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Author Topic: Alamy- Any success??  (Read 70492 times)

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ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #75 on: February 26, 2016, 05:28 »
+3
So, I have a question regarding editorial images.

If I upload an image to SS as editorial can I upload this same image to alamy? If I understand correctly editorial images must be uploaded on alamy as RM? So that means that I can't upload same editorial image on SS and alamy. Am I getting this right or not?

You can upload an image is RM to Alamy and as editorial to other sites if you don't have the proper releases and Alamy's will not sell as RF.
You can upload RM files to Alamy if you have them RM elsewhere. You cannot have fRM files at Alamy which you are simultaneously  offering as RF elsewhere.


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #76 on: February 26, 2016, 05:40 »
0
There is no such thing as success on Alamy.

Speak for yourself.   Some of us do pretty good on Alamy.

I agree there is no such thing as success on Alamy. I do OK with Alamy from 7000 photos, however Alamy is a perenial under performer compared to my other agencies including Getty. They just never really hit their straps in the marketplace.

Wrong my friend. There is. If you dont it will not count for everyone. There are many that make good money there. If you have micro photos there then you ask to loosw money. Alamy you have to thread unique. Then you will see rewards.
Hmmm.
No matter how unique an image, it might net 《$10.
I also have found that large value sales are almost a thing of the past.
Although only a tiny proportion of the community uses the forum, it's salutary to note the port sizes of those reporting decent earnings - and even then you have 4to remember  they're quoting gross.
Still, with IS moving to subs and none of the alternatives looking  attractive  to  me, I'll be focusing on Alamy for a while.

authenticcreations

« Reply #77 on: February 26, 2016, 07:27 »
+3
Besides all the micros giving good earnings i still think that Alamy is doing a very good job. It has plans to change the contributor area and more. There is no sign that they are not doing good business despite giving a fair provision comparing to micros.

People on the forum are indeed a small part of the total but this part is showing relative good results openly. I see here and then people reporting four figure sales. The last 1 week ago for over 2000 brutto for a image that could be taken by anyone. The problem only it would not be accepted by micros since it is not generic enough.

There are always people that try Alamy out and then they dont see any sales coming and directly give up with the message Alamy gives poor earnings. Its just an error made by microstockers. Alamy needs a different approach. It is not a microstock agency in the sence of selling generic images through subscriptions. If you put on Alamy your microstock collection of 500 photos and expect fast money then you will be dissapointed. It is not a place for isolated photos in general.

Alamy needs to be approached with non-microstock images and patience. Catgories like Travel, editorial, reportage etc will do well on there. As far as i know the main market for Alamy are publishers, magazines, newspapers. Once the wheels are rolling you will be pleased about the income they generate. Problem is just that most give up very early (expecting that the sales happens directly like on micros).

« Reply #78 on: February 26, 2016, 07:59 »
0
I had a relatively fast first sale on Alamy in December with just 14 files online, it encouraged me to upload more and now I have over 200 files and keep uploading but my December sale is still the only one that has happenned to my port.. I don't want to give up, my port is still small, I know one day it will pay back (right?) but I feel just a bit less enthusiastic than a couple of months back.

I only have travel images and while on the micros some of my photos are rare and even a few are unique (for location or landmark), that's not the case for Alamy as it is much more saturated for travel content, so even though it sells a lot of travel photos the competition seems tense :-\
« Last Edit: February 26, 2016, 10:55 by lanabyko »

« Reply #79 on: February 26, 2016, 15:26 »
0
There is no such thing as success on Alamy.

Speak for yourself.   Some of us do pretty good on Alamy.

I agree there is no such thing as success on Alamy. I do OK with Alamy from 7000 photos, however Alamy is a perenial under performer compared to my other agencies including Getty. They just never really hit their straps in the marketplace.

Wrong my friend. There is. If you dont it will not count for everyone. There are many that make good money there. If you have micro photos there then you ask to loosw money. Alamy you have to thread unique. Then you will see rewards.

You have me qouted in the above mess and none of those comments were mine.  Here's my contribution to the conversation :


This month I've seen an uptick on Alamy.  It is coming back from the dead.  But still many low priced sales and none over $100.  3 or 4 years back you could get one or two big sales there and your month was made.   Now a dozen or so sales barely equal a payout.

« Reply #80 on: February 26, 2016, 19:58 »
+2
With a portfolio of 8k and online since 4 month.
I had no success with it.
0 sales, make me feel strange.

How did alamy goes for you?

less than 2000 images and 800 not indexed yet (because is VERY time consuming on their site).

a few sales but promising sales: high earnings compared to every other site.

To make a realistic comparison: it's worth uploading on alamy and spend some time and effort there rather than doing the same thing on your worst 5 low-earners agencies.


dpimborough

« Reply #81 on: February 27, 2016, 04:28 »
+3
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.

I have 2250 images a mix of the RF micro stuff available on every other agency and a pools of RM stuff which is more obscure/unique.

I get sales usually every month and the value of those sales equals or betters the combined sales from all the none iS/SS agencies.

Both RF and RM items sell equally well and RF often sells for more than the RM images.

The upload process is straight forward and it only takes a few minutes to add attributes and main keywords.

The other great thing about Alamy is that you can put in huge numbers of relevant keywords compared to the 50 word limit imposed by most Micro agencies.

You also get 50% of the sale (better than the rest)

And Alamy aren't perpetually finding new and exciting ways to screw the contributors.

I also get a good chunk of cash from Alamy sales through the DACS scheme which is a nice Xmas bonus.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2016, 04:32 by Teddy the Cat »

« Reply #82 on: February 27, 2016, 09:16 »
+2
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.

Let me explain why.

Because all saved keywords appear on the lower box.
1. Expressions are broken into individual words and you have to recreate the original expressions using quotes.
2.Then you have to select (copy and delete) the most important keywords to be pasted on the upper box
3. Then you have do go through another tedious selection for the middle box.
4. Moreover, instead of having limits based on number of keywords, like all other agencies,  the limits are based on number of characters. You have to carefully select, sometimes more than once, what you want to move, in order to stay below these limits.
5. You have to go through a few additional tabs and click through more selections than required by any other agency.

It takes 5 minutes for each photo, instead of nothing (or a few seconds in the worse case)

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
« Last Edit: February 27, 2016, 09:28 by Zero Talent »

« Reply #83 on: February 27, 2016, 09:55 »
0
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.

Let me explain why.

Because all saved keywords appear on the lower box.
1. Expressions are broken into individual words and you have to recreate the original expressions using quotes.
2.Then you have to select (copy and delete) the most important keywords to be pasted on the upper box
3. Then you have do go through another tedious selection for the middle box.
4. Moreover, instead of having limits based on number of keywords, like all other agencies,  the limits are based on number of characters. You have to carefully select, sometimes more than once, what you want to move, in order to stay below these limits.
5. You have to go through a few additional tabs and click through more selections than required by any other agency.

It takes 5 minutes for each photo, instead of nothing (or a few seconds in the worse case)

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

And you only have so many characters in description and it automatically truncates it so you have to either shorten it or delete it and go with the second tab where you can put in longer descriptions.  Then there is the model release. If you have someone's finger in the photo (just their finger, no other identifying features) you have to take the time to create, upload and submit a model release.  Then if you accidentally say yes to property release the system automatically sets your sales type to RM.  When you change change it back to no property release required, the system will not change back the license to RF, so if you forget and submit, you have to delete the image and start all over. Otherwise you have to remember to manually change it back to RF.

Just a few more hassles to add on to what mr. talent posted.

« Reply #84 on: February 27, 2016, 10:01 »
0
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.

Let me explain why.

Because all saved keywords appear on the lower box.
1. Expressions are broken into individual words and you have to recreate the original expressions using quotes.
2.Then you have to select (copy and delete) the most important keywords to be pasted on the upper box
3. Then you have do go through another tedious selection for the middle box.
4. Moreover, instead of having limits based on number of keywords, like all other agencies,  the limits are based on number of characters. You have to carefully select, sometimes more than once, what you want to move, in order to stay below these limits.
5. You have to go through a few additional tabs and click through more selections than required by any other agency.

It takes 5 minutes for each photo, instead of nothing (or a few seconds in the worse case)

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Exactly! Especially taking into consideration Alamy warns against spamming with the same keywords in different sections (boxes)..
It takes me about an hour for a batch of 10-15 photos just to submit.
IStock submission through DeepMeta now takes about the same since they offered to place keywords in order of importance (painful, but I do it ;D

« Reply #85 on: February 27, 2016, 10:11 »
0
Then there is the model release. If you have someone's finger in the photo (just their finger, no other identifying features) you have to take the time to create, upload and submit a model release.

Is it that strict really? I just had a photo accepted with some crowd in the distance, as RF without a model release..

« Reply #86 on: February 27, 2016, 10:53 »
+3
Then there is the model release. If you have someone's finger in the photo (just their finger, no other identifying features) you have to take the time to create, upload and submit a model release.

Is it that strict really? I just had a photo accepted with some crowd in the distance, as RF without a model release..


Yep. I have had dozens of images taken offline later as "requires model release" that are feet, hand, etc. I had several deactivated by them of a close up of a business suit & tie, but the suit was on a hanger and stuffed with plastic bags to fill it like a human was wearing it.  No body parts at all, only inferring that a person was actually wearing it. DEACTIVATED for "needs model release".

« Reply #87 on: February 27, 2016, 11:11 »
0
personally, i liked Alamy... (past tense).
i had pretty close to 100% approval no matter what from their inception. i only deleted my account
after i joined shutterstock because after so many years with 100% approval ,
i had zero dl, and when i examined my views, i had almost single digit views.

as i mentioned before, i checked my name in the photographers list and i was literally invisible.
so i deleted my account because it was absurd to have so many images plus 100% approval
and no dl and worse very little view. 
even my worst accounts crestock... had dls and views and i only had what???  4 images there a long time ago. 

needless to say, as soon as i got 100 dls with shutterstock in my first month with only a handful of images, i deleted alamy and all the rest of the deadbeats.

if things have changed with Alamy since then, i would like to know , as i said, i did like them
as their upload and methods are fine with me.  but looking at the right column,
17% after so many years. i don't think i would bother... since i don't even bother with
fotolia and istock being 2nd and 3rd.
iow, i won't lift a finger anymore , no more how wunder the new wunderkin is
until i see some ratings close enough to ss,
or even 50% is a margin i would move my butt

« Reply #88 on: February 27, 2016, 16:24 »
+1
Yep. I have had dozens of images taken offline later as "requires model release" that are feet, hand, etc. I had several deactivated by them of a close up of a business suit & tie, but the suit was on a hanger and stuffed with plastic bags to fill it like a human was wearing it.  No body parts at all, only inferring that a person was actually wearing it. DEACTIVATED for "needs model release".

Hilarious.  Obviously someone paid to hunt through the archive for problem images, and flipping through them so fast they don't even know what they're seeing.   I think this might be a good example of how these agencies are now struggling with enormous archives of material of unknown quality.  Once you have 10s of millions of images you know nothing about, it's a bit too late to do anything about it. 

angelawaye

  • Eat, Sleep, Keyword. Repeat

« Reply #89 on: February 27, 2016, 22:58 »
0
It is interesting to hear all of your stories and views. I just joined and waiting to see how it goes. I have about 1200 photos to migrate over (some I will make RM with them). I will definitely let you all know how the first year goes for me. I'm realistic that it may be possible I get zero revenue for my efforts ...

« Reply #90 on: February 27, 2016, 23:31 »
0
The licence type on Alamy for an image must be the same as the licence type for that image and similar images which you have on other agency websites. "[/i]
If anyone has official word, rather than peer opinion, about this, can they post the link, please.

To my mind the wording in the contract seems clear enough (I've highlighted the relevant clause in green) The licence type on Alamy for an image must  be the same...similar images which you have on other agency websites.

It is curious that Alamy has never seemed willing to give a straight answer on this, and it's even more curious now that they are selling RF images as either RF or RM (I'm not sure if RM images are also being offered as RF).
The whole RF/RM thing is a bit of a farce, anyway, since every license is subject to restrictions, so if RF is defined as unlimited, unrestricted use then it is a license that doesn't exist in the real world. There are just some licenses that have more restrictions than others.

authenticcreations

« Reply #91 on: February 28, 2016, 03:27 »
0
It is interesting to hear all of your stories and views. I just joined and waiting to see how it goes. I have about 1200 photos to migrate over (some I will make RM with them). I will definitely let you all know how the first year goes for me. I'm realistic that it may be possible I get zero revenue for my efforts ...

Just be prepared that one year still will not show always the real potential of Alamy. For most people the second year shows a very big jump of sales. This is because many sales on alamy are reported after months, can be even six months. Next to that the images needs some time to find their position on the search engine. So a realistic view of sales shows often after one year.

I had for six months as good as no sales but then the next six months sales where coming in. Every month more. The period before is usual the period where people give up because they dont see sales. The remove the photos or stop uploading. They will never experience the sales and leave with a bad thought about Alamy potential. Very pitty..... Next to that it helps also to concentrate on editorial also and not just placing microstock images over there.

Mirco

« Reply #92 on: February 28, 2016, 03:36 »
+3
It took me about 5 years to start to see more regular sales with alamy.  I like that it puts people off using them, there's already enough competition from patient people.

« Reply #93 on: February 28, 2016, 08:09 »
+1
Almay for me has been cyclic, but worth it. I was grossing between $400-$800 a month (before my cut) years ago. Then it slowly started cycle downward to $25 to $400 a month gross today. Yes, some months are definitely better than others. All my images on Alamy are micro stock, and that could obviously be one of the areas to pump up my long term revenue ......building an RM port.

BTW, I was accepted as a video contributor and my port just went live a few days ago.  I DO NOT expect any big wins but the best way to know is to try. Very cumbersome.  You have to do a CSV that's every bit as difficult and preparing an image ....same stuff.  But much more tedious on an Excel file. They only accept HD, not 4k.  So I have to convert about 500 videos.  I sent them a thousand on a small hard drive. They pull them off and send you back the drive. There is no file management. The only way to see your port is to do an advanced search on your name.  Not sure yet how a sale looks on the financial side, whether it is reported manually of within my image financials.  A learning curve for sure and they are far behind in technology probably because video isn't a core competency of theirs.

See what happens over the balance of this year.   

« Reply #94 on: February 28, 2016, 18:35 »
0
...

And Alamy aren't perpetually finding new and exciting ways to screw the contributors.

 ...

That's absolutely true and that's why I don't think I'm going to spend my efforts even if I don't love their online indexing system at all.

« Reply #95 on: February 28, 2016, 18:37 »
0
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.

Let me explain why.

Because all saved keywords appear on the lower box.
1. Expressions are broken into individual words and you have to recreate the original expressions using quotes.
2.Then you have to select (copy and delete) the most important keywords to be pasted on the upper box
3. Then you have do go through another tedious selection for the middle box.
4. Moreover, instead of having limits based on number of keywords, like all other agencies,  the limits are based on number of characters. You have to carefully select, sometimes more than once, what you want to move, in order to stay below these limits.
5. You have to go through a few additional tabs and click through more selections than required by any other agency.

It takes 5 minutes for each photo, instead of nothing (or a few seconds in the worse case)

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

And you only have so many characters in description and it automatically truncates it so you have to either shorten it or delete it and go with the second tab where you can put in longer descriptions.  Then there is the model release. If you have someone's finger in the photo (just their finger, no other identifying features) you have to take the time to create, upload and submit a model release.  Then if you accidentally say yes to property release the system automatically sets your sales type to RM.  When you change change it back to no property release required, the system will not change back the license to RF, so if you forget and submit, you have to delete the image and start all over. Otherwise you have to remember to manually change it back to RF.

Just a few more hassles to add on to what mr. talent posted.

That's exactly what I mean.

« Reply #96 on: February 28, 2016, 21:36 »
0
My two cents----I don't like if you have one image wrong out of the whole batch of images submitted, you have to go to Time Out for 30 days.  Please--give me a break.  I never had to go to Time Out even as a Kid.  Do you like going to Time Out?

« Reply #97 on: February 29, 2016, 03:46 »
+3
My two cents----I don't like if you have one image wrong out of the whole batch of images submitted, you have to go to Time Out for 30 days.  Please--give me a break.  I never had to go to Time Out even as a Kid.  Do you like going to Time Out?
Don't get the one image wrong then.  I much prefer their reviews to any microstock site.

authenticcreations

« Reply #98 on: February 29, 2016, 04:20 »
+1
My two cents----I don't like if you have one image wrong out of the whole batch of images submitted, you have to go to Time Out for 30 days.  Please--give me a break.  I never had to go to Time Out even as a Kid.  Do you like going to Time Out?
Don't get the one image wrong then.  I much prefer their reviews to any microstock site.

I totally agree with you. Their review system is very good to me also. It forces the photographer to be more alert to the technical quality. Alamy expects that you submit technically correct photos. If they find one they expect there could be more so they reject the rest also. It is not the agency that has to check for you if your photos are correct. It should be done by you.

Mirco

dpimborough

« Reply #99 on: February 29, 2016, 13:26 »
+3
I don't know why people complain about Alamy and their upload process.


Let me explain why.

Because all saved keywords appear on the lower box.
1. Expressions are broken into individual words and you have to recreate the original expressions using quotes.
2.Then you have to select (copy and delete) the most important keywords to be pasted on the upper box
3. Then you have do go through another tedious selection for the middle box.
4. Moreover, instead of having limits based on number of keywords, like all other agencies,  the limits are based on number of characters. You have to carefully select, sometimes more than once, what you want to move, in order to stay below these limits.
5. You have to go through a few additional tabs and click through more selections than required by any other agency.

It takes 5 minutes for each photo, instead of nothing (or a few seconds in the worse case)

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


Exactly! Especially taking into consideration Alamy warns against spamming with the same keywords in different sections (boxes)..
It takes me about an hour for a batch of 10-15 photos just to submit.
IStock submission through DeepMeta now takes about the same since they offered to place keywords in order of importance (painful, but I do it ;D


Alamy DOES NOT "warn against spamming with the same keywords in different sections"

In fact if you bothered to read this thread you will find this direct from Alamy:

http://www.microstockgroup.com/alamy-com/alamy-any-success/msg427524/#msg427524

Do some research before you spool out stuff you think you may have heard. ::)

As for the it takes 5 minutes per photo??? What! Are you typing in keywords or something?

It's a quick copy and paste job it takes me 5 seconds per image and the same for batches of similars. It takes less time than the crappy Deepmeta route for iStock with there CV

and less time than Fotolia where you genuinely have to order keywords to get them in order of importance, plus having to select their categories, amend credit values, and add in a proper description (as FT only use the image title)

As for breaking up keywords well guess what SO do Shutterstock, Dreamstime, 123RF. Bigstock, Pond5
« Last Edit: February 29, 2016, 13:29 by Teddy the Cat »


 

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