How do publications "receive" Alamy Live News?

[RyanU]

Hi all,

 

I was just wondering, through what means do publications receive our uploads from Alamy Live News? Is it email or something else? And does it affect the likelihood of a sale if images are added some time after the first upload, or are the clients notified of changes? I wonder because it seems that in live events, other news agencies seem to take precedence and it's not until some time later that Alamy Live News contributions start to pop up, even when they're up at the same time as competitors. Also, do all subscribed clients get everything, or do they have a kind of keyword search set for only particular news stories, and in which case, does it affect our likelihood of a sale if we don't mention a certain thing within the headline or caption?

 

Cheers,
Ryan.

[BradleyPhoto]

On 28/02/2021 at 18:52, RyanU said:

wonder because it seems that in live events, other news agencies seem to take precedence and it's not until some time later that Alamy Live News contributions start to pop up, even when they're up at the same time as competitors. 

 

What do you mean by this?

[RyanU]

2 hours ago, BradleyPhoto said:

What do you mean by this?

Sorry, I could've been clearer. I mean, it seems during events, newspapers tend to have other agency's pictures up very quickly and in larger numbers, and the Alamy options are kind of left behind til later or not used at all.

[Robz]

3 hours ago, RyanU said:

Sorry, I could've been clearer. I mean, it seems during events, newspapers tend to have other agency's pictures up very quickly and in larger numbers, and the Alamy options are kind of left behind til later or not used at all.

Either these agencies have a more proactive sales team, or the clients are using a third party service from which to get their images that Alamy does not supply - for example many years ago I set-up a small picture library for a specific niche market, and in order to compete with the bigger agencies I found I had to post my images to a news image aggregator service called Image Data Systems - it was, maybe still is, the go to place for all the big media outlets aggregating news images from over 100 agencies. It's very expensive to supply though.

[Cal]

I am naturally a cynic, but I would be surprised if entries are "pushed" at all. I check the live news feed by going to alamy.com/news, and I suspect this is the same portal our customers use.

[Harry Harrison]

I remember that someone asked how often clients bought straight off the Live News feed and the late Keith Morris chipped in with "nobody". No idea if he was just being mischievous.

 

Edit:

 

It was here, in fact I see that I asked the question:

https://discussion.alamy.com/topic/11370-live-news/page/28/?tab=comments#comment-209714

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Harry Harrison
add link

[Avpics]

Most of the pros work as teams, with the photographers wirelessly sending images straight from the camera to compatriots who handle the rest of the process such that they can be live in minutes. Very few Alamy photographers can compete with that and it's often a toss-up between stopping to send some and possibly missing the money shot.

[Mr Standfast]

2 minutes ago, Avpics said:

Most of the pros work as teams, with the photographers wirelessly sending images straight from the camera to compatriots who handle the rest of the process such that they can be live in minutes. Very few Alamy photographers can compete with that and it's often a toss-up between stopping to send some and possibly missing the money shot.

PA have a slick operation, an oral note is added to the jpeg, uploaded to the back office who transcribe it into the caption and then send it to the picture desks. Very tough to compete with, but quite a buzz when you get a picture in the same spread, which I did, once.

 

Stay safe.

[meanderingemu]

i remember seeing an independent photographer at a street march, walking backward in front of the protesters, holding and working on his laptop to caption and submit the image from the first 10 minutes of the rally, keeping an eye if anything was happening camera at his waist....  

 

by the time News Desk would get my images, buyers would have had his- so i focused on interesting signs and stories...

[Avpics]

1 hour ago, Mr Standfast said:

Very tough to compete with, but quite a buzz when you get a picture in the same spread, which I did, once.

Indeed. The much maligned so-called 'soft news' of weather can bring results with the online news sites adding quantities of images as they come in during the day.

 

Going back to the original question, we're told that the news team 'push' the images out to news desks. I don't know by what method that would be or how selective they are from the sets uploaded. If as is quoted that "nobody" looks at the live news feed then it's likely that any images added later to a set wouldn't get seen. #guesswork

[Cal]

55 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

i remember seeing an independent photographer at a street march, walking backward in front of the protesters, holding and working on his laptop to caption and submit the image from the first 10 minutes of the rally, keeping an eye if anything was happening camera at his waist....  

 

by the time News Desk would get my images, buyers would have had his- so i focused on interesting signs and stories...

 

When I was covering the anti-lockdown protests here, the first couple of times I'd cover the event then scurry off to the car and upload my photos with a laptop. By the time I had, it was too late as all of the regulars that, as Avpics says, are backed by entire teams of people were way ahead of me. So the next time I went, knowing there was going to be a well-known face there worth documenting, I changed my tactics and periodically zapped files to my phone from two cameras, added the IPTC in lightroom, uploaded and then carried on shooting. Later that day I sold one of the images to the DM as a headline pic, but sadly only for the online version. I have also covered stories close to home where I've been able to upload almost straight away but in my mind now I don't bother rushing if I can't get them out very quickly and just submit as stock. Photojournalism is arduous, tiring work, but the early bird does get the worm.  I don't have the stomach for doing it other than occasionally, and my hat is very much off to those who do this day in, day out. If anything, it's a good way to get tear sheets which will help with work down the line.

 

6 minutes ago, Avpics said:

Indeed. The much maligned so-called 'soft news' of weather can bring results with the online news sites adding quantities of images as they come in during the day.

 

Going back to the original question, we're told that the news team 'push' the images out to news desks. I don't know by what method that would be or how selective they are from the sets uploaded. If as is quoted that "nobody" looks at the live news feed then it's likely that any images added later to a set wouldn't get seen. #guesswork

 

The image I sold from the protest mentioned above was one of three or four LN submissions I made that day (using the same headline, so they all rolled into one) and it was at the end of the event not at the start. All other submissions I've made that have sold have all been under one headline.

Edited March 3, 2021 by Cal
added info

[Sally]

19 hours ago, Avpics said:

Indeed. The much maligned so-called 'soft news' of weather can bring results with the online news sites adding quantities of images as they come in during the day.

 

Going back to the original question, we're told that the news team 'push' the images out to news desks. I don't know by what method that would be or how selective they are from the sets uploaded. If as is quoted that "nobody" looks at the live news feed then it's likely that any images added later to a set wouldn't get seen. #guesswork

Not sure about this. When I was covering the Edinburgh International Book Festival Alamy news team told me to put all the the shots of different authors, who arrived at staggered intervals, into the same group heading, so I would simply add the next batch of images throughout the day.

Edited March 4, 2021 by Sally

[IanDavidson]

I think the live news team receive photos, and make a decision which ones they send out to their various distribution lists.  So, in Sally's example they would make a per batch decision while  at the same time keeping the photos together means that if a news or photo editor decide to run a story they are easy to find  The live news team have an excellent appreciation of how news and picture desks work.  This applies to both style and timing.

 

On the question of speed, most of us are never going to keep up with PA etc.  When I am in Downing Street I aim to have my photos with Alamy within 15 minutes.  There is always a risk that as you edit something happens and you miss the shot.  I keep an extra memory card so that my camera is always ready.  One of the worst sounds is loads of shutters being pressed as you are bent over your laptop editing.  Oops there goes the PM.....   

 

One of my strategies is to be in Downing Street when there are only one or two of us.  Then if a cabinet member, medical officer etc turns up you have only limited competition  I do the same outside the cabinet office.  If I see one or more ministerial cars. I just stand there and wait.  It is always a gamble.  The same outside the Palace of Westminster.  But, yesterday I missed the Leader of the Opposition and two cabinet ministers because i walked down to College Green to check for media interviews.  Some you win but mostly you lose.....  The other trick is to follow the camera crews.  They are expensive assets and Sky, BBC etc normally only send them out if there is something to cover.  I know a lot of the camera people and they are often willing to tell you what is going to happen. 

 

It helps that I have a passion for politics; so I enjoy my work most of the time.  

[RyanU]

2 hours ago, IanDavidson said:

I think the live news team receive photos, and make a decision which ones they send out to their various distribution lists.  So, in Sally's example they would make a per batch decision while  at the same time keeping the photos together means that if a news or photo editor decide to run a story they are easy to find  The live news team have an excellent appreciation of how news and picture desks work.  This applies to both style and timing.

 

On the question of speed, most of us are never going to keep up with PA etc.  When I am in Downing Street I aim to have my photos with Alamy within 15 minutes.  There is always a risk that as you edit something happens and you miss the shot.  I keep an extra memory card so that my camera is always ready.  One of the worst sounds is loads of shutters being pressed as you are bent over your laptop editing.  Oops there goes the PM.....   

 

One of my strategies is to be in Downing Street when there are only one or two of us.  Then if a cabinet member, medical officer etc turns up you have only limited competition  I do the same outside the cabinet office.  If I see one or more ministerial cars. I just stand there and wait.  It is always a gamble.  The same outside the Palace of Westminster.  But, yesterday I missed the Leader of the Opposition and two cabinet ministers because i walked down to College Green to check for media interviews.  Some you win but mostly you lose.....  The other trick is to follow the camera crews.  They are expensive assets and Sky, BBC etc normally only send them out if there is something to cover.  I know a lot of the camera people and they are often willing to tell you what is going to happen. 

 

It helps that I have a passion for politics; so I enjoy my work most of the time.  

Very interesting.

It would be great to hear from Alamy themselves regarding their way of "pushing" pics, and if there's anything we can do as contributors to improve the likelihood of use.

 

Edit: And also if anybody has experience from on a newsdesk that receives Alamy, what the experience is like on that end as well.

Edited March 4, 2021 by RyanU

[Avpics]

53 minutes ago, PAL Media said:

Get them in quicker

It's certainly beneficial. I've had morning images go up on the Telegraph's PotD which goes up mid-morning on the same day. When out on an all day event I'd always aim to get some in early as a marker unless I'm unhappy with the results.

[BradleyPhoto]

9 hours ago, kay said:

My impression is the same as Ian and Sally's.  I've had images used that were submitted later in the day than the original upload.  For the live news feed they were batched together, but they were definitely still seen.

I found this an interesting read a while back

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/may/26/our-human-response-is-vital-snapshot-of-life-as-a-picture-editor

Interesting article that

[geogphotos]

1 hour ago, BradleyPhoto said:

Interesting article that

 

 

"....and once we have gone through that entire process we pay the photographer a fiver...."

[Avpics]

15 hours ago, geogphotos said:

 

 

"....and once we have gone through that entire process we pay the photographer a fiver...."

....."six months later"

[mickfly]

2 hours ago, Avpics said:

....."six months later"

.. "assuming that Bryan/Sshep et al have spotted it for them."

Edited March 6, 2021 by mickfly

[BradleyPhoto]

On 04/03/2021 at 22:08, RyanU said:

Very interesting.

It would be great to hear from Alamy themselves regarding their way of "pushing" pics, and if there's anything we can do as contributors to improve the likelihood of use.

 

Edit: And also if anybody has experience from on a newsdesk that receives Alamy, what the experience is like on that end as well.

Thought I’d mention experience at the weekend where I happened to be right next to a “suspicious” car when the area being locked down and evacuated for possible bomb. Took photos, phoned the news desk to let them know what I was uploading was an ongoing possible bomb alert and they appreciated this and “pushed” it out. That being said, only made three sales from what I can see..... royal funeral coverage and everything!