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Over the next week or so, I'll continue a short course in keywording the Dreamstime way. I can't promise that our guide will take all the tedium out of the job but if you follow it, the time you spend in adding data to your images should improve your downloads and the process made smoother.
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| Ok, let's admit it. You don't love photography because you love keywording. Keywording can be a dull task and the rewards for good work elusive to document. But, for certain, you won't get many kicks or kudos from poorly keyworded images. Better keywords=more satisfied users=more downloads.
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| The point of good keywords is simple: eliminate user frustration and increase downloads. Proof: check out the message boards where Dreamstime contributors tell how their downloads increased once they "fixed" their keywords.
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| Dreamstime 'rules' and practices should take some of the guesswork out of entering the image information.
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Let's get the ugly part over first. Below are all the Do Nots of creating image information for Dreamstime. The good thing about the Do Nots is that they are things NOT to do and will cut down the time you spend in adding needless information.
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FIRST: Don't try to find ALL the words that describe every little thing in the image.
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The picture on the left is obviously of a rooster. It is not an image of lumber just because there are a few pieces of old wood in the far background. Ask yourself, "Would I be happy if I was looking for wood and the search returned a male chicken?" The second image would be closer to what I wanted.
You may ask but what if someone wanted a picture of a male chicken with pieces of old wood in the background? I refer that question to Photoshop.
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Don't spam. More about that later.
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Cut and Paste: Yes. But make certain that the words you cut and paste belong with the subsequent images.
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Example: The image on the left below has the keywords silver and belt. The belt is not shown in the next frame. Many of the same keywords will apply to both images but belt and silver will not. Careless cut and paste would include those words in the second image.
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| Caution: the most common keywording error is to cut and paste words from one image to a similar one without making certain that the elements are present in the subsequent images.
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Did I mention: Don't spam?
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Too much information. Poor data can creep in even when you are not cutting and pasting or spamming.
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Example: The image on the left below is titled Asian Tourist Taking Pictures. The photographer must have known that the man was Asian but the man's ethnicity is not obvious to the viewer. Leave out any information that you may know but that can't be seen in the image. The second image would be returned in a successful search for those terms. Perhaps the woman isn't a tourist but there is a cruise ship prominent in the background so the assumption is sound.
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Don't use the same title for several images like Portrait (1), Portrait (2) etc.
Example: Create unique titles for each image in a series in order to have your images scattered about a search. Rather then naming the images below: Brick wall 1, Brick wall 2 and Brick Wall 3 name them:
Red Brick wall, Tan brick wall and Grey brick wall
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Don't use keywords for something that COULD happen but is not in the image.
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| Example: We often see still life images of bottles of wine with the keywords drinking and drunk. If someone drank the wine in the pictures above they might become drunk. But there is no drinking going on. Drinking and drunk are bad keywords for these images and will produce a less than optimum search result.
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Don't use opposites as keywords.
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A photo of ice crystals should not have the keyword hot. Molten lava should not have the keyword cold.
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Don't label each element of the face in a portrait. Eyes, ears, noses. We all have them. They are in all portraits. Don't use these keywords unless the particular part of the face is prominent in the image.
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Example: The image on the left requires the keyword eyes but the one on the right does not.
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| Don't name every article of clothing in a full-length shot. All full-length images of people will surely show feet and shoes. But unless the feet are up on a table or prominent in the image, don't use those words
Example: In the image below, the keywords shoe and shoes are appropriate only in the image on the right.
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| Don't try to guess a possible end usage and add that use to the title or to the keywords ever!
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The images here could be great greeting cards but should not have the keyword greeting or postcard. Leave it to the end user to find an image by searching on what it is a picture of-not of how it might be used. The above images should NOT be labeled with the keywords card or postcard.
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Don't use model's name in title nor keywords. You need to protect their privacy.
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Remember DON'T SPAM when keywording.
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Example: For a tight in shot of a woman from the waist up on a massage table with only the back of the
woman's head, her back and a towel covering her to the top of her legs with no one else in the image,
the bad keywords were: asia, asian-image had no ethnic
identifying characteristics, background-no background in the image and image would
not be an appropriate background image, beach, sand-no beach in image,
management and business-no business going
on as even the business of a spa was not evident, businesslady-misspelled
and no way to tell what the
woman did as a business or job, businesswoman-ditto, de-stressed-not
a word, destressed-mispelled word
correct is distressed, experience-because the woman was simply resting there was no
experience and nothing
to experience, people-only one person in the image and people
is covered in the categories, heel sole,
sole, toe, toes-feet are not in the image thailand,
travel, traveler, travelers, traveling, traveling,
travelling-image could have been taken anywhere in the world or even
in the woman's home. Not a travel
image. The photographer might have traveled to take the image but that isn't information that is available
in the image.
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To be continued...
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what a great article. im only new to stock photography so its really good to see "real life" examples in front of me, even for the "do-nots"... now on to the "do's" - posted by
Agathabrown
on January 23, 2008 |
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Keywording's the most difficult part of microstock, that's for sure. Thanks for this helpful article. I'll certainly use the concepts here moving forward. - posted by
Amydunn
on December 19, 2007 |
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Thank you, Ellen. I read carefully. and i understand the concept of re-keywording the image. i also know the relevancy of keywording and i know that keywording is an important part of our job - posted by
Wlablack
on October 28, 2007 |
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This gives me a little more motivation for keywords. But man it's still so hard. I always rush the process and probably mess up a couple. - posted by
Asthedreamers
on October 20, 2007 |
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I think most of us are guilty of rushing the keywording process - especially with cutting and pasting. The article is a great reminder of how important it is. It's nicely written with good examples. Thanks! - posted by
0tvalo
on August 31, 2007 |
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that's certain - posted by
Boughn
on August 18, 2007 |
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It's a very useful article, thank you! When I only begun working with stocks, I had some problems with keywording. I hope I've improved my skills in writing keywords by now. I'll be waiting for your new articles!
Be ceertain to read all three of the keywording articles... - posted by
Boughn
on August 17, 2007 |
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It's a very useful article, thank you! When I only begun working with stocks, I had some problems with keywording. I hope I've improved my skills in writing keywords by now. I'll be waiting for your new articles! - posted by
Natie
on August 17, 2007 |
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good article! worth of time to read.
Thank you very much.. - posted by
Kuanchong
on August 16, 2007 |
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Very helpful! Thank you! I look forward to many more articles about keywords! While I can take hundreds of photographs in a day, it can take me days just to property keyword one image, or a series of similar images! The more hints and tips, the better! Keep'em comin'! - posted by
KenneyStudios
on August 16, 2007 |
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This article has been read 28372 times.
Photo credits: Pierdelune, Ximagination, Roxana González, Kineticimagery, Steve Luker, Milanlj, Darren Baker, Isabel Poulin, Sean Nel, Mark Stout, Rainer, Stefanie Van Der Vinden, Stefanie Van Der Vinden, Stefanie Van Der Vinden, Falko Matte, Christopher Ewing, Vasiliy Koval, Franz Pfluegl, Dreamstime Agency, Dreamstime Agency, Riina Palu, Galyna Andrushko. |
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| Stock Photography that SELLS! |
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Ellen Boughn, a veteran of the stock photography industry with over 30 years
of experience gives expertise tips on successful stock.
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 Ellen Boughn
Bainbridge Island, US
I am Dreamstime's Director of Content and Business Development. A long time stock industry professional, I have held executive positions at Corbis and Getty (Stone) as well as at several other large US agencies. Although I was given my first camera when I was six years old by my father, I gave up taking pictures when I became a photo editor. A lifetime of looking at the best work from some of the world's best photographers, made me realize my skills were in editing images, not taking them. My areas of expertise are content and business development.
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