Participant

Question

Multiple photos rejected for quality issues. What am I missing?

Forum|Forum|20 days ago
July 28, 2026
7 replies
82 views

Hello,

I recently submitted several photos taken with a Sony RX100 VII, and most of them were rejected for “quality issues.”

The images were transferred directly from the camera to my phone using the Sony app at their original resolution, around 20 MP. Some were uploaded without editing, while a few were only slightly cropped.

I understand that the “quality issues” rejection can include focus problems, motion blur, noise, compression artifacts, exposure issues, or insufficient detail. However, I am having difficulty identifying the specific problem in these images.

Could you please take a look and tell me what the most likely technical issue is? Is it mainly softness, missed focus, camera shake, noise, or something else?

I would especially appreciate feedback on which images are technically unsuitable for stock and which ones might be improved through better editing or resubmission.

Thank you.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

This is less about your talents as a photographer and more about your choice of subjects. Your competition for views & sales in these keywords is fierce.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=flower = 78 million results

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=seagull = 18 million

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=cat = 10 million

Read the 4-part section on Photography Requirements from your Contributor User Guide, starting with this link.

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/submit-your-content/submit-photos/photo-submission-overview.html

Hope that helps.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

AIexandrosAuthor

Participant

Yeah i understand your point, i was just not so sure about the “quality issues”.. i am new on this platform so trying to learn how things work here :)

Thanks for the feedbacks! Have a good one.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

No worries. There’s a lot to learn about how Stock photography works.

You’ll get there.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Some follow-up: Broadly speaking, subject matter and context are also quality issues. A bird with its wings spread, ready to take flight, would result in a more interesting photograph than that of a static bird. A cat stretching would be more interesting than one just sitting. My examples are over-simplified, but these two lack action.

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

AIexandrosAuthor

Participant

Yeah, i understand what you mean. Thanks a lot! I’ll be remembering next time:)

daniellei4510

Community Expert

Composition needs improvement on the flower. Dead-center subjects like a flower lack interest. You are shooting for stock. Leave some room for copy, for example. That said, the Adobe Stock database has over 77 million images of flowers following a search for same. Even if accepted, the chances of having it found and purchased are slim.

The cat image could be brightened up and below are some additional comments. I suspect the bird could be brightened up as well.. You will almost always need to make adjustments in addition to basic cropping before submitting.

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

AIexandrosAuthor

Participant

Thanks for the advices! I’ll remember next time.
Have a good one.

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