Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

eyefull · Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:11 pm

You have to remeber that this is a business and just because you worked hard and spent alot of time uploading something does not mean that it will add value to this site. This is after all his business and he or his reviewers can reject whatever they want.

The more pictures that get uploaded, the more selective they will become. Obviously since there are limited resources and more competition. You may have a fairly decent picture, or even a great one, but if there are 100 better pictures competing for the same resource then your out of luck.

-Tony

shutterstock · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1881 Location: New York, NY

Pierdelune:
I just took a look at your batches..

the colors are off on a lot of them.. the contrast is flat on most.. we get tons of nature pics -so we only approve the best..

check out the colors on the cigarette shot.. the white balance is completely off.. the light you used is direct and harsh right from the flash making the ask tray bright white - with a gray dull background.

did you post process these at all?

the umbrella has no contrast, the beach is (literally) washed out .. check out the other beaches .. you could have at least added some contrast.

take a look at the top 100 downloads.. do you notice any of them as dull in contrast and color as the ones you submitted?

I'm sorry if this is harsh - but this is exactly what you asked me for..
Jon[/img]

Pierdelune · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 104

shutterstock · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1881 Location: New York, NY

Maybe the rest of the people in this forum can help you... i posted your pictures above.

Pierdelune · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 104

shutterstock · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1881 Location: New York, NY

Those were the best ones I found in those batches...
Which ones are you referring to?
Jon

eyefull · Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:44 pm

I don't want to judge because I'll be the first one to tell you that I am an amatuer and I am sure that I make plenty of mistakes.
But honestly, what could you possibly use these pictures for?

Give me one example of a use for that bottle picture.

Would you see that in a magazine? A webpage?

Those images accuratly describe "doesn't have a clear topic\feeling\idea"
I feel that was an appropriate rejection.

I always try to imagine my picture being used in an ad.
I try to come up with a slogan that would be used for the advertisement.
If you can't make up a slogan about a picture, then it probably does NOT
have a clear topic.

shutterstock · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1881 Location: New York, NY

Exactly - the pictures cannot be used commercially - and don't convey any feeling. Of course I care about the technical aspects of your photo (focus, noise, etc.).. but the more important issue is - will that thing ever be used in an ad?

If i added those to my library - the library would be clouded and it would be harder to find ones that people actually download.

Pier: have you looked at the top100 yet? I cant imagine you have. Just compare those to yours.
Jon

Pierdelune · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 104

That bottle is antique. Anyway... they can reject what they don't have any use. That what not about the matter I asked. I asked to understand this not clear reason. I put an other antique bottle last week. It was accepted and sold twice.

Better say " no use stock or too many" that will be comprehensible for everybody. Otherwise, English is not my language. Any subtilities like this reason "not a clear..." confuse also English peopole. Imagine now how it confuses me !

Keep asking and asking everybody to explain this reason, you' finally done it. Thanks for that. That's end discussion.

Pierdelune · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 104

Joe Gough · Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 228 Location: Poole, Dorset, UK

Pierdelune,

I'm sorry but I think you have been way too demanding of Jon in your quest for detailed explanations for rejections.

Jon's advice is good. He knows his customers and he knows what sells __ it is his business. Why don't you make it your business to find out what is selling by checking out the most popular downloads and trying to emulate what you see?

Lay off the demands and allow the administrators to spend their time usefully in growing the business and making improvements to the site. It is in all our interests for them to do so. Thanks.

Pierdelune · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 104

[quote="Joe Gough"]Pierdelune,

I'm sorry but I think you have been way too demanding of Jon in your quest for detailed explanations for rejections.

Having now seen thumbnails of some of the pictures that were rejected I am actually quite staggered that they were submitted at all. I really can't think how you could possibly have imagined that they had technical or artistic merit whatsoever __ let alone a commercial use or value.

Jon's advice is good. He knows his customers and he knows what sells __ it is his business. Why don't you make it your business to find out what is selling by checking out the most popular downloads and trying to emulate what you see?

Lay off the demands and allow the administrators to spend their time usefully in growing the business and making improvements to the site. It is in all our interests for them to do so. Thanks.[/quote]

I never read so aggresive post before. I suppose you are taking yoursef as a prof to say such things.
Sure, I an only an amteur but some of my pics had been sold and I am new on this site. .You can't judge person only by view the worse pics. Anyway, I didn't ask any comments on my pics. I were only asking what mean "no clear topic ".. I think you didn't understand at all.
Instead of telling me to lay off you shoud have been gave explaination before.

sorry..

Joe Gough · Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 228 Location: Poole, Dorset, UK

Pierdelune,

OK, sorry __ I take back my remarks on your rejected images and have edited them out of my original post. Apologies for any offense too. No, I'm not a pro, just a keen amateur who hopes to make a little money to fund my interest in photography.

The point I was trying to make is that we have to trust the commercial judgement of the administrators in making the best use of their storage whilst giving due regard to the quality of the images that are presented to customers. If someone is paying $100+ per month to subscribe to this facility then they have a right to be presented with high quality images.

I appreciate what you say about the indistinct reasons for rejection but I feel this is primarily due to the fact that we have only been operational for about one month.

There are of course other stock photography sites that you could submit your images to but, in my limited experience, they take much, much longer to approve/reject and are very much more selective in what they accept, I guess because they have been going for longer.

Good luck with your future submissions!

Kind regards,

Joe

shutterstock · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1881 Location: New York, NY

Pierdelune - the bottom line is I spend 30 minutes explaining to you - what you could have figured out yourself!

I could have been approving more pictures.

I'm just showing that a detailed explanation for everybody slows down the whole site.

And I understand that photographers work a lot to upload - but you can save yourself a lot of time by looking at the top 100
Jon

fncdigital · Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 6:35 pm

Aggressive or not....take this the way you want.

You images are rather unprofessional from any standpoint. You have to work on your technical abilities and hone in on your eyes for a photograph. The composition on each is fairly poor (if you do not know what composition is, because many photographers do not, I suggest you get a dictionary) there is no clear focal point on most except where there is a static object dead square in the center of the very, very overcast and poorly lit scene.

Picture 1) An umbrella. As a designer, I see that and ask, what would I use that for? Nothing. The background is useless, it looks like a patio set umbrella so why isn't it in the patio set sitting on a porch/patio with the sun going down etc etc...something you would see in a catalog.

Picture 2 and 3 (combining the two because its the same picture just a slight variance) The shell: ok this has a focal point because you have placed this shell right in the center and left so much negative space it is distracting. Negative space isn't a bad thing but when its a yard, dirt, a rock or something else as lifeless as these....its a bit hard to see any visually stimulating appeal out of this.

Picture 4) The "antique" bottle...see above.

Instead of taking the antique bottle and putting it on a rock and shooting it, get other antique items that would match it and place them in a still life like scene and photograph it. Power in numbers. Make a theme out of it.

Picture 5) the ash tray....not a bad subject, but why the plain jane, boring surroundings and it looks like you need to work on your flash usage. A white ash tray, white cig. and white smoke.....hmm...black background perhaps?

Picture 6) The sink/grill/what ever it is..... see the bottle and shell remarks.

Picture 7) This one actually has an interesting composition about it. The concept of the composition that is. The peering through the branches to see the faded unsaturated bad light landscape is a good idea. How about nicer looking branches peering out at the same landscape during "magic hour" (look it up) with some more contrast?

Now, that was harsh, I know, I teach photo on the university level and have made college students cry. I am a mean bastard and I know it, but that is how it has to be. No one can learn and develop from what they are doing wrong if everyone blows sunshine up their ass just to make them feel good or give them praise. When you enter the corporate world (which is what you did when you entered into stock photography) or a learning situation, you leave pride at the door and take suggestions as what the are, suggestions, not personal attacks.

But what I gather is you are looking for praise when it hasn't been earned yet. There isn't anyone on this planet who can pick up a camera and snap a picture who couldn't have shot those very same shots, and that my friend, will never sell.

Now, there was a reason for every one of those images and why I would have rejected them. But you know what, 500 to a 1000 images into a day...you spend 30 minutes replying to each like that, and nothing gets done.

Accept the rejections, pick up some books on lighting, composition, see other samples of non rejected works and improve your skills and try again.

The Wright Brothers were called stupid and hit the ground many times before they flew.

Your not stupid, you're just not listening.