Stock – Leaving Alamy And Moving On

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This is a sad post to write but quite liberating at the same time. After 16yrs I’ve terminated my contributor contract with my sole stock agency, Alamy. This comes after Alamy recently published details of some significant changes to their contributor contract, which will come in to effect on 1st September 2026 and directly affect me.

There’s lots of legal jargon and rhetoric in relation to how and why these changes are deemed necessary. All contained in an email circulated to contributors by Alamy two weeks ago. In a nutshell, two of the new amendments affect me directly, in equal measure.

One of my images sold by Alamy. Stock photography isn’t just about taking an image, uploading it and hoping it sells. Some thought and work went into creating my original image of the hand holding the almonds here. It’s deliberately shot against a plain background, using a flash gun and reflector. The composition has been kept simple to allow for copy space. The nuts were weighed to represent a recommended healthy daily serving of 28g. Finally, I’d waited until my hand model, (my wife), had visited her nail technician before I shot this! All these attributes combined to make this sell, once it had been captioned and keyworded.

The first contract change relates to placing more responsibility on contributors for legal challenges. The contract now reads – ‘You will be responsible for paying any and all costs and/or damages arising from complaints and claims relating to your Content.‘

You might think that as a contributor you should be responsible but, occasionally a challenge for misuse can occur despite you ticking all the correct editorial boxes and model/property releases. The issue Alamy had over copyright material with Bild newspaper recently is a good example. You can find details of that with a simple Google search. I think another Alamy contributor summed up where I am at really well on the Alamy Contributor Forum:

While our liability is likely small if we’ve done the right things – there remains apparent unshared exposure beyond our control.   Yet we seem to be responsible for other’s mistakes or poor decisions – intentional or not.

An image I had for sale with Alamy. I was naive, at that time, in placing this for sale. I received a Cease and Desist request to remove it by the UK National Portrait Gallery. Once the image was removed, that was the end of the matter.

After that I stopped uploading images to Alamy taken in galleries, museums or anywhere else other than a public place, without first checking their conditions for the use of commercial photography. Even photographing street art, in a public place, is a sticky subject in relationship to image copyright.

The next amendment relates to a change in the contributor commission rates. Presently a contributor has to make $250 in sales per annum to move to Alamy’s Gold Level, which pays contributor commission at 40%. Alamy have now raised the ceiling for Gold Level to $3000 per annum. A massive increase and those not making the $3000 level will now be paid at a 20% commission rate.

This commission change directly affects me. Although I was comfortably over the $250 threshold, I don’t get close to the $3000 level. Even if I had wanted to, it would require me to at least double my portfolio size. That’s a lot of work and I’m not prepared to dedicate the time and effort to do so. An earlier blog I wrote in relation to my portfolio size explains why – My Stock Image Photography Story.

A typical image I made as a stock upload earlier this month. I sold a similar image through Alamy for $116 last month. Good for me but three figure image sales are quite rare these days. I get $46.40 from this sale under my current Alamy contract. Alamy take $69.60. My share drops to $23.20 under the new contract with Alamy taking $92.80.

So, taking these changes into consideration, earlier this week I took the decision to terminate my Alamy contract. It’s sad because Alamy have always been a great company to deal with and much better than other stock agencies I’ve been involved with. I felt their commission rate was fair, even at 40%.

I don’t think a 20% commission rate is a fair return for me. The jump from $250 – $3000, before you hit Gold level, is a massive hike. There’s been lots of conjecture in relation to this on the Alamy Forum. The reasons Alamy themselves have given, for such a big rise in the threshold, ring hollow. The bottom line is I no longer feel valued as a contributor or as part of a team working with Alamy. At a 20% commission rate I think Alamy are being too greedy. I could see myself becoming more and more resentful with every new sale so it’s time for me to move on.

One of my last Alamy uploads. My wife, sat on the wall here, has always been very patient with me. She hasn’t said so and but I think she’ll be more than happy with my decision. She’s used to smiling wryly at bemused bystanders who look at her quizzically whilst I’m busy photographing something mundane.

I mentioned that leaving Alamy felt liberating and in truth, although I have still been regularly uploading new images to Alamy, I have been slowly drifting away from shooting for stock. I wrote a blog some time ago about making images for my wordpress account, using Flickr again and getting back to photography being my hobby. That blog is here: Photography – Vintage Lenses and Flickr.

That feeling has intensified and its been a real joy taking my camera out with a few vintage lenses and shooting images just for me, or to illustrate a blog post. Shooting stock normally involved a zoom lens and countless images that never gave me a buzz (unless they sold of course).

Jodrell Bank, Chehire, UK. I took this image recently, thinking about stock but also because I wanted to use it in a blog on a recent trip to the Peak District. I did use it for my blog and uploaded it to Alamy. Ironically, Jodrell Bank is making news today as the government have withdrawn any future funding for research there.

I’ve also found it more and more difficult to find any enthusiasm for key wording my Alamy uploads, a task I never enjoyed. Even though using AI to generate descriptions and words has made keywording easier than ever, I still found it a chore.

The termination process with Alamy takes 45 days. From 1st September I’ll no longer be an Alamy contributor and I’ve no plans to join any other stock agencies.

“Don’t worry love, there’s more to life than Alamy”

Having submitted my termination request, Alamy have already deleted my portfolio. In the meantime, I’m trying to source AI software that can auto keyword my former Alamy library for me. If anyone has any suggestions in relation that it would be much appreciated.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2026 – All rights reserved.

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