Prepare images
To sell your images on Alamy you must prepare them according to our submission guidelines, outlined below. Our customers like the depth and breadth of Alamy’s content and want to see images of the highest standard. So, whilst we welcome diversity and do not edit, our Quality Control Team check the technical quality of your images to ensure they meet our criteria.
The process
- Prepare your images according to our submission guidelines below.
- Send us 4 images if it is your first “test” submission and as many as you like once your test has passed Quality Control (QC).
- We check your images for quality, reporting back with the result.
- If your images pass QC, you can annotate them to make them available for sale.
- You can track, annotate and manage your images in My Alamy .
Submission guidelines
We need:
- JPEG’s saved at a high quality setting (i.e. Photoshop level 10 or above).
- Alpha-numeric file names ending in .jpg.
- RGB files, not single channel greyscale or CMYK.
- Uncompressed file sizes of between 48MB and 200MB. This means you should make your JPEG file from an 8 bit TIFF file that is at least 48MB. Our maximum size for the uncompressed file is 200MB.
We do not want:
- images that contain glamour or pornography, or images which infringe the rights of any third party.
- images that solely feature a logo or trademark - this is a copyright or trademark infringement.
- a series of similar images with almost identical compositions or only slightly different exposures.
We reject images for (Show all):
- Camera shake
The image is blurred or soft because the camera moved when the picture was taken. We reject images with this characteristic if we feel it was not artistically intended or it is unsaleable. Try using a faster shutter speed, steady hand, or a tripod.
- Chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration
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Click for high-res versionChromatic aberration or ‘coloured fringing’ is shown as magenta/green or red/cyan fringing in areas of an image that have greater contrast. Poor quality optics and extreme wide-angle lenses tend to show Chromatic Aberration especially towards the edge of the frame. To remove this you can use the Chromatic Sliders in the Lens Correction Tool in Photoshop, most RAW conversion software has a similar tool.
‘Purple fringing’ is a similar phenomenon, found in some digital cameras. It is caused by the optical characteristics of the camera sensor, and can extend right across the frame. - Colour cast
Magenta colour cast
Click for high-res versionThe image is tinted with an unwanted colour caused by incorrect white balance on your camera or scanner. Calibrating your monitor regularly can also help prevent colour casts. Although some colour choices can be seen as artistic, we will reject an image if we feel its colour cast makes it unsaleable. - Compression artifacts
Compression artifacts
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Click for high-res versionThe image has a blocky or patchy appearance caused by excessive compression. It is particularly noticeable in areas of flat colour such as skies and can appear as Jpeg "bubbles" around the edges of the image (see example). To minimise these artifacts work on your images in RAW or TIFF format and save as a Jpeg once only. - Data loss or corruption
Data loss or curruption
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Click for high-res versionThe image shows areas of subtle pixilation or zero data. To reduce the risk of this problem burn your CD or DVD at the slowest speed possible and make sure it is verified. Also check the first and the last few images on the disc for problems, as this is where most occur. - Digital camera not suitable for Alamy (pro level 6 mega pixels)
The image shows a number of problems such as intrusive coloured (chroma) noise, degradation of image detail or interpolation artifacts. The image is from a digital camera which is below our recommended specification: a pro-level camera with a “true” (non-interpolated) resolution of at least 6 megapixels. This will give a file size of at least 17MB at 8 bit. For more information, please see images from digital cameras.
- Blemishes - Dust, scratches or sensor dust
Sensor dirt
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Dirt and scratches
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Click for high-res versionSmall dark circles on the image are a common characteristic particularly noticeable in areas of flat colour such as skies. To reduce the risk of this occurring, clean your camera’s sensor or the material you intend to scan. You can also remove unwanted marks using the healing brush or clone tool in Photoshop . - Excessive sharpening
Excessive sharpening
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Click for high-res versionThe image appears “edgy” or unsightly artifacts are visible. Sharpening should be applied only once and this is best done at the repro stage. - Excessive similars
A series of similar images which have almost identical compositions or only slightly different exposures. We will only accept a series if the images have very different angles, framing or model’s expressions etc. However, you must tightly edit your images otherwise they will appear further down search results. Customers do not want to spend time editing through your work.
- Film rebate or border
Film rebate visible or not cropped
Click for high-res versionWe do no accept any images with borders, whether they have been deliberately been put there or are from film scans. These must be cropped out. - High contrast
High contrast
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Click for high-res versionThe image highlights are blown out and shadow detail is crushed. - Interpolation artifacts
Interpolation artifacts
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Click for high-res versionThe image exhibits rather intrusive artifacts and degradation of detail resulting in an overall soft look, a “mottled” texture or "jaggies" on edges. These symptoms occur when you interpolate an image beyond the capabilities of the camera from which it came. Our advice for images from digital cameras may help you track down the problem. - Newton’s rings or interference patterns
Newton’s rings
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Click for high-res versionThe image has a circular “rainbow” effect caused when scanning film. The scanning light reflects off of millions of small moisture particles on the surface of the film or glass carrier. Try to clean dirt and moisture off the film or carrier before you scan. The “Fine” setting in digital ICE can also cause this effect. - Noise
Noise
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Click for high-res versionChroma noise gives a mottled, distorted effect that usually contains green and pink/purple colours. It can particularly cause problems on skin tones, skies and shadow areas. Electronic chroma noise is the appearance of distortion within a digital image usually caused by using high ISO levels when shooting. Different cameras are better at reducing the appearance of noise than others, but you should always try and shoot on as low an ISO level as possible. - Noticeable retouching
Noticeable retouching
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Noticeable retouching - cut out
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Click for high-res versionRetouching is obvious in the image. We recommend that you retouch at 100% and double check to ensure that it is not visible. 100% or 1:1 means one screen pixel displays one image pixel. Also retouching at more than 100% is problematic as the image is too enlarged to see any image detail or mistakes.
- Orientation
The image is not the right way up for viewing on a screen. It may be inverted, upside down or at an angle.
- Out of focus
We will reject an image if we feel that is not artistically intended to be out of focus. Also, it must look out of focus at thumbnail size so that it is obvious to our customers.
- Over manipulated
Over manipulated
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Click for high-res versionThe image is clearly over manipulated. Examples are the excessive use of “levels” or “curves” which leave an image looking posterised, “blocky” or with distorted colour. - Poor exposure
Poorly exposed image / histogram
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Click for high-res versionThe image appears rather flat or washed out. Correct exposure ensures maximum tonal range in an image. You can check and adjust the exposure using the histogram in Photoshop (Under Image > Adjustments > Levels).With very few exceptions, we expect the black point of your images to be 0 and white to be 255. However, we will accept images where they are within 5% of this, i.e. Black at level 12 or below, white at Level 243 or above.
- Scanning artifacts
Scanning artifacts - banding
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Scanning artifacts - double edging
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Click for high-res versionCharacteristics include double edging, stripes or banding, particularly noticeable in shadows. For more scanning advice visit images from scanners. - Size (uncompressed file sizes are under 48MB or exceeds 200MB)
The uncompressed file size of the image is under 48MB or exceeds 200MB (a compressed file size of around 20MB). Based on our experience of customer requirements and to give you access to the largest possible market you must supply file sizes of at least 48MB. For more information, please see images from digital cameras.
- Soft due to size
Soft due to size
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Click for high-res versionThis is caused by over–interpolating (upsizing) images beyond their capabilities. As a rule we suggest that you keep your file sizes close to 48–50MB to avoid degrading image detail unnecessarily. - Soft or lacking definition
Soft or lacking definition
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Click for high-res versionThe image may appear soft and/or lacking definition because:- it has been interpolated beyond its limitations (i.e. if camera used is “not suitable for Alamy”)
- of over use of software to remove blemishes, dust or scratches such as “Digital ICE”. Try to use it selectively and sparingly taking care not to degrade the image to an unacceptable degree. Many of these techniques work by softening the image.
- the scanner is poor quality. A scanner should have good quality optics and you should use a designated film scanner for 35mm negatives for best results. For more information visit images from scanners.
- the camera lens is poor quality, affecting the clarity of an image.
- Unsuitable material
Although the technical standard of your work maybe be fine, certain material is not suitable for our target market. This includes, but is not limited to glamour, pornography and images which infringe the rights of any third party. If you shoot this type of content you may have more sales success from an alternative outlet.
Notes
- We only import the ‘Caption’ and ‘Keywords’ IPTC fields from your images. For more information see IPTC headers in Photoshop.
- Although we do not edit, we strongly recommend that you edit your images yourself before submitting.
Quality Control (QC) policy
We fail images which do not meet our submission guidelines. Check the quality of each image before you submit.
Test submissions
- If it’s your test submission, we check all 4 images and they must all pass QC for your submission to be accepted. Please do not submit any additional images until your initial test has passed QC.
- We will give you failure reasons for all images which do not meet our QC criteria .
- Avoid rejection by checking your images at 100% with software such as Photoshop .
Ongoing submissions
- Once you’ve passed your QC test we only check a sample of images in each subsequent submission.
- A submission is defined as any group of media that are awaiting QC at the same time (they will all have the status “Awaiting QC”).
- If we fail one image, we will reject all images in all media awaiting QC.
- Media grouped together as a submission will be QC’d together and will have the same QC date in “Track submissions”.
- We will indicate the media which contains the failed image, with an
information icon in Track submissions. - Avoid rejection by always checking your images at 100% looking for all possible QC failure reasons.
Further help
- Achieving the best results:
- Editing and enhancing your collection
- The Alamy Forum - the answer may be there.
- Resources - photographer tips and a directory of scanning and keywording providers.
- Picture needs - example searches by customers.