where you live: if it's here, it'll need to be well before 6 a.m. nowadays (we just had the equinox), and the sky/light will just get paler and paler grey. Also, if you're in a valley, as I am, the light intensity will be strong before it gets to you (depending on the direction of the valley, I guess!).
You may need to make a special trip. Or it may be right outside your door.
OTOH, if you live near the equator, that will all happen within about 10-15 minutes: pitch dark to 'harsh' within 1/2 hour.