Graham Morley

Over the years, before retiring as a pro photographer, I have had a variety of Photographer’s Personal Liability and Photographer’s Personal Indemnity cover, with various insurers. I only had photographer-specific policies and they covered risks specific to professional photographers, and also specific to me personally. At one time I insured with a company with a discount through the body I belong to (British Institute of Professional Photography), and on other occasions through insurers that advertised in professional photographic magazines. Since retiring I have concentrated on personal projects with very low risk which I assessed as not requiring additional cover over and above what I have already. With my Alamy folio, little has been added in recent years and I have taken great care to caption accurately and appropriately restrict photos. The new contract introduces enhanced and new risks I am not prepared to accept, and this, together with the commission drop, has led me to resign from Alamy. I personally would not even want to take the risk of facing legal action in the future – even with insurance cover. However, back to Joseph's query: I don’t know of any professional organisation that includes any liability insurance with membership, but I am aware that several do have links with insurers that offer reduced premiums for members. If I was staying with Alamy I would contact an insurer that is a Company Partners to the BIPP; www.infocusinsurance.co.uk as they give cover tailored to individual requirements, (with a discount to members). The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers also have an arrangement (with discount to members) with an insurer www.aaduki.com/ SWWP also has an interesting page at https://swpp.co.uk/insurance/pi_pl_important.htm I am sure that In Focus and aduki would be happy to look at the Alamy contract and maybe quote, and there are several other insurers out there (Google: photographer professional indemnity insurance uk), but it is important that the specific Alamy risks are quoted for.

Martin, this is very interesting, and something to think about. Many thanks for mentioning.

Yes, Martin, I would like to, this forum is a great community and it would be a pity to loose touch. However, I do not anticipate looking for more stock outlets, as in my view the race to the bottom is gathering pace with a vast oversupply of most subjects. At some stage I may look at ways of getting my archive pics, that date back to to 1966 some of which have had good rights sales on Alamy, back online. Graham.

Back in 1970, when I first starting submitting to picture libraries and the percentage to photographers was 60%, I felt valued by the Library I was with. Submitting to Libraries has only ever been a small part of my professional photographic activities, but rewards were excellent for many years. The libraries I stayed with worked for each others mutual benefit. This positive working relationship with libraries continued until 2015, when one I had been submitting to (run by a photographer and his wife) closed due to retirement. I have always sort positive working relations with clients and suppliers, but if at any time I have had an uneasy ‘gut’ feeling about any business relationship, by being undervalued or taken advantage of, I have pulled the plug, and withdrawn from the business relationship. I have always felt that if one door closes another will open, and it has. I have felt uneasy about Alamy for some years, and a disillusionment in the market and the way Alamy has responded have led to me submitting few new pics to Alamy in recent years. Retirement from pro photography also led to other more creative paths in photography, too. But now the red line has been crossed – lowering the commission rate to below 50%! That, together with ambiguous legal clauses indicate to me that the new contract is not acceptable to me. Late at night I have been tempted to stay with Alamy with thoughts of 40% is better than nothing, and that some of the legal vunerabilty can be covered by Photographer’s Personal Indemnity cover, (which I had together with Photographer’s Personal Liability cover when a working pro), but in the cold light of day my ‘gut’ feeling is no – pull the plug! So I have notified Alamy that I will not accept the new contract. I can now move forward with restored self respect and sense of security. Also, I can concentrate more on my personal photo projects. I wish everyone well as they make decisions about the future. Graham

I have read very page of this thread about the very disturbing new contract – I thought the contract change a couple of years ago was bad enough, but this change is deeply alarming, and it is clear many other contributors feel the same. I am now retired from a working life as a professional photographer and am now concentrating on personal projects (and thoroughly enjoying it, too). In recent years have only been putting pics onto Alamy occasionally and still have a very small portfolio that does pay very well in terms of rights sales for the size of my portfolio – significantly above $250 p.a. gross. If the changes to the contract only involved commission rate changes I would grumble, and then probably accept the new deal, whilst having the greatest of sympathy for others, particularly working professional photographers, who rely on Alamy and have had a pay cut they can ill afford. However, various changes to other parts of the contract regarding liability, and control of image use, make me feel that Alamy is not an organisation I can continue to do business with. Unless there are significant changes to the new contract, I shall shortly give written notice that I will not accept the new contract. I know withdrawing my portfolio will make no difference to Alamy, but it will make a big difference to my own peace of mind and self-respect.

Many thanks, Steve, for reporting. Graham

Belated thanks for reporting rights sale.

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BBC News – Business . 9 October 2017 . http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41188464 National Historic Landmark designating the 1956 mid-air crash of two commercial airliners over the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA. BHammond

Hi Edo, I mainly use Lightroom, and I bought Afinity Photo a while back, although I haven't used it much. I found the learning curve steep, but when I have got the hang of particular features it works well. I have at times had files that ended tiff.afphoto, and I couldn't find out how it happened. Such files will only open in Affinity Photo. I found that using Shift-Option-Command-S keys (or go to File/Export) brought up a dialogue where I can select from a range of file types such as tiff psd etc. Since doing that I have avoided accidentally ending up with a .afphoto file that wouldn't import to LR. Graham