Known Participant

Question

Did anyone notice that Adobe used AI moderator to review photos which speed up the process, but rejected many great photos with wrong reasons?

Forum|Forum|4 days ago
April 1, 2026
5 replies
140 views

Recently, it seems that Adobe uses AI to speed up the review process. Though it has significantly reduced the review time, it has also rejected many very good photos for wrong reasons. For example, I took a few photos of building reflections in the water with a special ripple effect and very high quality. However, Adobe rejected them for quality reasons. Obviously, the AI couldn't tell whether the visual effect was a natural effect or bad photo quality. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

W

WP98560Author

Known Participant

Sure, I can provide a few examples. As we all knew, there are not 100% perfect photos, especially, related to artistic styles and the way how the photographer would like to express what he/she feels and see. Sometimes, even imperfection is what a photographer wants to show in the photo. My success rate was over 90% with human moderator, now it is much lower. I don’t believe the quality of my photos going down that much if they are not even better. Anyway, I really appreciate that you take time to respond my questions, and are willing to take a look examples. I am sure these photos are not perfect. But my point is that they are not worse than any photos they accepted either. BIG THANKS!

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Well, first and foremost, Adobe Stock is not an art gallery. :) Images to which filters have been arbitrarily applied for special effects will generally be rejected. Same with many black and white images or conversions. The river scene is nice, but again, it looks like a subtle filter has been applied. Adobe wants clean, edited images without undue post-processing. The buyer can add such affects (or turn color images to black and white) if they so desire.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.

W

WP98560Author

Known Participant

Hi, thanks for your comment. So Adobe Stock is just for commercial photos. It doesn’t welcome any photos with their own styles? Where does creativity fit into Adobe's narrative about its own brand image? Again, thank you for taking the time to review and provide valuable feedback.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Show us an example of an asset that was not accepted and the reason for refusal.

Quality/Technical issues, IP, Similar Content, etc…

A 2nd or 3rd pair of eyes will often see things that you may have overlooked prior to submission.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

W

WP98560Author

Known Participant

Big Thanks! I upload examples.

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Many people have complained that the review process has actually become longer. Quality issues are determined by human moderators. We strongly suspect that an AI bot is responsible for rejecting assets due to “similar content” refusals.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

For many people, this is Spring Break. Schools dismiss students and families take PTO to stand in long wait lines at TSA check points.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Ricky336

Community Expert

Spring Break though is in America. On the other side of the world, it is now Autumn! Instead of the birth of new life, it is preparing for sleep!!! 😊

RALPH_L

Community Expert

We need an example.

W

WP98560Author

Known Participant

Big Thanks! I upload examples

O

Oh.N8

Hey @WP98560

Without an example it is hard to provide any proper feedback on the image.
Regarding my experience, it is a bit hit and miss. I have resubmitted images after a few adjustments and had them accepted.
other times it comes back: similar content.

Cheers

Nate

W

WP98560Author

Known Participant

Sure, I can provide a few examples. As we all knew, there are not 100% perfect photos, especially, related to artistic styles and the way how the photographer would like to express what he/she feels and see. Sometimes, even imperfection is what a photographer wants to show in the photo. My success rate was over 90% with human moderator, now it is much lower. I don’t believe the quality of my photos going down that much if they are not even better. Anyway, I really appreciate that you take time to respond my questions, and are willing to take a look examples. I am sure these photos are not perfect. But my point is that they are not worse than any photos they accepted either. BIG THANKS!

RALPH_L

Community Expert

First, I see some IP issues. The fourth photo the architecture is the main composition and is protected. In the last photo the artwork on the wall is protected. Focus of the shadow and exposure of the shadows and highlights are also an issue in the last photo. The sunset is oversaturated and the shadows are overexposed. The jogger is blurred and must be removed. The first two photos have no commercial value.

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