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Does anyone else find Adobe's rejection process totally random?

Forum|Forum|23 days ago
July 8, 2026
17 replies
133 views

I find that Adobe is rejecting high quality images for no discernible reason or because they “closely resemble” similar photos. Here is an example that was rejected for not meeting quality standards. Not sure you can see it once its been rejected. But its a high quality image taken with my OM1-Mk II 20 mp camera with aon OM lens, carefully post processed to slightly improve clarity and texture in the adobe wall, yet rejected while others taken in the same shoot on the same day and time, were accepted.

Any idea why this is happening?

File ID: 2087330896

Original name: Saint Francisco de Asis-15.jpg

Correct answer daniellei4510

Here’s another example with contrast increased a bit.

S

skilled_mind16B8Author

Participating Frequently

I am also wondering if I had some dust on my lens from the sandy areas surrounding the church and that is what you detected. Lesson learned - check for dust on the lens in areas like that.

N

New Zealand Photographer

Participant

Yes. I’ll get all my submissions rejected but then a few weeks later, accepted. Then they sell. It’s very frustrating and wastes a lot of time.

S

skilled_mind16B8Author

Participating Frequently

I have had several similar cases. Its as if they have some kind of rough screening then go back to check what they did

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Stock Reviewers can check only one refusal box per submission. The exam ends at problem #1, even if there are multiple factors for refusal.

Is that installation & property cleared for commercial use?

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

It’s not random. Did you read the Contributor Guidelines? There’s a set of steps that Reviewers follow to examine content suitability for approval.

If refusal seems random, please re-read these links.

For more precise answers, we need you to post Saint Francisco de Asis-15.jpg here so we can see it.

Nobody in this user-to-user forum has access to your content dashboard.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

S

skilled_mind16B8Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks for taking a look. You may be right about the shadows, but that is not a quality issue per se. I am at a loss to understand what lack of quality they found. Their potted response include these standard reason, none of which apply here:

Thanks for giving us the chance to consider your image. Unfortunately, this image doesn't meet our quality standards so we can’t accept it into our collection.

Common issues that can impact the technical quality of images include exposure issues, soft focus, excessive filtering or artifacts/noise.

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Lack of detail in the shadows, from the stand point of stock in general and Adobe Stock in particular, can in fact be quality issue. Sometimes, personal preferences must be put aside when it comes to stock.

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

S

skilled_mind16B8Author

Participating Frequently

I had a request for a copy of the actual photo. I’ve attached a smaller copy as the original size was 6.5 MB so the posted copy hre will have somewhat less quality This only one of 10 rejected photos from the same shoot, very similar PP actions.

daniellei4510

Community Expert

I’m critiquing this from my very old consumer model MacBook Air, so there might be some quality issues, but the shadows could be opened up.

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

daniellei4510

Community Expert

First, we can’t see your rejected assets. We are contributors like yourself. They need to be uploaded here. But to answer your questions, yes, rejections for similar content has been an issue for nearly a year. In my own experience, I’ve had assets rejected that were, in my opinion, rightfully rejected for similar content. While other such rejections seem totally random. I’ve also had assets accepted that I felt certain would be rejected for similar content. So it can be hit and miss. We suspect such rejections are the result of overused keywords, not the images themselves, but we aren’t sure. You can search the forum for “similar content” to see previous posts on this particular subject.

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