Alamy Captions and Tags
A caption and up to 50 ordered tags for every photo, ready to paste or embed as IPTC
Stock agency output needs a Pro or Studio plan. See pricing.
Try it free →There Is No Alamy CSV, and That Is Not a Gap
Adobe Stock and Shutterstock both accept a CSV. Alamy does not, so PhotoScanr does not pretend to offer one. Alamy reads embedded IPTC metadata when you upload, and it has a batch editor in Image Manager. This page covers the two workflows that work: paste into Image Manager, or embed IPTC with Lightroom Classic before you upload.
A Short Caption for Alamy
Each photo gets a short caption written for Alamy, separate from the longer one-sentence description used by other agencies. Alamy needs a caption before an image can go on sale.
40 to 49 Ordered Keywords
Alamy needs at least 5 tags and accepts at most 50. The list is ordered by importance, with no hashtags, duplicates, brand names, trademarks, camera names or private people's names.
Easy Supertag Picks
Alamy lets you mark up to 10 tags as supertags. Because the keywords come back ordered by importance, the first ten are the natural candidates.
Copy and Paste
The "Stock agencies" view shows the caption and keywords for review and editing, with copy buttons so you can paste them straight into Alamy Image Manager.
Batch Processing
Pro handles up to 25 photos per batch and Studio up to 100, so a shoot goes through in a handful of passes.
Works With Lightroom Classic
Put the caption and keywords into your catalog and let Lightroom embed them as IPTC when you export. Alamy then reads them on upload.
Why Captions and Tags Matter on Alamy
Buyers Often Want Facts
A large share of Alamy's library is editorial and documentary material, and the people searching it frequently need to know what, where and when. A caption that states the subject, the place and the date does more than a clever phrase.
PhotoScanr writes a plain, factual caption from what is visible. You add the place and date you know to be true.
Tags Are How Images Surface
The caption helps, but tags drive discovery. An image needs at least 5 tags to go on sale, and you can use up to 50. The more accurate tags you add, the more searches can reach the image.
The word that matters is accurate. Irrelevant tags make the image show up where it should not and make buyers distrust the contributor.
Supertags Concentrate Weight
You can promote up to 10 of the tags to supertags. Pick the ones that describe the image most exactly, the subject, the setting and the single concept a buyer would search for.
With keywords ordered by importance, you can start from the top of the list and trim from there.
IPTC Saves Retyping
Because Alamy reads IPTC on upload, metadata that lives in your files follows them. Write it once in Lightroom and you do not have to type it again for Alamy, or for any other agency that reads IPTC.
That is the main argument for embedding rather than pasting when you have many images.
Workflow A: Paste Into Alamy Image Manager
Best for small batches or images that you have already uploaded.
Turn on Stock agency output
Tick the "Stock agency output" checkbox above the upload area on the PhotoScanr home page, then add your photos. It is available on Pro and Studio. Photos are resized in your browser before analysis, and your original files stay on your computer. Only a resized copy is sent for analysis.
Choose Stock agencies in the results
Pick "Stock agencies" from the Platform dropdown. You will see the Alamy caption and the keyword list for each photo.
Review the caption and tags
Add the location and date to the caption if you know them. Delete any tag you cannot defend. Make sure at least five tags remain, and no more than fifty.
Paste into Image Manager
Open the image in Alamy Image Manager and paste the caption and tags. For a group of near-identical frames from one scene, use batch editing to apply shared details at once, then adjust individual images.
Choose your supertags
Mark up to 10 tags as supertags. The first ten keywords from PhotoScanr are a good starting point, since they are ordered by importance. Swap in a more specific term where you know one.
Workflow B: Embed IPTC Through Lightroom Classic
Best for whole shoots, because unique captions and tags travel inside each file.
Generate and review as above
Run the batch with Stock agency output on and review the caption and keywords for each photo.
Put them into Lightroom's fields
In Lightroom Classic, the Caption field is the IPTC Description, and the Keywords field is the IPTC Keywords. Paste the caption and the keywords into those two fields for each photo. PhotoScanr also has a Lightroom output designed for these fields. The Lightroom metadata guide walks through bringing metadata into a catalog.
Export with metadata included
In the Export dialog, make sure the Metadata section includes your caption and keywords. A setting that strips metadata, such as copyright-only, removes the very fields Alamy needs.
Upload and check
Upload the exported files to Alamy. The IPTC Description becomes the caption and the IPTC Keywords become the tags. Open a few images in Image Manager to confirm they arrived, then set supertags and finish.
What the Output Looks Like
There is no CSV for Alamy, so here is an illustrative example of the two fields you carry across for one photo. The keyword list is shortened for display. A real result has 40 to 49 keywords.
| Field | Example value | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Caption | A red fox stands in a snowy field at sunrise. | Alamy caption, or IPTC Description |
| Tags | red fox, fox, wildlife, snow, winter, sunrise, field, mammal, predator, nature, cold, morning | Alamy tags, or IPTC Keywords |
The first ten tags in this example would be the supertag candidates. Treat that as a starting point, not a rule.
Alamy Caption and Tag Requirements
The Basics
- An image needs a caption and at least 5 tags to go on sale.
- The maximum is 50 tags per image.
- Up to 10 of the tags can be supertags.
- Alamy reads embedded IPTC on upload. IPTC Description becomes the caption, and IPTC Keywords become the tags.
- Alamy has no CSV import.
Common Ways to Go Wrong
- Metadata stripped on export. If the export removes IPTC, the image arrives with no caption or tags.
- Too few tags. Fewer than 5 means the image cannot go on sale.
- Unverified specifics. A confident but wrong place or date in a caption is worse than none. Add only what you know.
- Irrelevant tags. They attract the wrong buyers and waste the limit.
- Brand names in tags. PhotoScanr leaves them out. Check any you add by hand.
Tips for Better Alamy Captions and Tags
Write the caption for a stranger
Assume the reader has never seen the place. Who or what is shown, where, and when, as far as you know it. Leave out opinions like "stunning".
Add the facts only you hold
Exact place names, the event, the date, species and proper names of landmarks. The AI works from the pixels and cannot know them.
Layer tags from broad to specific
Mix the concrete subject, the setting, and the concept. The photo keywording guide explains the layers in detail.
Embed first if you also sell elsewhere
If the same photos go to Adobe Stock or Shutterstock, put the work in IPTC once, and use the Adobe Stock and Shutterstock CSV exports for the agencies that take them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PhotoScanr export a CSV for Alamy?
No. Alamy has no CSV import, so there is nothing for a CSV to feed. PhotoScanr instead gives you a caption and an ordered keyword list that you can paste into Alamy Image Manager, or embed as IPTC through Lightroom Classic before uploading.
How does Alamy read captions and tags from my files?
Alamy reads embedded IPTC metadata on upload. The IPTC Description field becomes the caption and the IPTC Keywords become the tags. If those fields are filled in before upload, your images arrive with captions and tags already in place.
How many tags does an Alamy image need?
An image needs a caption and at least 5 tags to go on sale, and can have at most 50 tags. Up to 10 of the tags can be supertags. PhotoScanr returns 40 to 49 keywords ordered by importance, so the first ones are good supertag candidates.
Can I edit many images at once in Alamy Image Manager?
Alamy Image Manager supports batch editing, which suits shared details across a group of similar images. Unique captions and keywords per image are faster to embed as IPTC before upload, which is where the Lightroom workflow helps.
Which PhotoScanr plan do I need for the stock caption?
Stock agency output is available on Pro and Studio. Studio has a larger batch size. See the pricing page for current plan details.
Do I still need to check the AI output?
Yes. Alamy buyers rely on accurate captions, and you are responsible for what you submit. Confirm the subject, the place and the date yourself, and remove any keyword that is not accurate.
Try It Free
Analyze a photo and see the caption and tags PhotoScanr writes. Stock agency output needs Pro or Studio.
Generate Alamy Captions and Tags →See pricing for plan details
Related Guides
Alamy is a trademark of Alamy Limited. PhotoScanr is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Alamy. PhotoScanr generates metadata that you review and submit yourself, and you are responsible for following Alamy's contributor terms and guidelines.