How to Become an Alamy Contributor in 2023

Selling photography services is one of the most popular ways to make money from your photography. But that’s not the only way to monetize your skills.  Another way to make money from photography is to sell photos online on stock photography websites. We reviewed the best websites to sell photos online, including Alamy.

So yes, you can become an Alamy contributor.

Alamy touts itself as the best place to sell your photography. In today’s post, we’ll talk about what makes Alamy different, the benefits of this service, and the process of becoming an Alamy contributor. 

Table of contents

What Makes Alamy Different?

How to Become an Alamy Contributor

Signing Up

Image Guidelines

Quality Control

Payments

Photographer’s Resources From Alamy

Become an Alamy Contributor

What Makes Alamy Different?

Alamy allows you to sell stock photos, vector images, and live news images. The company stands out from the competition with its higher-than-average payouts, non-exclusive terms, and no long-term contract. 

Another benefit of selling your photos on Alamy is that they accept all kinds of images. You’re not limited to only nature or only business-like images. Because of this policy, they have a much more extensive selection than other stock photography websites. 

It’s also worth mentioning that the company has established relationships with big brand names with big budgets that need a wide range of stock images. Some clients include Microsoft, The Economist, and Bauer Media Group. 

Alamy’s Philosophy

Alamy’s philosophy is rooted in philanthropy. As such, the company donates a portion of its operating profits to several charities, which include cancer and DNA research through SBL and educational research through the Fischer Family Trust.

The company has also contributed to numerous charity projects to improve health education in poor communities such as Southern India, Haiti, and Southern Sudan. 

How to Become an Alamy Contributor

Now that we’ve covered what makes Alamy different and its philosophy let’s look at how you can become an Alamy contributor.

Signing Up

Follow the steps below to get started with Alamy:

Step 1: Visit Alamy’s website

Visit Alamy’s website and scroll down until you see the website footer. Click on the Become a contributor link, and you’ll be taken to the Contributor homepage, where you can learn more about Alamy and the process of selling your images there.

Step 2: Click on Become a contributor

Once the Contributor page opens, click the Become a contributor button. 

Step 4: Fill out the application

Enter your personal information, email preferences, and additional opportunities options on this page.

You’ll also have to accept their terms and conditions and agree to their contract, so read them before proceeding. All that’s left to do now is to submit your application.

You will automatically have an account created. You will be redirected to a Thank you page where you can either go to your Dashboard or Get started with uploading images immediately.

Step 5: Start uploading your images to Alamy

You can now start uploading your images to Alamy and selling them through the platform. As you can see from the screenshot below, Alamy’s image-uploading process is simple and straightforward. Only two steps are required:

Step one: Choose your upload route. Here you can select to upload Stock, Latest News, or Reportage/archival types of images.

Step two: Upload your images. You can drag and drop images into your browser or click the Browse files button and select your images like that.

💡 If you need help creating successful stock photography, we put together a comprehensive guide on this topic.

Image Guidelines

As mentioned, Alamy allows you to sell photos, vector images, and live news images. There are a few image guidelines you need to follow and keep in mind: 

• The preferred photo format is JPEGs saved as high-quality RGB JPEGs
• The recommended file size is over 17MB when you’re uploading an uncompressed photo
• Your first upload will be limited to 3 photos. After that, you can upload up to 500 images using the web interface. If you want to upload more than 500 photos, you’ll need to use an FTP program
• In most cases, your images will be live within 24 hours. Typically, you’ll get notified via email when your images have passed quality control, and you can then add tags and annotations. Once you’ve annotated the images, they will be on sale within 24 hours.
• You can also delete any images you don’t want to sell or that you’ve uploaded by mistake after they have passed the quality control process

Quality Control

One of the things that makes Alamy different is its quality control process. Each image has to go through this process and follow image upload guidelines closely if you want to avoid rejecting your images for quality control reasons. Alamy has a helpful guide on passing their QC so be sure to read it carefully before submitting images. 

Their QC process usually takes 24 hours but can take longer on weekends or holidays. As you start uploading images, you’ll get notified via email once your images have been checked. A few helpful pointers that will help you pass QC include: 

• Make sure your photos were taken with a DSLR camera or equivalent
• Even though Alamy won’t check all the images you submit at once, ensure each image is at its best quality, as only a small sample is checked, which determines whether the entire batch of submitted photos will be accepted
• Be sure to check all images at 100% size before you submit

Payments

Regarding payments, Alamy states there is no set amount you’ll earn per image as your earnings depend on the customer and the end-use. However, they do have higher commission payouts than similar sites. 

Alamy offers 50% on all direct sales for images that are exclusive to Alamy. For non-exclusive images, you’ll get 40% off all direct sales. If you’re a student photographer, you can get 100% commission as the platform is dedicated to helping budding photographers succeed. 

You’ll receive payments once your cleared balance reaches $50, and you can be paid in USD, GBP, or EUR via Paypal, Skrill, or bank transfer. 

Photographer’s Resources From Alamy

Alamy has plenty of resources to help you learn more about its platform and how to sell your photos there successfully. Here are a few notable resources to bookmark if you’re serious about joining Alamy: 

• Alamy blog with the latest news, industry trends, and tips and tricks for contributors
• The monthly picture needs topics where you can find out what kind of images to shoot and contribute to the platform
• Contributor forum where you can participate in discussions with other Alamy contributors

Become an Alamy Contributor

Becoming a contributor on a stock photography site like Alamy can boost your income as a photographer and reduce the number of photoshoots you need to book each month. Alamy makes it easy to sign up for their site and upload your images, so use the tips in this article to become an Alamy contributor.

💡 If you’re looking for an alternative to Alamy, you can also read our opinion on becoming a Shutterstock contributor.