John Gaffen Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) Same here. This must be across the board for all photographers, including myself, who have previously contributed to live news. I think the 1hr deadline is too tight for most on here. I did not try to reapply for access to the news feed, but I did apply for the reportage and archival route, this is because Ioften, I am shooting subjects where the conditions are difficult (low light etc), so they cant be submitted by the normal route because they would not meet Alamy QC standards! I have had quite a few sales with this type of image and I certainly don't want to loose the opportunity of uploading and selling them, whatever the time frame might be! Edited April 4, 2019 by John Gaffen correction and addition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alamy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Steve Valentia said: Perhaps you would be kind enough to outline the general reasons for excluding some of us from submitting to Live News. This is especially interesting given that some who were excluded, like myself, have many years of photo-journalism experience while others, who were not excluded, claim that their images "are not all that". There were a few reasons, but the main ones are about needing to focus the news team efforts on those contributors who submit and sell regularly with news. If you would like access again you can re-apply to continue to have access. 53 minutes ago, spacecadet said: Or the reasons for not even telling us, as in my case. And no it's not in my spam folder. To avoid sending lots of emails out to many who will not find them useful, we chose to only email those who had submitted live news within the last year. Looking at your account, you've submitted to news on two single occasion (10 images and 8 images) back in 2017 and 2015. We therefore considered you not to be an active contributor to news. Again though, if you would like access you are free to reapply. Best, Alamy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Valentia Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 3 minutes ago, Alamy said: Looking at your submissions, having only ever submitted 18 news images, you would not be classed as someone who was providing regular photo-journalism material to Alamy. I'm afraid your figures are incorrect. I have submitted many more than 18 new images. My "News" folder for Alamy submissions has 34 sub-folders, since the start of 2018, alone. Each of those contains an average of 10 images (some many more) and I've been submitting to the news feed for at least 8 years. In fact, I've had 24 sales via the news feed in the last 12 months. If you've based your selection process on misinformation, could I please ask that you review it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AM Chang Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Two weeks ago, I sent an e-mail asking if the Live News Team have changed some parameter about what defines "newsworthy" because from a time here, I have rejected "news images" that subjects in the past were considered "newsworthy". And, I have noticed that images from Alamy partner agencies contributors have been kept in the Live News feed, even being less "newsworthy". That has caused a bit of confusion, at least for me. Now, the only "answer" I got is the revoking access to live news uploads e-mail. I agree that the Live News feed has to be of "higher quality", but the process for this "improvement" seems a bit unfair to me. Just in case, I reapplied but I feel my loyalty and my intention to grow with Alamy in vain. Andre "For important events I have always obtained credentials (press pass) directly on my own because I hold a Photo Reporter Professional Registry issued by the (former) Ministry of Labor and Employment of Brazil, I have done everything possible to saving work to Alamy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gaffen Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Alamy said: Hi everyone, Just to clarify our recent changes to Live News upload. Our News team would like you to file the images within the hour as this will maximize your chances of making live news sales. It does not mean that every news upload have to be sent within the hour and the 24 hour deadline still applies. When reviewing your application form for Live News, the team would like to know if you are able to send them your news images within the hour whenever possible. They often see that images being filed later in the day often sell as stock, rather than Live News. Many thanks, Alamy I hope you will give fair consideration to photographers like me, who often want to submit images taken under difficult circumstances, that would otherwise not pass the QC criteria. I have sold quite a few images submitted in this way, for instance at indoor car shows and music festivals where lighting is poor. I note that you have a second category of reportage or archival, which I have applied for. If I could not submit images taken in poor conditions I stand to loose quite a few sales and consequently so does Alamy too! Edited April 4, 2019 by John Gaffen spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Valentia Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 4 minutes ago, John Gaffen said: I note that you have a second category of reportage or archival, which I have applied for. If I could not submit images taken in poor conditions I stand to loose quite a few sales and consequently so does Alamy too! I have been excluded from the Live News feed, but I note my Reportage & Archival upload options are not "greyed out". You might want to check that in your own AIM. Of course, when Alamy see this, they may discover they made a mistake with me and grey out all of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gaffen Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Mine were grayed out Steve and I had to re-apply. I'm waiting on the result, it may be some time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Phil Crean said: "aim to file within an hour of taking the photos." Does not mean it is obligatory to file within an hour....😏 Phil Im afraid it does I rang them to confirm, my buttons have gone grey so now only option is stock, I am really fed up with Alamy. Unprofessional! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Sue Norwood said: As a very infrequent news uploader who has never sold news, I am disappointed to have received the email revoking my access to Live News. Seconded. It seems a shame to reduce the potential possibility of those unexpected spur of the moment, right place right time, unique, "scoop images" that Alamy contributors, who aren't regular news submitters might have taken, at places that regular news submitters wouldn't bother going. The rather blunt email did make me feel a bit "dumped". In reality it's very unlikely to affect me. Unless I happen to be lucky enough to take a scoop image sometime, and if I do I'm now perhaps more likely to contact a picture desk directly rather than seek "permission" to upload to Alamy News... If the problem was too many non-newsworthy images in the news feed, maybe there could have been a different solution? Mark Edited April 4, 2019 by M.Chapman 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Steve Valentia said: How do you know that your right to file has been revoked because you can't file in an hour? That's not what the "you're excluded" email says (I got one and I've been a press photographer since 1981). I would contact CR directly to find out why you were not chosen to submit news. I did, and I'll let everyone know what they say, should they reply. I did contact them, and the reply was the same, you don't file within an hour, not sure how many times I can reiterate that. I think ALAMY need to sort their business out, there are photographs right now in the so-called LIVE NEWS stream of terrible weather photographs, I file current news photographs. I am confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Alamy said: To avoid sending lots of emails out to many who will not find them useful, we chose to only email those who had submitted live news within the last year. Looking at your account, you've submitted to news on two single occasion (10 images and 15 images) back in 2017 and 2015. We therefore considered you not to be an active contributor to news. Again though, if you would like access you are free to reapply. Best, Alamy You're way out, I've made at least 6 news subs, but never mind. So I would simply have been unable to submit if I hadn't chanced across this thread, having shot and prepared a sub. I would have found an email telling me not to bother "useful". What are the criteria for applying? Why no announcement? Edited April 4, 2019 by spacecadet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 1 minute ago, M.Chapman said: Seconded. It seems a shame to reduce the potential possibility of those unexpected spur of the moment, right place right time, unique, "scoop images" that Alamy contributors, who aren't regular news submitters, might have taken, at places that regular news submitters wouldn't bother going. The rather blunt email did make me feel rather "dumped". In reality it's very unlikely to affect me. Unless I happen to be lucky enough to take a scoop image sometime, and if I do I'm now perhaps more likely to contact a picture desk directly rather than seek "permission" to upload to Alamy News... If the problem was too many non-newsworthy images in the news feed, maybe there could have been a different solution? Mark Very well said Mark. I fully agree with you. Pearl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, M.Chapman said: The rather blunt email did make me feel rather "dumped". At least you got one. I was just banged over the head. Alamy keeps throwing away contributor goodwill for no reason. I don't get it. Edited April 4, 2019 by spacecadet 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alamy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 14 minutes ago, Steve Valentia said: I'm afraid your figures are incorrect. I have submitted many more than 18 new images. My "News" folder for Alamy submissions has 34 sub-folders, since the start of 2018, alone. Each of those contains an average of 10 images (some many more) and I've been submitting to the news feed for at least 8 years. In fact, I've had 24 sales via the news feed in the last 12 months. If you've based your selection process on misinformation, could I please ask that you review it. Hi Steve, Apologies, we were looking at the incorrect account when we just checked here - you have indeed made many more news submissions than 18. In total you have uploaded 355 images to Live news since 2013. As mentioned though, the number of submissions was just one of the criteria, the other was number of live news images sold. Since 2013, for you that is just 3 images. Above, you cite 24 sales via live news, so it would seem these sold as secondary stock rather than live news. We'll edit our original reply to avoid confusion. Again though, you are welcome to re-apply if you wish and the news team can review. Best, Alamy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alamy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, N Quarmby said: Im afraid it does I rang them to confirm, my buttons have gone grey so now only option is stock, I am really fed up with Alamy. Unprofessional! Not the case. 1 hour is the aim, not the rule - anything outside one hour has far less chance to sell for live news. 24 hours is the rule. Alamy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Valentia Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Alamy said: As mentioned though, the number of submissions was just one of the criteria, the other was number of live news images sold. Since 2013, for you that is just 3 images. Above, you cite 24 sales via live news, so it would seem these sold as secondary stock rather than live news. Actually, it's at least 25, as I sold another this week. Yes, they may have been "secondary stock", but they were uploaded as news images. I would not have uploaded them otherwise, especially the weather shots, as I would have considered them too late for general stock use. I consider my 24/5 sales as a direct consequence of the option to upload news images, and it's a pity that you might not, as you could be missing out on some sales. I've already re-applied. I won't hold my breath. Edited April 4, 2019 by Steve Valentia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phomme Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 6 hours ago, Alex Ramsay said: Just had an email revoking my access to Live News uploads - fair enough, as I'm not a news photographer and only occasionally submit such images. However I notice the new time limit is for submission within one hour of the event, which seems a bit tight to me - anyone else have any thoughts on this? Alex A few years back I had the luxury of sending off my photos within 2 hours of an event. Today, I, like most other photographers covering an event or spot news need to ship off photos minutes after the start of an event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Keith Douglas said: I think you are taking the advice too literally. I'm sure that they're not going to be timing it down to the minute or second. The advice indicates the ballpark that you should be aiming for. That's an hour, not 2 hours, not 4 hours, not 12 hours, not one day or two days. And that probably means setting yourself up to be able to be near to the Alamy target if you want to do news regularly. Ultimately it's the buyers of the images that want them quickly. To some extent the urgency depends on the image and the situation. If it's a high profile news story covered by many other photographers then posting some images 2 or 3 hours later is probably going to be a waste of your time, and Alamy's. If you're the only photographer there and it's a situation that has turned into something far more newsworthy than was originally envisaged, then going beyond the hour is perhaps less important. I had a photo taken at 7am in the morning, submitted it as Live News at 5:30pm, and it was used in the print edition of The Times the next day! But generally I'd try and get the images uploaded much closer to the Alamy target time. Keith Just a quick point, have you seen the live feed today? Doesn't look like a live feed to me, people that didn't get thrown out with the bathwater are still posting non news photos such as less than bog standard weather photos, may I remind ALAMY these are NOT NEWS stories. I still have not had an explanation of why I was so unceremoniously thrown out. It does sound though, like ALAMY may not be a doing so well? If I do get a reply, and I am not expecting one to be honest, I will most likely be removing all images from ALAMYaand contacting my union to see if they can make sense of this, I have been a photo journalist for over a decade now, and was failry successful at selling my work, especially LIVE NEWS sales. Once again ALAMY, rain falling out of the sky and someone walking in the rain is not NEWS. I await your explanation. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 24 minutes ago, Alamy said: Not the case. 1 hour is the aim, not the rule - anything outside one hour has far less chance to sell for live news. 24 hours is the rule. Alamy Will you be explaining why I have had all the upload buttons greyed out, apart from Stock? Will you be assessing my application I was asked to fill out. I have work coming up, and I will need clarification ASAP so I can submit my images elsewhere. Just to clarify I would never upload my images to the live feed when it was live less in less than three to five hours. The way you have gone about this is disrespectful to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 According to ALAMY this is what they want us to consider regarding Live News. "We need pictures of breaking news, an ongoing news story of interest to the national and international media, extreme weather, events with celebrities and well-known figures in attendance, or nationally important sports. OR We need a photo that is striking enough to cause a reaction." Someone walking in the rain, does this really fulfil this brief? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Quarmby Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 One very last thing, in my opinion ALAMY will only push those that make them money, and whilst that seems obvious, it's not great for diversity, it's not great for variation, and it's not great for moral for those who have been selected to stay, and you still have to hand over 50%. I am still awaiting your reply ALAMY. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 7 hours ago, MariaJ said: I just got the email too. Does alamy want to prune out their news submitters? None of my live news images have sold as news, only as stock. I'm wondering if all news submitters have to re-apply, I'm out as well. Not a big deal for me either since none of my Live News images -- such as they are -- have sold as news, but some have done very well ($$$) after the fact as general stock. However, this sudden move does seem a bit harsh. There might have a better way of going about it. 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Quist Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) My Live News images have also only sold later on. I sold quite a lot news images via the closed Dx agency, which Danish newspapers for some reason favoured - and if weather pics from Denmark should sell at Alamy, Denmark should probably have disappeared in a storm surge. But I would have liked to have the rare opportunity, like f.inst. the coming days when the panda bears arrive from China to the Zoo in Copenhagen. Some certain flags may be waved in demos. But I will find something else to do. Have decided to spend less time on photography. and let the old images do the job. Have had three satisfying Alamy sales in April. Niels Edited April 4, 2019 by Niels Quist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sultanpepa Posted April 4, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted April 4, 2019 I'm another discarded news contributor. Well, no more 2hr round trips in a blizzard to capture images like this https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-pictures-thursday-april-4-2019-dqnj6nk2l which Bryan reported today. Very disappointing. 2 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 10 minutes ago, Sultanpepa said: I'm another discarded news contributor. Well, no more 2hr round trips in a blizzard to capture images like this https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-pictures-thursday-april-4-2019-dqnj6nk2l which Bryan reported today. Very disappointing. They've used an algorithm of sorts to decide who gets the 'chop'. Cold, and clearly very fallible.I would have thought it would be worth people like yourself putting forward a case to be re-instated. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts