I have 550 files on Alamy  since May. How many files do i need and how long does take before I see downloads.

From what I read on their forums, 550 will give you sales very few and far between.

You need exactly 1458 files to get your first download, and it happens after 15 hours, 46 minuts, 17 second.

I've recently put about 100 photos there and so far it's deader than an old John Edwards campaign office.

It seems to attract a lot of photographers who think they are too good for the microstock sites, so it has over 20 million images on-line.   However, the quality doesn't seem to be good enough to attract many buyers.

Alamy used to release sales figures, but the last time was over a year ago:

 http://www.alamy.com/pressreleases/2010/pays-to-contributor.asp

At that time, they revealed that in 2009, they paid out 8 million pounds (about $13 million) to photographers, which was probably about 80 cents per image per year.    That's way below what you would make on any of the top tier microstock sites.   Uploading to Alamy is only worth it if you have a lot of spare images and a lot of spare time on your hands.

It seems to attract a lot of photographers who think they are too good for the microstock sites, so it has over 20 million images on-line.   However, the quality doesn't seem to be good enough to attract many buyers.

Alamy used to release sales figures, but the last time was over a year ago:

 http://www.alamy.com/pressreleases/2010/pays-to-contributor.asp

At that time, they revealed that in 2009, they paid out 8 million pounds (about $13 million) to photographers, which was probably about 80 cents per image per year.    That's way below what you would make on any of the top tier microstock sites.   Uploading to Alamy is only worth it if you have a lot of spare images and a lot of spare time on your hands.

They accept and sell photos that the micros aren't interested in.  Some people will do much better than others.  I like using then because now I can just photograph everything and I'm not thinking about weather it will be accepted by a microstock site.

LOL, 31 out of 24 million?  You really need at least 500 to test the waters.  Keywording is OK if you just put the most relevant keywords in.  I don't think most photos need more than 10 keywords and alamy penalizes for keywords that don't bring clicks, so there's no need to spend much time on them.  It's annoying compared to other sites but they pay 60% commission and have a much better attitude towards their contributors and buyers.  I think it's worth using them but you need a big portfolio and lots of patience.

I sometimes get sales without zooms.  They seem to use a small selection of buyers to record the zooms.

Quote from: Slovenian on July 08, 2011, 02:36

I find keywording over there really a appalling and dreadful experience. I'd rather fall down a deck of stairs, than go through that process again. Besides that I uploaded 31 of my best shots and didn't even get a single zoom in 3 months or so.

A few things come to mind. Maybe people aren't interested in what you are uploading, so no searches for it, which would lead to no zooms. Or maybe there are better images of the same things, so no reason to zoom on yours. 31 shots is like spitting into the ocean. You are competing with 25 million images! It still seems that most of the buyers are in the UK, buying UK subjects.

But more likely what others have said. Not enough images and most people who search there are not monitored. Add in that the system seems to be not recording zooms or searches.

I also have sales with no search, so I wouldn't count on the data for anything but a general indication of what's going on there. Look at the global "All of Alamy" for sales and searches. You'll see most are one time projects and by the time we read it, that very specific subject may never be searched or sold again. But it's good reading?

It's not micro, it's not anything like micro, the buyers aren't looking for shots like micro. If you have a shot that sells more than once, that's different. I'm talking about the kind that sell for $200 and up.

I've never had a novel use or sale for under $65, commissions average $80, but like someone is bound to point out, I don't get one sale a month. So if it's gratification for sales numbers, Micro is good. If it's money in the back and fair value for my work, I'm happy with the scattered Alamy sales.

One thing that's the same as Micro. The pictures I think should sell don't and things that I just tossed up for filler or interesting snapshots, have been selling. I don't have a clue!

Some searches, no zooms;). Here you go:

Your Sales   Your ViewsDescending   Your Zooms   Your CTR (%)
     0               164                          0                 0.00

Tnx for all the other info;). BTW what's the size of your port over there? It looks like you earn a lot more over there than at MS sites, at least than on IS. So there is some hope.

Well, it depends on what kind of shots you uploaded. Most microstock material is not very hot at Alamy.

Alamy is an RM oriented site with mostly no-newsworthy editorials.

I think once you hit the 2000-3000 (RM) mark you see regular sales (5-10 sales a month).

It strongly depends on your portfolio. You can make a killing with 550 images or none at all with 10,000.
You need to learn what sells at Alamy, although this might seem a mission impossible at times.

I have tried several times to figure out what sells there - had no luck. How do you get a view of what has sold?

If every site accepted every shot, everyone would whine about all the crap that buyers would have to wade through ( not their stuff is crap of course ) and why aren't the sites more selective on what they admit?

That's why it's fine every site has it's own feel.

Sales going better than expected.

Sure now you made me log in and look. I don't sit and watch zooms and views and all that very much. Three pseudos. One for RM Editorial racing, one for RM other, one for RF "stuff". I don't do real micro even for micro, no models, so I wouldn't expect that my Micro would sell very much. It's mostly stuff I find around the office or at a resale shop or food before I eat it. Isolated things on white, maybe black... It's entertaining.

Haven't uploaded a new image to Alamy in a year, well maybe one, but I have an external drive with thousands of pictures that I need to keyword and upload.

Don't consider me serious! Yes more than the MS sites. Yes, only one image is on both, I don't mix them. Ah, keywording. It's a whole different experience. Good part is the 50 characters means carefully choosing real MAIN keywords! No spamming. Then the rest are less important and weighted less, so what I like is complete control over which are going to be found with what keywords. It's entertaining. I use Wordpad and cut and paste. The EXIF will make you crazy. However for buyers searching, we do the work and it is a better search because of all the trouble and time it takes for US to make supposedly good data?

OH surprise, surprise... another sale and I haven't looked in two weeks. I see what it is. One that I really liked and wondered why it never sold. YEAH BABY!  Maybe things are looking up. Finally a sale of an image I liked. Otherwise I keep selling things that I thought no one would even look at. Strange. (says something about my taste and judgement or better put, lack of it)

Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial
Media: Textbook - print and e-book
Print run: Unlimited
Placement: Inside
Image Size: 2 page spread
Start: 01 January 2012
End: 01 January 2027
   $ 180.00
Yes to the other part. One $108 commission beats all of my micro "crapstock" for the year of 2011 so far.

Love those eyes. Milka Duno


Double Truck? I want a copy of that book!

photos      sale   view  zoom  ctr
(1448)       2    149   2    1.34  RME
(126)    0    65   1    1.54  RF
(9)            0    4   0    0.00  RME Other

Thanks for asking, that brightened up my weekend.

Quote from: RacePhoto on July 08, 2011, 13:15

Quote from: Slovenian on July 08, 2011, 02:36

I find keywording over there really a appalling and dreadful experience. I'd rather fall down a deck of stairs, than go through that process again. Besides that I uploaded 31 of my best shots and didn't even get a single zoom in 3 months or so.

A few things come to mind. Maybe people aren't interested in what you are uploading, so no searches for it, which would lead to no zooms. Or maybe there are better images of the same things, so no reason to zoom on yours. 31 shots is like spitting into the ocean. You are competing with 25 million images! It still seems that most of the buyers are in the UK, buying UK subjects.

But more likely what others have said. Not enough images and most people who search there are not monitored. Add in that the system seems to be not recording zooms or searches.

I also have sales with no search, so I wouldn't count on the data for anything but a general indication of what's going on there. Look at the global "All of Alamy" for sales and searches. You'll see most are one time projects and by the time we read it, that very specific subject may never be searched or sold again. But it's good reading?

It's not micro, it's not anything like micro, the buyers aren't looking for shots like micro. If you have a shot that sells more than once, that's different. I'm talking about the kind that sell for $200 and up.

I've never had a novel use or sale for under $65, commissions average $80, but like someone is bound to point out, I don't get one sale a month. So if it's gratification for sales numbers, Micro is good. If it's money in the back and fair value for my work, I'm happy with the scattered Alamy sales.

One thing that's the same as Micro. The pictures I think should sell don't and things that I just tossed up for filler or interesting snapshots, have been selling. I don't have a clue!

Some searches, no zooms;). Here you go:

Your Sales   Your ViewsDescending   Your Zooms   Your CTR (%)
     0               164                          0                 0.00

Tnx for all the other info;). BTW what's the size of your port over there? It looks like you earn a lot more over there than at MS sites, at least than on IS. So there is some hope.