Alamy Contributor Blog

Changing your Alamy password - an update

James Allsworth — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:11:00 GMT

Thank you to those who have responded to our recent blog post and mail out asking you to change your Alamy password. We know things like this can seem tedious but they are important and we are pleased so many of you have taken the time to do this.

Those of you who have not recently updated your passwords will soon be emailed a new one. Once you have this we suggest you log in and change it to something a bit more memorable - remember this is just for those of you who have not recently updated your password as requested.

If you have any trouble logging in with a new password the best thing to do is just click the 'request new password' link to be sent a new one. If you continue to have trouble, or if you don't receive the new one, email Member Services for help.

Alamy on Photographytv.tv

James Allsworth — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Photographytv.tv is a web based photography show made for photographers - and recently they visited our UK office for a look around and a chat.

For an exclusive behind the scenes peak at our offices, plus interviews with both James West and Alan Capel, go to the Photographytv.tv website and click on part 3 of show number 2. They seem to have edited out the part where we give reasons as to why our offices look so boring but never mind...

Industry

Alexandra Bortkiewicz — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:50:00 GMT

© H. Mark Weidman PhotographyFor this issue of picture needs we are looking at the subject of Industry and industrial themes. With economical, political and social changes in the world combined with globalisation, more countries are experiencing tremendous growth and development to compete industry wise in the global market place. There is a lively demand for these kind of images covering topics like development in progress, overall modernisation, and impact on the environment.

As well as the negative aspects on the environment we are also very interested in images that reflect environmentally friendly processes and actions that established industrial centres as well as the new emerging ones are adopting.

There is more advice on shooting different subject matter in Photographer tips.

Modernisation

Technology: robotics, mechanical, automated, software, computers.
Businesses: market sectors, commercial, new industry, location.
Economical: globalization, pollution, carbon footprint, emissions.
Development: new builds, lost habitat, scale, growth, sustainability.
Architecture: factories, warehouses, work-plants, head-quarters.
Example images depicting Industry modernisation.

Portraiture

Environment: indoor, outdoor, weather, seasons, atmosphere.
Workforce: specialists, tradesman, manual labour, blue collar.
Job Role: production line, machine operator, senior management.
Presentation: authenticity, signs of work, grease, oil, dirt.
Continuity: emotions, expressions, consistency, same group/individual.
Example images depicting Industry People and Portraiture.

Concepts

Equipment: tools, kit, machinery, face mask.
Uniform: protection, health and safety, hats, gloves.
Production: resources, processes, procedures, rural, urban.
Market Sector: manufacturers, location, national, global.
Transport: cargo, freight, shipping, hauliers, docks.
Example conceptual industry images.

Having difficulties with keywording your images?

Ben Gray — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:04:00 GMT

We appreciate there are many of you that would rather be out with your camera than sitting in front of your computer. However, it doesn’t matter how fantastic your pictures are if they do not have the necessary keywords behind them. Poor keywording means they simply will not be getting the visibility they deserve. Yes, unfortunately the accurate keywording of your images is a necessary evil.

We have been working with external companies that offer keywording services to ensure that they understand the format required for Alamy and the differing importance of our keywording fields. These companies range across different countries, services they offer and of course price, but the good news is they will all give you a discount if you want to use them to get Alamy formatted keywords. The result of a recent audit means we are pleased to recommend the services of all of them.

So why not check out the approved keywording company list and see if they can help you put down your dictionary and pick up your camera?

Watermarking...We haven't changed our minds

Alan Capel — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:29:00 GMT

Scheduled for the first quarter of this year, as announced at the 2007 Contributor event, this is ready to roll out, all the images have now had watermarks applied but unfortunately we have encountered some performance issues. In simple terms, from our testing we have found that adding the watermarked images would slow the site down.

We are working on resolving this and we are confident that the end result will be a site that features watermarked images but is as fast as it has always been. I hope you can appreciate why we have had to delay things but rest assured we remain committed to the reintroduction of watermarks.

I can't give you a concrete launch date at present but we'll let you know as soon as it's live.

Thanks for your patience.