Alamy reviews

I almost didn’t click buy — the thumbnails looked too similar and I had that nagging doubt that I was getting the wrong actor. After purchase I realised four shots were of someone who just looked like the person I wanted. Support admitted their error right away (pleasant folks, actually) which eased me, but then they offered a store credit instead of cash. I grumbled — I’ve had straight refunds from other places before — but after a few emails I used the credit to pick other images and, surprisingly, I’m happy with what I ended up with. Still prefer cash refunds, though.

I got a notice about a photo I used last month — kind of a shock. At first, like, their approach felt aggressive, like a demand with no room to talk; I panicked. But after I phoned, the rep actually explained options and sent a licence instead of immediately suing. Delivery of the paperwork was a couple days later than promised and the first message was harsh, but overall service fixed it.

I thought it would be straightforward. I’ve used the site a few times before, just grabbing images for a personal project, and never had trouble. A few weeks ago I downloaded an image I believed was licensed. Turned out not. I pulled it down as soon as I knew. Then came an email asking for £450 — citing "past license use" and work fees. The message felt terse and a bit threatening. The invoice had no VAT, and when I asked they called it a "settlement fee", which didn’t add up. I reported it and closed my account. Disappointed and a bit annoyed, honestly.

we deliver a compressed JPEG for quick download, then open in Photoshop and export as TIFF to get the 'full' size — which is a workaround, not an honest product. It sort of works after you do that, but it’s annoying, misleading and adds extra steps to my workflow. Not perfect, but usable if you know how to fix it. I’d warn others — check the specs and don’t assume.

awesome photos, but the customer support nearly ruined the deal. I first found the collection when a colleague shot me a link and I told a buddy to try it too. I bought a handful because the image quality was honestly better than I expected — crisp, rich colours, overall a nice surprise for the price. Then the headache: payment went through, yet I never got the files or even a proper order confirmation. I emailed them over and over, sent all the details, waited and waited, and mostly got silence or vague promises. It felt like I was the only one actually chasing this; they'd ghost me for weeks and then say "figure it out yourself" — which is just wild. After months I kinda gave up on the roughly $150 they still have. So yeah, content is solid, but delivery and service need serious work. If you’re just browsing, go for it, but be ready to follow up and save screenshots.

a promotion where clients could buy three photos for a dollar each. Fine for buyers, not so fine if you made the work. I needed the money — rent, odd repairs, the kind of bills freelancers know — so it stung more than it probably should have. Pulling the images down felt like taking back control; simple, practical, and oddly calming. The platform itself still does the job — images get exposure, buyers find stuff, and I did make decent sales there once — but the pay model had shifted and that mattered. It isn’t a perfect split: I miss the passive sales I used to get, and maybe I could grin and bear it, but for me the trade‑off wasn’t worth it. Closing the account was the moment I knew I was done — not dramatic, just a clear, factual decision that felt right.

As a customer at Alamy, I recently bought a stock image that was supposed to be high resolution. However, when I downloaded it, it turned out to be a compressed JPEG even though I chose 'high res'. I was disappointed that I couldn't get the promised 5.8MB high resolution file. When I contacted customer service for help, they just told me to use photoshop to enlarge the compressed file to a TIFF format. That didn't sit well with me because it didn't meet my standards for image quality. I was puzzled when they mentioned something about 'protecting the distributor/creator', which sounded like a weak excuse for their false advertising. This whole situation has made me doubt the trustworthiness of this company, and I think it's important to report their shady practices to the right people.

So, I had this problem with one of the pics in my portfolio on Alamy. I wanted to take it down, but it was way more complicated than I thought it would be. I did everything the Alamy Image Manager told me to do to delete it, but then I found out that it was still up for sale for another 6 months even after I tried to get rid of it. Pretty confusing and annoying, right? I was hoping it would be gone right away. I think they should work on this to make things better for us customers and be more upfront about what's going on the platform.

This stock photo agency is honestly the worst, eh? Like, it's way too expensive and the licensing deals are all so confusing. They don't even tell you what you're getting! Feels like they're just trying to confuse us on purpose. I wouldn't suggest this agency to anyone in need of stock photos, eh.

I was super bummed out about my experience using this stock photography website. The photos I bought ended up being ones that are already out there for free. And to top it off, this website says they own the rights to these pics and they even try to take down the same ones from other places. It's totally sketchy and a scammy way of doing business - not cool at all.

I recently bought an image from an online stock photo site that said it was top-notch quality. But when I actually got the image, it was so bad that I was really let down. It was embarrassing to have such a low-quality image displayed. Plus, I found out there were lots of other versions of the same image (an XVIII century painting) online for free, and way better quality. I paid good money for it, so I expected top-notch quality like they promised. Even though I contacted customer service a bunch of times about it, they said they don't do refunds. It's been a real letdown and I feel pretty embarrassed about it. I'd suggest others stay away from that site.

I used to think Alamy was a pretty good platform, but I'm really let down by them now. They used to be fine, but lately it seems like they're screwing us photographers over by taking way too much of the money from our image sales. It's not cool, it's not fair, and it's disrespectful to all the hard work we put in. The deals they're offering us are just not right - we're basically getting peanuts for our work. It seems like Alamy is not doing so well financially and they're using us to stay afloat. I'd recommend avoiding a company that's up to shady stuff like this.

When my father-in-law, who was a famous entertainer, died, we dug up some old photos to use at his funeral. But a lot of them had this Alamy logo on them, and we couldn't figure out what that was all about. We tried asking Alamy for some info, but they weren't much help and didn't really explain why the logo was there in the first place.

Don't bother spending your money on classical painting photos from this company! They charge a lot for low-quality JPEG files, but you can easily find the same images for free on Wikipedia. I reached out to them about the photo quality and they just made excuses about the imperfections of old paintings. That's no excuse for selling blurry images at such high prices. Save yourself the letdown and steer clear of this company!

I recently bought some stock photos from this company and honestly, I was really disappointed. The quality of the photos was just okay, nothing special, and the prices were kinda high compared to other sites. And to make matters worse, their customer service was not very helpful and took forever to get back to me when I had questions.

As a customer at Alamy, I had a good start dealing with a friendly and knowledgeable salesperson who gave me a great deal on photography licensing. But things went downhill fast when I couldn't reach the salesperson anymore and the prices we agreed on suddenly changed without warning. I was completely shocked to see the fees more than double, leaving me feeling frustrated and misled. I tried reaching out to sales, credit control, and all the phone numbers provided, but got no response - either no one picked up or the call ended abruptly after a long wait. The lack of communication and transparency was really unprofessional and not okay for a business.

As a photographer who's been at it for a while now, I've tried out a bunch of stock photo sites like Dreamstime and Adobe Stock. Lately, I thought I'd give Alamy a shot, especially for editorials. Turns out, my photos actually sold pretty quick on there, which was a nice surprise. The payout wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but it was still better per pic than other sites. Had a bit of a bummer though when one of my photos got swiped, but like with most platforms, there wasn't much I could do about it. In this industry, it seems like having a lot of pics is more important than having super high-quality ones. Gotta focus on what's trending to make those sales. Overall, Alamy has been okay for me to show off and sell my work.

Eh, so I was tryna buy some pics from this site, right? But man, those people in charge there are so lazy! They barely go through a few pics at a time, isn't that strange? And get this - they only give the artists like 10%, after the pics are sold for a bunch of money. How is that fair, eh? Not cool at all for the artists!

It's a bit worrying, you know, how there's potential to make some good sales, but the real problem is how it takes forever to get paid. Quite a few folks have mentioned that it can take up to 3 months to get their bills sorted out, and during that time, their sold stuff is out there being used and shown off without showing up on their account. And even when the bill finally gets sent, it's another 2-3 months before they actually get their money. It's a real letdown, especially when you see how other places that sell photos handle things way quicker.

I recently bought a licensed image on Alamy, and let me tell you, I was super disappointed with how it all went down. They didn't communicate well at all, and they went straight to aggressive tactics when it came to licensing issues. They contacted my clients saying they were stealing without even asking for proof of the license. It was a total mess - my clients were freaking out and accusing me of using images without permission when really, I had everything properly licensed. Their approach caused so much unnecessary stress and confusion for everyone involved, and it really put a damper on my business relationships. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend using this company if you care about your business's reputation and integrity.