Comments on: Stock Photo Keyword Zen

By: Maros

Maros — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:44:55 +0000

Look at the tool at http://www.findphotokeywords.com. I use it regulary and I think it is a bit better than the Arcur’s one.

By: Andrew Ptak

Andrew Ptak — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:51:21 +0000

@Tony Stringer – If you listen to Ron Chapple, a guy who knows a thing or two about Stock, Keyword is first, shot is second.

It may be sad, but if someone can’t find your lovely shot, it’s going to languish and never be seen. So much of Stock is to illustrate a concept which is defined by (key)words and that’s how a buyer will find you. It may be the tail wagging the dog, but that’s the way it is.

By: Tony Stringer

Tony Stringer — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:49:06 +0000

Keywords.Another weird and mysterious part of the internet!
I just finished reading APE(which is a fascinating insight into the “other side”,thanks Rob) and went to have a look at my site stats.
Funnily enough,I found someone had been trawling my site through something called KeywordSpy(Google it,I’m not going to advertise for them!).
Basically it helps you rip off keywords from “the competition” or whoever you like.I can understand hitting up Getty or Corbis for more keywords but I don’t think they will get much from me!
It just seems that the photography world is beginning to be taken over with desperate, obsessed people doing e-mail blasts,checking IP addresses, etc (and I’m guilty of this too by checking my stats!),to get one up on the competition.

And now the paranoid battle of the keywords! It appears almost more important to have good keywords than good photographs.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so awfully sad.

By: Jenny Maria

Jenny Maria — Sun, 04 May 2008 07:39:07 +0000

But there are many ways to misspell a single world!

Well, indeed a magic world, like a science fiction sphere linked to the editorial planet. An area where only a few selected knows how to navigate fittingly. ☺

By: Eric Schmiedl

Eric Schmiedl — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:22:13 +0000

A little offtopic: Congratulations, Rob — I noticed the “Deadliest Animals of North America” piece you directed at Men’s Journal (shot by Craig Cutler) made it into PDN’s Photo Annual.

By: Rob Skeoch

Rob Skeoch — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:08:27 +0000

I work as the photo editor for Canadian Sports Magazine.
I tend to use Getty a lot… sometimes (like midnight last night) I’m just looking for one more image to finish off a section (last night it was the “gallery area”)
Instead of looking through all the sports shots done in the last week or so for the one keeper I needed, I just start searching by my favorite photographers and look at what they’ve done the last few days. Then I pick from those.
-Rob

By: Jack English

Jack English — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:35:02 +0000

It’s funny you mention this. I run my own stock site ( http://www.surfimages.com ) and I can see what people type in
the keyword box. I have seen, sex, poop, rodeo clown among other things that have nothing to do with surf… and last it is funny when people type in their version of surf lingo. As a surfer myself, I know we have a language of our own, that many people don’t understand.. What is really bad is when you see
Hollywood movies doing surf lingo, that is when they make surfers seems so dumb….

Jack

http://www.jackenglish.com
http://www.surfimages.com

By: Andrew Ptak

Andrew Ptak — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:13:01 +0000

@Picture This – You’ve hit the nail on the head for the dilema in shooting Stock.

Unfortunately, shooting the common perceptions is what sells. Don’t blame the shooter (well, sometimes) blame the buyers who want the tried and true formula shots.

Stock is by nature, generic, because you never know who the end user will be. Don’t want the same old, same old? I think those shots are called assignments, aren’t they?

By: Brooks Ayola

Brooks Ayola — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:10:14 +0000

Ha! That misspelling trick can work wonders on Ebay too! :-)

By: A Photo Editor

A Photo Editor — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:31:13 +0000

this may be counterintuitive but having a couple keywords that aren’t used that often helped me find great photos. not sure if that’s allowed by getty and corbis and others.

By: Capree Kimball

Capree Kimball — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:12:29 +0000

It’s interesting to hear your end of key wording. Aside from my own photography, I work as a photo assistant at a stock photo agency. I am often tasked with key wording the shoots I assist on, which, to be honest, is a nightmare. Getty sends us updated key word requirements about every two months, so we have to go back through all of our volumes and change everything. It’s tedious and time consuming. In short, I understand what you’re talking about – the universal groan that accompanies key wording, whatever its context.

By: Picture This

Picture This — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:57:23 +0000

I just wish there was an easy filter to weed out all of the cheesy stuff. Something like: “not perfectly groomed” “not blond/blue-eyed/white” “not overlit” “no plastic smile”or just “doesn’t look posed/set-up/cheesy”…

By: Andrew Ptak

Andrew Ptak — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:46:17 +0000

As a daily reader I obviously love your blog and as a Stock shooter, I really appreciate this post. Many posts are about assignments and how to get them, which is cool, but any chance of more Stock coverage?

This business is going through a major upheaval with part-time shooters fuelling the MS sites and old farts like me are having to make major and often painful adjustments if we are to maintain our income (and most of us aren’t).

Some regular words of wisdom from this site might help us to keep our sanity. Thanks.