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Are you a photographer who’s mystified about Metadata? Perplexed about Property releases? Unsure, even, about how to upload your images to 17�Թ����� for the first time?

Then we’re here to help!

At 17�Թ����� we’re always keen for contributors to improve the saleability of their images and get them seen by the right customers for licensing.

We know that the images which perform best on average are of a good standard and have well completed metadata with relevant and accurate captions. So, if you’re uploading quality content, the more accurate, relevant and useful information you can supply, the more discoverable and licensable your images become.

Customers buy images for their projects, not just on based on style, quality, and authenticity, but knowing that the image is the right one for their use because of the context given in the metadata – including the rights and restrictions.

Get Your Images on Sale with our new guide

Whether you’re a commercial or editorial photographer, just getting started on the site, or have been a photographer for some time, we’ve recently launched a handy ‘Get your Images on Sale’ guide. It takes you through everything you need to know about uploading and managing your images.

You can also see the questions we get asked most about on our Help Hub which covers off all our FAQs (including everything from payments to secondary rights).

Insider Insights from the Content Team

But if that isn’t enough to get you uploading and adding value to your images, our Content Team want to share some top tips. They look after all your images, from QC-ing content to advising on metadata, as well as ensuring our customers see the best of what you have to offer through our Fresh Picks, Trends and Contributor Spotlights. And with a combined experience of over 47 years working for 17�Թ����� they’ve seen it all!

So here’s their insightful guidance on how to make the most of having your images on 17�Թ�����.

Chantelle Greenough, Content Executive

“In QC we love seeing the variety of images, illustrations and vectors that come on site however we want to see the best content you have within your portfolio, so ensure for your first test submission that you give us the best examples, and you will likely pass QC the first time. Don’t forget to do simple checks before uploading such as checking for softness and meeting our upload requirements.”

Louise Gordon, Content Executive

“My top tip would be to curate your shoots! Don’t upload lots of images which are too similar, as these are likely to fail QC. Of course it’s fine to upload your best images selected from a shoot, but we don’t want to see 10 almost identical photos of your cup of coffee! Think about what a customer might want, of course it’s great to give them a carefully curated selection from one shoot to choose from but make sure there are noticeable differences between the images and choose your best ones!”

Lu Parrott, Content Executive

“Much to popular belief that AI does the Quality Control checking, it is actually a small team of real humans who are passionate about photography! We review thousands of images daily, and because of the high volume of submissions we get, we’re not able to check every single image. Instead we carry out spot-checks, and if just one image fails, the entire batch/batches fail. So be sure to check all your images before uploading that they meet our technical requirements. And when it comes to aesthetics, ask yourself is this image saleable? Who would purchase it? And why?”

Jon Harris, 17�Թ����� Live News Picture Desk Manager

“When captioning news, sport, or entertainment images, think about the 5 W’s principle (When, Where, Who, What, Why). All pertinent information should be included within the caption, supplemented with relevant keywording. For live news contributors, a streamlined workflow is crucial for delivering images quickly in a live environment. I would recommend software such as Lightroom or Photo Mechanic for editing, adding metadata and FTP upload.”

Sophie Basilevitch, Curation Manager

“The words you use to describe your photo are just as crucial as the photo itself – otherwise how will anyone find it? Most of our customers already know what they’re looking for. So completing information including where the photo was taken in the caption and the date taken field, will help them discover the right image and verify the information to make them more likely to use that photo. If you’re a wildlife or plant photographer then Latin Names are crucial for licensing your images for editorial uses.

For discoverability adding 50 tags isn’t a target. Sometimes only 10 will do and there’s no value in adding words that aren’t relevant to the context of the image. For example, don’t add the phrase ‘lush greenery’ when there’s only the tips of some trees visible at the very edge of the photo. In addition to having relevant captions and tags, adding extra metadata means you’re more likely to make sales – over time. Once your images are on sale, they have the opportunity of selling again and again because different customers (and the same customers with different projects) are coming to the site all the time. Just because you haven’t licensed a photo today, it doesn’t mean that you won’t license it in 6 months, 1, 2 or even 5 years.”

Ben Gray, Curation and Ingest Manager

“If you’re planning a specific shoot (be it location or theme) have a quick search of 17�Թ����� first. It might be best to check we don’t have thousands of similar photos before you book that plane ticket/studio/model. However if you have already booked, then shoot with an eye to get your images standing out from what’s already on sale. Customers like variety.

Also – don’t overthink tags! Customers are humans and will search for ‘woman smiling on boat’, they generally don’t search for ‘human female facial expression of joy aboard water vehicle’. A thesaurus can be useful, but it can also be a waste of your valuable time.”

Shaun Howes, Content Executive

“When uploading a batch of images make sure to upload them all in one go instead of one at a time. This will not only save you time but will make it easier for our team to view all your images at once. When your images have passed QC, make sure to caption and tag them right away as it’s best to not leave them sitting offline; it’s good practice to apply captions and tags alongside your uploads so you don’t end up with a mountain of tagging to do.

Also don’t forget to apply Super Tags alongside regular tags as these will greatly boost your images discoverability.”

Don’t forget you can still email our Contributor Relations Team if you need more advice contributors@alamy.com

In the meantime, we hope that this knowledge and guidance inspires you to get uploading and get your images selling!