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Participant
April 4, 2025
Answered

all of my uploads are being rejected

  • April 4, 2025
  • 10 replies
  • 1272 views

I have been an active contributor on Adobe Stock for a while, and I have always made sure to submit high-quality content that adheres to all guidelines and requirements. However, recently I’ve noticed that all of my files are being consistently rejected even those that are similar to or even better than files that were previously accepted I have tried all types of content vectors background images technology related visuals, health all of them are being rejected without exception.

 

[Moderator moved the thread to the correct forum]

Correct answer daniellei4510

You are not alone. The forum is filled with contributors experiencing similar problems regarding rejections. If the asset you uploaded was rejected for quality issues (as opposed to being too similar to other assets), I suppose I'd comment that it seems over-saturated on the yellow end, but there hasn't been a lot of logic lately as to the reasons for otherwise perfectly good assets being rejected.

10 replies

Julien McRoberts Photo
Inspiring
July 2, 2026

@Nancy OShea 

Nancy,

Your response seems to assume you know more about my account than I do.

I submit to Adobe every week and have been a contributor for over eight years. Over the past year, this same pattern has happened about five times. My normal acceptance rate on batches of 60–100 images is well over 95%. Then, without warning, I'll have a batch where roughly 95% is rejected. I resubmit those same files without meaningful changes, and they are accepted at 100%.

That isn't speculation—it's my actual experience.

I'm not claiming Adobe rejects 95% of all submissions, nor did I say a single reviewer examined every file. I'm describing what has happened with my submissions. Those are two very different things.

As for your comments about customer complaints, audits, and possible account deactivation, those seem misplaced. If Adobe's own reviewers subsequently accept the exact same files at a 100% acceptance rate, it's difficult to argue that the original rejections were all justified or that the files somehow pose a quality risk.

You may find my experience "absurd," but dismissing someone else's repeated experience because it doesn't fit your assumptions doesn't make it any less real. I've been contributing long enough to know the difference between a weak submission and an inconsistent review.

Christy+Lang+Photography
Participant
July 2, 2026

Julien

I know I’m not crazy! I also know that I know how to read comments and frustrations online. As I’ve been saying, something is wrong at Adobe. I am really hoping that someone can step in and figure it all out.

I’m really disappointed at what’s happening as well. It seems that these “community experts” who respond to Issues are not really in tune with what is going on, or, They have some inside information they’re not sharing.

 

Julien McRoberts Photo
Inspiring
July 2, 2026

Thank you for that comment! I totally agree. 

Christy+Lang+Photography
Participant
July 2, 2026

Nancy:

I have always loved Adobe. I am actually sad to be leaving, however, maybe in a year I’ll try it again, after some reorganization at the company which is being worked on, gets straightened out.

I have a legal and business background, so I realize CEOs come and go. What saddens me is the lack of loyalty to so many contributors who helped to build Adobe, that are now being rejected. But I guess the concept of loyalty has been long gone in this country.

 

Best to you, as well.

 

Julien McRoberts Photo
Inspiring
July 2, 2026

Same with Offset Images. I was with them in the beginning and they were very engaged with their photographers. I had attended various panels at their office in NYC and you work with your representative and had an actual relationship. They really appreciated the artistry of a photographers work and paid a decent premium fee for licensing. Sadly, over time they became more and more corporate and eventually  merged with Shutterstock. Say no more...

Christy+Lang+Photography
Participant
July 2, 2026

Nancy O’Shea:

I find your response to my comments, insulting. I never said because I have a DSLR camera my photos should be accepted!  Really? I have been submitting to Adobe for years with everything being accepted. I have been shooting since I was 22 years old and I am 74! 
You are wrong about the acceptance rate and there are thousands of people saying this.

In addition, Wall Street has reported that Adobe is in financial straits right now due to the CEO leaving and the acceptance of AI produced photographs that are coming in like wildfire, likely by many people who are not actually photographers.

I have joined six other stock agencies and all of my work is being accepted. I will no longer contribute to Adobe and obviously Adobe could care less.

 

What a shame and how short-sighted of Adobe.

 

You should temper your comments to people before insulting them. Maybe instead of telling people to read the contributor guidelines you should start reading the comments that are going on currently all over the Internet regarding Adobe’s latest behaviors.

 

@christycollects 

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 2, 2026

@christycollects.

Since you’ve made up your mind to quit Adobe Stock, there’s really no further discussion required. I won’t convince you to stay anymore than you’ll convince me that Adobe is sliding into a dark abyss.

 

CEOs come & go. That’s part of the circle of life. And after 20-30 years, Shantanu Narayen deserves a nice retirement. Adobe will be no worse for wear because the corporation is bigger than its CEO.

 

 

Goodbye & best of luck. 

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 1, 2026

On June 11, Stock updated its Contributor User Guide. I highly recommend that everyone give it a thorough read. Many new things were added. 

 

@Julien McRoberts Photo,

You’re assertion that Stock is rejecting 95% is absurd. The math doesn’t add up. Stock adds about 2 million assets to its collection per week. Those new assets are coming from somewhere.  It would be physically impossible to examine 40 million assets per week to sustain 2 million approvals.

 

Maybe a Reviewer has an off day. But assets are randomly assigned to the next available Reviewer. It’s highly improbable that one person examined all your assets and much more likely that multiple reviewers saw your work & found reasons for refusal. 

 

Resubmitting without revision could come back to bite you later with customer complaints, refund requests or when Stock conducts an internal audit. Periodically, Stock purges content from their database that doesn’t meet current acceptance standards. And accounts with multiple complaints get flagged for possible deactivation.

 

@christycollects,

Picture quality doesn’t begin & end with equipment. If that were true then everyone with a 4K/HD camera would be a commercial artist.  Successful Stock photos are the result of proper planning & preparation behind the camera, and good choices in post-editing.

 

“Great photos are made, not taken.”

~ Ansel Adams

 

Related links from Stock’s Contributor User Guide:

Hope that helps.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
Julien McRoberts Photo
Inspiring
July 1, 2026

You are not alone.
There seems to be at least one really nasty or lazy auditor who finds it easier to reject the majority of photos rather than do their job. I submit images at least 3 times a week with a 95% acceptance rate (have been selling stock for years so I know quality images) and occasionally I get the person who rejects 95% of the submission even from a same shoot that got accepted the day before. 

Yes, it's beyond annoying and a waste of our valuable time but I go back and resubmit all of them a few weeks later and find they typically ALL get accepted. It’s even more gratifying when I see immediate sales from them. I have written to support to see if their criteria has changed and nicely addressed this issue but all I got was basically a non answer. 

Don’t give up - resubmit them. 

Christy+Lang+Photography
Participant
July 1, 2026

Clearly, Adobe does not want anymore stock photos, as they are totally saturated. Rather than shut down their site in terms of contributors for a while, they are choosing to reject perfectly good photos. I believe this is shortsighted. I am no longer going to contribute to them. I too, I’ve been a contributor for years and have all high-quality photos shot with high resolution cameras. it simply isn’t fair to claim the photo was rejected for quality concerns when clearly there were none. This is unacceptable.

Adobe is having management issues and it shows.

 

ZALEZPHOTO
Legend
July 1, 2026

Your entitle to your opinion Christy. I actually agree that’s the case with AI images that have saturated not only Adobe Stock, but every screen you look at. And the fact is that now anyone with 15 minutes of training can create whatever they prompt.

But I Completely disagree that applies to photos and videos, and that is not my opinion, it’s my personal experience $$$. Adobe Stock photos and videos are top quality. Yes moderators make human mistakes, and it defies logic it’s the market is saturated. Have you ever wonder what percentage of work is rejected? I bet 7 out of 10 assets are rejected because it comes from people that thought this was easy money, and or discover photography yesterday. 

Adobe is not having management issues, they are going through a paradigm shift bc of AI.

I started 18 months ago with Adobe Stock and Getty Images, and I get rejections too. Strangely work rejected by Adobe is accepted by Getty and sometimes vice versa, but most of it is accepted and my sales continuing to grow. If I had to choose only one agency, with out hesitation I’d choose Adobe Stock, not bc they are perfect, but bc I believe they are the perfect place to be for this industry, they are adjusting well in turbulent waters, and have shown they continue to improve their entire portfolio of products.

I suggest you ask yourself if you are adjusting to the changes in the market place with the content you are creating… perhaps you are the one having management issues with your stock business.

Best of luck correcting your course!

ZALEZPHOTO
RALPH_L
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2025

The image is good but, I do see one mistake. The light on her arm is wrong. Her arm should be in shadow.

Participating Frequently
April 15, 2025

You are not alone, many contributors work very hard to upload high quality asset that adhere all AS guideline, but still get rejected, even your uploaded assets are better than existing asset on AS.

For example, a buyer had asked refund for an AI asset sold via below portfolio:

https://stock.adobe.com/de/contributor/200498799/cleverstock?load_type=author&prev_url=detail

You can see many AI asset in this portfolio are low quality. Those assets  will be rejected immediately as per current moderator's review standard. 

We lots of contributors are working very hard to provide high-quality asset to be approved, but it is frustrating to see low-quality AI assets still available for sell without cleaning/ removal.

Participating Frequently
April 15, 2025

The fact that this account is still up is insane. Especially when there are people uploading actual photography and videography and being subjected to such massively high QC. Meanwhile this person that actually managed to upset a buyer to the point of them complaining and getting a refund not only has their account still up, but also has AI images with mutated hands and perspective problems still on sale.

 

So Adobe is telling us mutated AI generated humans are accepted even if buyers end up complaining, but our regular submissions get rejected for "quality issues". What a joke this place is becoming.

Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2025

Be nasty and report the assets on the stock forum.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
Jill_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 4, 2025

This is a common complaint for the last few weeks. My reject rates for real photographs (which I've been submitting for 8 years) have soared from ~5% to 40%, so I've decided to stop submitting new work for now until we find out why Adobe has made this change to somewhat arbitrarily reject new submissions.

 

In the case of the sample you've supplied, I'd say that when zoomed to 100%, focus on the face is soft, and the image appears oversaturated.

Jill C., Forum Volunteer
daniellei4510
Community Expert
daniellei4510Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 4, 2025

You are not alone. The forum is filled with contributors experiencing similar problems regarding rejections. If the asset you uploaded was rejected for quality issues (as opposed to being too similar to other assets), I suppose I'd comment that it seems over-saturated on the yellow end, but there hasn't been a lot of logic lately as to the reasons for otherwise perfectly good assets being rejected.

Adobe Community Expert | If you aren't submitting your assets in sRGB, you probably didn't read the rules.
Participant
April 4, 2025

Thank you So much for your reply and clarification Do you think this situation will last for a long time? And is it affecting all contributors right now or just a specific group? and Thanks again for your support .

 
 
Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 15, 2025
quote

Thank you So much for your reply and clarification Do you think this situation will last for a long time? And is it affecting all contributors right now or just a specific group? and Thanks again for your support .

 
 

By @Alexander1111

This effects all contributors and no, nobody knows for how long this lasts. 

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer