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Wavebreak Media ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

How to make the most of the tools on Alamy

Make the most of the tools on Alamy with our great guide to help you perfect your image search and find all the inspiration you need! We’ve picked out 3 key areas that our tools can help with:

  1. Choosing images
  2. Finding inspiration
  3. Practical tips

1. Choosing images

Search filters

We have a selection of search filters to help you narrow down your search and find exactly the image you’re looking for. You can search by things like:

  • People – search by the number of people in an image or the age of the people
  • Location – our 3 most searched for locations are the USA, UK and Europe
  • Image – select the orientation you want, pick the style or enter the minimum file size
  • Viewpoint – pick the angle that suits your needs
  • Date taken – find images taken within specific time frames or search the most recently added content

Explore all the filters by doing a search and using the tools at the top of the page.

Advanced search

We have a great ‘Advanced search’ filter, that’s perfect if you want to search for a particular collection or photographer, or if you want to do a more detailed search.

Advanced search bar

Lightboxes

Our lightboxes let you store all the great images you find in one easy place! When you’re searching for images and spot something cool, or if you’re picking a selection of images for your next project, pop them into a lightbox and they’ll be waiting for you when you need them!

Learn how to create a lightbox on Alamy or check out our great vlog!

2. Finding inspiration

There are loads of ways to find inspiration on the Alamy site, and we always try to make the freshest content easy to find. Here are 2 quick ways to get inspired with Alamy:

Latest Imagery/Featured Photographer/Photographer Interview

Our Latest Imagery and Featured Photographer pages are each updated bi-monthly, so that every month you’ll be able to explore some of our favourite image collections.

Latest Imagery is a fab way to check out some of the most recently added images on Alamy, helping you stay on trend and bringing you the most up to date content.

Our Featured Photographer page showcases some of the best photographers on Alamy, so you’ll have plenty of collections to explore!

Every 3 months, we interview one of our awesomephotographers –  giving you a more in-depth look at a photographer and their image collection.

Image Categories

These are a great way to find image inspiration nice and quickly! We have over 50 image categories filled with handpicked images that are regularly updated, so there’s always fresh content to explore. From seasonal images to nostalgic archival shots, our image categories are full of unique and inspiring images.

3. Practical tips

If you’re looking for help or advice, or just want to keep up with the latest in the world of stock photography, between the Alamy blog and our help pages, we’ve got you covered.

Blog 

We update the Alamy blog every week, with a variety of posts covering the latest photography trends, topical galleries and a range of helpful info about using the Alamy site.  Our education blog posts are full of tips and tricks about buying and using stock images.

Help pages

Our help pages are designed to give you all the info you need about Releases, File Sizes, Picture Research and of course Buying Images and Footage.  If you still need some help about your image purchase, our Customer Service team are on-hand to help you out.

For creative inspiration and the latest Alamy news, follow us on our social media channels!

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn

Alamy

Alamy is a global digital platform for creatives looking for fresh and inclusive content. Powered by Create search, Alamy delivers fast, catalogued search results, which include editorial photos, vectors, 360-degree images and videos from individual photographers, picture agencies and archives. Its global contributor base supplies upwards of 150,000 new images a day.

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