As the year comes to a close, I thought I would take the opportunity to ask my fellow Content Team colleagues which Alamy contributors have stood out to them personally over the last 12 months and beyond.
This of course was no easy task as they’re constantly finding new photographers who resonate with their individual tastes and interests, but they’ve somehow managed to whittle it down to seven fantastic contributors, chosen for an array of different reasons. From one photographer’s impressive work ethic to illustrations which take us back to our videogame-playing youth, read on to hear from our Curation and News Teams, and perhaps even discover your new stand-out Alamy contributor.
Chantelle Greenough, Content Executive: Anna Averianova
Capturing the world of our furry friends, Anna Averianova is without a doubt one contributor who stands out to me personally, and has done for the past year or so. Not only does Anna capture the charm of animals, but she also portrays the unique characteristics and captivating allure these animals have.
My favourite image in her collection is the image of an Italian Greyhound wrapped in a grey blanket, the composition and how the dog’s head is only visible amongst the blanket gives off a chilled and relaxed vibe.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna earlier this year for our Instagram Contributor spotlight, and I wanted to revisit her collection to show how she stands out from other pet photographers.
Check out Chantelle’s top picks from Anna Averianova’s collection here and to find out more about Anna’s work, read her Spotlight Feature here.
Frances Wright, News Assignments Editor: Doug Peters
I’ve been working with Doug Peters for nearly a decade, and I am still amazed by his work ethic. Doug will always be the first to arrive and late to bed, editing the night away! He can usually be found on the red carpets of London, but he’s also travelled the world in pursuit of the British Royals.
Doug is a joy to work alongside, and with a very safe pair of hands, you know you’re going to get excellent pictures every time. It is no wonder that his photos are often found on the front page of many of the national papers. He’s got his ear firmly pressed to the ground and he knows before any of us do where the next job is. He’s meticulous, organised, and thorough and you can’t ask for much more than that from a photographer.
We interviewed Doug Peters about his work for our News, Sport and Entertainment Spotlight back in January. If you missed the feature you can read it here.
Check out highlights from Doug Peters’ Alamy collection here.
Louise Gordon, Content Executive: Jon Bilous
There are many things that make Jon Bilous’ collection stand out to me, but while choosing images for this lightbox I realised that the main reason I’m so drawn to his photos is because they make me want to illustrate the buildings and signs he shoots so wonderfully. Having specialised during my illustration degree in the illustrations of buildings and architecture, Jon captures so perfectly the subjects I love to draw most!
Of course, it’s not just this which makes me love this collection, it’s also his consistent use of that distinctive muted colour palette; I think we (the curation team) can spot his work a mile off, and this use of colour evokes a real nostalgic and analogue feel that to me, inspires a feeling of comfort, calmness and honesty amidst what can so often be an impatient world of uncertainty and fakery.
What I also find aesthetically pleasing in Jon’s photography is the way he captures signage and how this gives those images a real graphic quality, which again appeals to my background in the arts. Those images are perfectly composed with symmetry and balance all paying their part, and they also force us look at a building and it’s different elements in far more detail than we perhaps normally would, something I have a lot of experience in when illustrating them.
See Louise’s favourite Jon Bilous images here.
Shaun Howes, Content Executive: Tithi Luadthong
For almost 10 years now Tithi Luadthong has shared with us his incredible hand-drawn digital art. Inspired by various movies, video games and manga, Tithi creates highly conceptual pieces that have resonated with me for a while now.
His work reminds me of my childhood playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as “Guild Wars”, flicking through the game’s concept art book, amazed at the living world they’d created. I feel the same when looking through Tithi’s collection, his work is truly unique and stands out as, in my opinion, one of Alamy’s best contributors of illustration.
Here you’ll discover Shaun’s favourite images from Tithi Luadthong’s collection, and you can explore Tithi’s fantastical world further by reading our Spotlight Feature with him here.
Lu Parrott, Content Executive: Eva Ozkodi
I was drawn to Eva Ozkoidi’s works because of my love of fine art and surrealism. The compositions, colour grading and processing give the images a painterly feel.
Eva has a versatile portfolio and also captures travel and landscapes interspersed with conceptual imagery. I particularly like her image ‘Stairway to heaven among sunflowers’ because it has a striking triadic colour palette, with the interplay of yellow, white and blue creating visual harmony, whilst the wooden ladder leading up to the cloud adds a surreal and dreamlike quality.
‘Female back in shadows VI’ reminds me of the works of Edward Weston, famous for his black and white studies of the human form. Rich blacks and contrasting whites, with light beams falling on the woman’s back, it gives a sense of texture and pattern and makes the human form almost sculptural.
‘Baroque still life, lemon with its peel hanging and sugar bowl on a wooden board III..’ reads like a classical still life painting, with setup of traditional objects; draped cloth, flower in a vessel and a striking lemon peel, with dramatic contrasting lighting.
“Landscape with cypresses in Tuscany – Italy’ stood out to me for its use of pattern and repetition. The dramatic lighting and abstract perspective highlight the natural beauty of the landscape.
I’m looking forward to seeing Eva’s next upload — her work is always inspiring.
To find out more about Eva Ozkodi and her work, read our Spotlight Feature with her here, and see Lu’s selected favourite images from Eva’s collection on Alamy here.
Jon Harris, News Picture Desk Manager: Mark Pain
Mark Pain is a multi-award-winning sports photographer at the top of his game. Despite operating in an extremely competitive space, up against photographers from major global agencies, Mark regularly secures national newspaper usages and sales across a wide range of editorial customers.
Key to this is the understanding that the story of a sporting event is not always the goal or celebration images, but the emotions of the competitors and participants, experiencing moments of joy or dejection. Mark excels when capturing those moments of expression that others may miss. A perfect example of this is the image of Thomas Tuchel feeling the pain of losing his first match as England manager, which secured multiple newspaper back pages.
Read more about Mark in our News, Sport and Entertainment Spotlight, and check out some of his highlighted images here.
Sophie Basilevitch, Curation Manager: Horst Friedrichs
There are so many photographers to choose from on Alamy all with their own distinct style and value that it’s really hard to make a choice. But to represent how photographers bridge a gap to the outside world through photography I’d pick Horst Friedrichs.
I first came across his work on Alamy seeing his photos showing a man with his books in a library, thousands of which have been in his family for generations, as well as the work to restore historically significant manuscripts in Timbuktu in 2010. It brought home to me how much photographers can truly broaden our knowledge in both seeing and learning about lived experiences. He’s also photographed many traditional trades including barrel-makers shoemakers, watchmakers and tailors in London and beyond.
Just like Horst it’s possible to see that through the dedication of photographers venturing out in to real life to meet new people, see new places, and sharing that back to us is how, no matter how small, they make insightful documents of lives we might otherwise know nothing about.
Explore Sophie’s favourite images from Horst Friedrichs’ Alamy collection here.
Which contributors really stood out for you in 2025? Are they a permanent fixture on your content radar or will you discover a different contributor for next year? Perhaps our Content Team has inspired you to discover someone new or even encouraged you to explore a new photography genre!
Either way we hope you enjoyed this insight into what imagery catches our team’s eyes, we think it demonstrates just how our different creative backgrounds influence what content captivates us the most.