Feedback on Rejected Images

[John]

Now that the number of photographers is increasing on the site, I find I'm rejecting a bigger percentage of images and it would be nice to give some feedback on why those images are not approved.

Currently around 85% of images have been accepted which means a 15% rejection rate overall.

At present, we don't have an automated system of feedback for rejections so I thought I'd take the following approach and set some ground rules.

The title will be changed to 'NOT APPROVED' and the reason for rejection will be put into the description field. The image will remain in the pending queue for 24 hours before being deleted unless you delete it yourself in the meantime.

Common reasons for rejection so far include;

Poor lighting: - This is for images that just look flat such as landscapes taken on grey, overcast days resulting in large expanses of white sky or images that have harsh shadows from flash. Also it includes images that have blown highlights.

Camera Shake or Poor Focus: - Images that are handheld and taken at a shutter speed less than  1/focal length of the lens are more likely to have camera shake. Not always but usually.

i.e. an image taken at 1/6 sec with a focal length of 28 mm (equiv)

Focusing is another issue, this is more likely to be noticeable on close up or macro images since depth of field is reduced severely. Limited depth of field is fine, however, focusing has to be absolutely spot on for these images. Examples of rejections would be for insects where the focus isn't on the head of the insect or birds when the focus is on the beak but not the eyes.

Poor Composition - This is perhaps the most difficult and subjective reason to give, however, if an image just looks awful because it looks like a snapshot with no thought to how it was taken then it will not be approved. This site, like other microstock sites is not a place to offload your 'worst of the bunch'.

Keywording - Please feel free to be creative and use keywords to the best effect but keywords that put subjects in bad light will result in rejected images regardless of how good the image is. Be particularly vigilant when kids are in the image.

Visible Trademarks - If your image has visible trademarks or copyright symbols in the image then it must be categorised as editorial. If the image isn't obviously editorial and symbols 'creep' in on flags, bottles, passing traffic etc. then it won't be approved. The same applies to recognisable people in backgrounds etc. that are obviously not the subject.

And finally, don't take it personally if you get images that are rejected. So far I've had an easy job because most people have uploaded their best images  and I want to maintain that excellent quality. Poor quality control will result in buyers avoiding the site if they get sub standard images.

On a more positive note. The article in Digital Creative Arts goes out next week and I expect that traffic to the site will increase substantially resulting in some sales. Good quality images will encourage buyers to return.

With the site being just over 1 month old, we don't have a vast amount of images compared to other sites however, I'd rather have fewer good images than 1000's of not so good ones.

Please feel free to respond to this with your opinions.

Regards

John

[icefront]

I saw on all stock photo websites that people gets frustrated after photo rejections.
It is a good idea to wait at least one day before posting a 'why!?'  
The most important thing that photographers needs to know is that they are OFFERING the photos and the agency have the choice to ACCEPT the offer.
Half of my photos were rejected at X site, at the beginning I was very frustrated and I said that I will never upload anything there. I sent emails to admins trying to explaining that my rejected photos are good...  
The conclusion is that a photographer needs to learn, what to upload and what to not upload to a given stock agency. I'm sure that after the 100th image approved, a photographer will know *exactly* which photos will be accepted and which not.
I wish 100% acceptance for everyone! Good luck!

[riffmax]

I agree.  Except for the part about having it all figured out after the 100th approval.  That's not necessarily the case.  As needs change - criteria change - review staff changes - all things which can impact acceptance.

It seems to me that many of us are new to stock photography, but having been encouraged and even successful at creative photography, we feel like "why not give it a shot".  Then, the artistic side of our personalities seems to take it personally when a shot is rejected for any reason.  Which can lead to some pretty bitter comments, like many I have seen elsewhere.  

Well, the fact of the matter is that stock photography IS a business.  Of COURSE we want to maintain our creativity.  However, by signing on to a microstock agreement, we should take personal responsibility for remembering that what WE view as creative has nothing to do with what our customers want.

To me, however, there IS a certain art to this.  There are a gazillion pictures out there of smiling telephone operators - but it takes some creativity and imagination to come up with something different in an arena that is in high demand and has high availability, like smiling telephone operators.  That, in itself, is an art.

So, maybe we don't agree with a rejection....but that's really a big "SO WHAT" if you ask me.  Yes, it's the business of stock photography, but the bottom line is that it is still ultimately subjective.  It's like trying to explain WHY your favorite color is blue, for example.  Mine is green!  Does that make you right and me wrong?  Nope.  Just a normal part of life.  It's nothing personal when you get a rejection.  It's an opportunity to learn.  

Also, the things we can learn from rejections will help us to be better the next time we press the shutter.

[Ice]

Now that the number of photographers is increasing on the site, I find I'm rejecting a bigger percentage of images

No problem John. Thanks for still some of the fastes aprovals and the "minimum" of rejections on my side. I must be honest, I have been screaning most of my images. Took 1100 images of a few models. Just picked what i felt was the best quality. Found that my approvals increased on all my sites.

Great sales so far on MSP!  I think that 2006 is going to be great! I agree also that most of us is new to stock and is still learning.. But stock is for me the best!  

I appreciated the mail stating what was the problem and I have hopefully corrected it with my latest batch. It help us to know what is not working. For me its a great image but if I have to look at a sales point of view, I chuck it. Funny thing chucking images. I misloaded a folder and most of my personal images that i rejected was accepted and became top sellers at a site. Talk about Luck!

Thanks for all the hard work over Xmass period. I have uploaded a lot of images and it was all reviewed in a day. THANKS!

Enjoy new year! Ooookkk .. I need new year shots... Got to go work.