Skip to main content
A
anssik_
Known Participant
March 16, 2018
Answered

First photo rejected: Excessive post-processing and/or noise

  • March 16, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1461 views

Hello,

I've made my first try on uploading stock photos to sell and got two rejections out of three images, and I don't fully understand the reasons so here I am looking for some guidance to succeed in future.

Here is a photo that was rejected because of excessive post-processing and/or noise:

I do have under-exposed the photo a lot to capture that background light behind the glass a bit better and to get some details on the laptop screens, and later raised the exposure in Lightroom with some adjustments in shadows and highlights. Other than that I've just adjusted white balance a bit and lowered the saturation in blues. Some answers would help me:

  1. Is the noise really too much for this kind of photo to render it unusable?
  2. Is the post-processing really too much for this kind of photo to render it unusable?
  3. Is there something else I'm not realising —like the glass is a bit dirty, that would affect as "post-processing"?

I'm shooting with two Nikon D700 bodies and this one was shot at ISO 1100 which would still be on the safe side generally on noise with the D700.

The other photo was asked property release for. Is it because of the yellow chair or something else?

Thanks for any help! These are my first ones.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Ricky336

Hi,

Your top photo has noise, both colour and luminance. And no wonder if you shot this at IS0 1100! I would be careful about using high ISO if you want to submit here for stock. The result is what you can see!

If you underexposed a lot, and then try to correct it in Lightroom, this can introduce noise.

You need to be careful when taking the actual exposure. You can of course recover exposure in Lightroom, but here I think, you may have underexposed too much and tried to recover exposure in Lightroom too much.

For these kinds of shots, you could try bracketing your exposure, and then merging them in Lightroom or Photoshop.

You have noise in this area as well:

I think the reviewers were referring to these kinds of things.

For your questions, my answer is probably yes to all, and not only the chair, but also being inside a building - this may also require a release.

2 replies

O
oleschwander
Legend
March 16, 2018

ISO 1100 is way out of line!!! You have to shoot at most 400 - best around 100-200.

The image with the chair look lige it’s inside a private home or a company.

    A
    anssik_Author
    Known Participant
    March 16, 2018

    The chair is from inside a corporate building so I guess it's it, then. Should have understood to considered it before submitting. Thank you!

    Ricky336
    Community Expert
    Ricky336Community ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    March 16, 2018

    Hi,

    Your top photo has noise, both colour and luminance. And no wonder if you shot this at IS0 1100! I would be careful about using high ISO if you want to submit here for stock. The result is what you can see!

    If you underexposed a lot, and then try to correct it in Lightroom, this can introduce noise.

    You need to be careful when taking the actual exposure. You can of course recover exposure in Lightroom, but here I think, you may have underexposed too much and tried to recover exposure in Lightroom too much.

    For these kinds of shots, you could try bracketing your exposure, and then merging them in Lightroom or Photoshop.

    You have noise in this area as well:

    I think the reviewers were referring to these kinds of things.

    For your questions, my answer is probably yes to all, and not only the chair, but also being inside a building - this may also require a release.

      A
      anssik_Author
      Known Participant
      March 16, 2018

      Thank you very much ricky336 and oleschwander for your help and comments. I didn't understand correctly that those noise levels would already mean possible rejecting. I made a new version with heavy masking done on sharpening to reduce visible noise but do you think it's worth re-submitting? Is it even allowed to re-submit photos?

      My background is in shooting events (this photo is from a corporate event) so it's always been more about capturing a moment for me than perfecting exposure, and I guess that shows. You're right if I would be properly making that shot I would have been more careful with the exposure and lightning the scene. I think I should reconsider how much work stock photos seem to require as customers buying these will not care about the circumstances I've been in but expect exceptional technical quality for all kinds of usage and tight cropping to pixel levels.

      Thank you, this really helps a lot!

      Ricky336
      Community Expert
      Ricky336Community Expert
      Community Expert
      March 16, 2018

      You can resubmit. You can try with your photo, see what happens. IT can be hard at times to know what will pass and what will not. You are not losing anything in trying - apart from time for some people!

      The only thing I will mention, is the writing on the comp screen. It just might come under IP rights, ( I don't know) BUT, it is out of focus, so it should be ok!

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices