International Stock Agency Alamy Opens Door to Smartphone Photos
Over the last couple of years, smartphone photography has gained a lot of credibility. Many stock photography agencies, however, have managed to keep their “no smartphones allowed” signs proudly on display even as all of this was happening.
Due to the required megapixel counts and the high quality standards most stock photo agencies try to maintain, smartphones have, for the most part, been kept out of that particular business. Companies are starting to cave though, and the most recent of these is international stock agency Alamy.
According to a press release broadcast this past Wednesday, Alamy now accepts both smartphone and compact camera submissions, just as long as they maintain a high standard of quality.
Here’s an informative snipped from that release:
The ever-increasing demand for instant and breaking news images and the huge improvement in the quality of phone and compact camera photographs has prompted Alamy to make this move. These images will still be subject to the same quality rules Alamy requires for News, Sport and Entertainment images taken with a DSLR camera but the blanket ban on certain camera types will be removed.
Alamy’s head of news photography, James Hall, explains that, given the quality of smartphone and compact cameras now, there is no longer any reason to discriminate. Additionally, he sees this as “a recognition of the quality news images that can now be taken by cameraphones and the like.”
As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you. Not to worry though, raising this ban did come with one, rather obvious side note that will make many a photographer breathe a sigh of relief: “no Instagram-style filters please!”
Image credits: “Woah! It’s the kid with the hat!” by quinn.anya, 9/52 – Framed by Nanagyei
