Great Escape Publishing

Posted April 7th, 2017 by Bonnie Caton & filed under Travel Photography.

This year, I’ve added a new stock photo agency to my list. I’ve become a contributor with Alamy!

I want to share a little about the site and my experience submitting photos so far.

Here’s a quick rundown of what Alamy offers:

Agency size: 95 million stock images
Pricing: Depending on the license, images sell from $19.99 – $199.00
Terms: Alamy is non-exclusive, meaning you can sell the same photos anywhere.
Royalties: Alamy offers a 50/50 split commission. You’ll keep 50% of any sale.

First off, a 50% royalty rate is fantastic! The industry average is around 30%, so Alamy is above the pack in this department.

Also, since their image pricing structure is much higher than most microstock sites, each image sale brings in a higher price. Alamy says that their average license fee is $90. That means the average payout per sale is $45 to the photographer.

Alamy prides themselves on having images of any subject. So the really cool thing is that in terms of subject matter, they want whatever you have! They accept all styles- everything from mainstream to niche; creative to editorial.

And when you submit a batch of photos, instead of inspecting them all, they’ll inspect one or two of them. That said, if even only one of your photos in a particular batch has a technical problem, the whole batch gets rejected. Knowing this, you really want to make sure to check your photos for technical issues. Watch out for noise, fringing, and focus issues in particular.

Here’s a few additional things that stand out about Alamy:

Mobile App: You can also sell your phone photos as stock with their app called Stockimo.
They have a ‘Live News Stream’ of editorial photos. If you have up to the moment shots from your town relating to current events, this is a great place to submit them!
Fine Art Prints: They have partnered with Art.com to offer their buyers finished wall art. If you choose to offer this “personal use license,” individuals can purchase your photo to be printed as a fine art canvas or print through Art.com.
International Network: You have the option to sign up with their partners to sell your images in other countries around the world.

Sales on Alamy can take a while, however. I’m still waiting for my first sale there. But rumor has it you don’t start making sales until you have at least a couple hundred images online there.

Fortunately, building up a portfolio at Alamy is rather easy with their system of accepting any subject.

If you decide to contribute with Alamy, let me know how it goes over on the Breakfast Stock Club Facebook page!

In the meantime, I’ll update you on how my sales are going there throughout the year.