How can we help?

Searching for the right image is essential, and we've got some tricks of the trade to help you find the perfect content quickly:

You can also use our sort buttons for different results: New, Relevant, and Creative. Filters, an advanced search tool, and even external help are available for your research needs. Please read our full article for more tips and tricks.

There might be times when you need extra help or don't have the time to carry out your own research. For key accounts we provide a free super-fast picture research service - talk to your account manager if this applies to you.

When you are using Alamy's content, it's important to understand the difference between commercial and editorial use. Let's break it down for you.   

a) Commercial Use: If you are looking to use Alamy's images or videos for any of the following, it's called Commercial use:  

b) Editorial Use: Now, if you want to use our images and videos for sharing informative content or telling news stories, that's editorial use. This includes: 

Just a quick heads-up though, some of our images and videos are only for editorial use, and they will be marked with a restriction notification.

Whether you're a global brand manager, picture buyer, or just someone seeking great images, Alamy's collection has you covered. We have over 350 million stock photos, 10 million footage, and a network of more than 60,000 individuals contributing worldwide. Explore our themed categories, fresh picks, and Stockimo collection to find the best content.

If you are wondering about how you can spot some of our images and video clips in the public domain and if you can use them, it's time we have a deeper understanding of copyright and content in the public domain. Sometimes, you stumble upon content that is not protected by copyright or the copyright ownership is unknown. Such images are said to have entered the public domain. This happens when the copyright has expired, has been forfeited, or is not applicable and no one specifically owns the image anymore. For these images and videos, we don’t claim any copyright or other intellectual property rights and neither do our contributors, so anyone can use them. So, what is copyright? A copyright is a law that gives you ownership over the things you create. As copyright owner, you have the exclusive rights to sell, display, and distribute the work however you want. So, for images and videos in the public domain, we just provide access to a copy to use in line with the terms of the license you buy. Other copies of these images and videos might also be available elsewhere for free.

Alamy acknowledges the creative possibilities of AI image generation technology but emphasizes ethical usage to protect content creators. We participate in 'The Fair Diffusion Program,' an ethical AI initiative with Bria, Getty Images, and Envato. This program promotes attribution and rewards content source creators. For more information, visit our Fair Diffusion blog.

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Yes, there are usage restrictions outlined in the license terms. It's crucial to review these restrictions, as they specify what you can and cannot do with the content you license. This ensures you have a clear understanding of how to use our imagery within the bounds of your chosen license.

There are also restrictions on images that are available for Editorial use only. Editorial content shouldn’t be used for commercial use such as advertising or promotional campaigns, commercial projects, office wall decorations or product packaging. This list is not exhaustive. See our explanation about editorial and commercial use here.

Editorial content has no model or property releases on file, so to use it for commercial purposes, you’ll need additional clearances from either the people or the owners of the property featured in the visuals. See our explanation on release here.