Answered

Need help knowing why these images got rejected

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
June 14, 2026
10 replies
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Correct answer jodij28273193

Underexposed and not enough vibrance. Not sure what the black line is in the first image. Very little stock value. Very repetitive of what is in the stock library. Find a niche that is unusual and shoot it

PerfectCSR

Participant

What stands out to me is how the photographer uses perspective and natural light to create a narrative rather than simply capture a scene. Each image invites the viewer to pause and explore the environment, which is what separates compelling travel photography from ordinary landscape shots. Excellent visual storytelling throughout the series.

Ignacio562Author

Thanks for taking the time to reviewing and for the kind words, i’ll accept critiques and i really appreciate when someone see the intention and the storytelling. This place is full of bullies, well at least i founded two and they are rude.

Once again, appreciate your comment!

Have a great day :)

O

Oh.N8

Hey @Ignacio562
Keep in mind: who is your target audience? who do you want to buy this image? Where could your images be used?
Some may disagree w me, consider shooting in vertical as well. People are using their phones more and more. Businesses are needing to make sure that content meets the requirements for phones.

Cheers

Nate

Ignacio562Author

Thanks Nate, i’ll keep that in mind. I was aiming mainly to creatives in agencies and art directors. Not interested in big companies with boring brochures.
cheers!

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

I was aiming mainly to creatives in agencies and art directors. Not interested in big companies with boring brochures.

==========

You don’t get to pick & choose which Adobe customers will see your artwork. That’s beyond the Contributor’s control.

Successful Contributors create in-demand content that appeals to the widest possible user base. Casting a wide net catches more fish.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

RALPH_L

Community Expert

Your photos are all too dark in the shadows and the highlights (clouds) have areas without detail. You need to crop better.

Your first photo has no value and cannot be used in stock. Your other photos can all be corrected with simple editing.

In this photo I did the following:
1. Opened up the shadows.
2. Increased the e xposure.
3. Cropped in the Rule of Thirds.
4. Leveled the horizon.
5. Filled in missing highlights in the clouds.
6. Sharpened the photo.
7. Removed some “spots” in the sky.

These are things that need to be checked in every photo.

Ignacio562Author

Oh, i see. So they have to be perfect in every conventional photography rule, no art whatsoever. I’ll start making some of those then. Thanks Ralph!

daniellei4510

Community Expert

On the contrary, there are millions upon millions of assets on Adobe Stock that could be classified as art and be worthy of hanging in a contemporary art museum. even some which break all the rules of photography and art in general.

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

jacquelingphoto2017

Community Expert

Hi @Ignacio562

All photos are under exposed. The first image has a motion blur. The focus was place too far to take the second photo, Hence, the strip of blur in the forefront. The third file has a slight white balance issue. Zoom in at 100% to see the details of your photo.

Best wishes
Jacquelin

Ignacio562Author

Thanks for the heads up!

Best

jacquelingphoto2017

Community Expert

You are welcome @Ignacio562

Best wishes
Jacquelin

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Quality issues aside for a moment, Stock is a supply & demand business.

When there’s too much supply available, your sales potential drops significantly.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=dock 1.6 million results.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=landscapes 111 million results

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=cows+field 1 million results

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Ignacio562Author

Thanks Nancy foro your answer!, i’m impressed by the quantity of images for each keyword, do you know what’s the criteria to be featured on the top of that millions of images? i’m curious. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to answer :)

daniellei4510

Community Expert

If we knew, we wouldn’t tell you. :)

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

daniellei4510

Community Expert

“also i don’t think that they are underexposed”

But Adobe does and that is at least one reason why these were rejected. ;)

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

Ignacio562Author

👍

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

You’re throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. That’s a very poor approach to take because it wastes everyone’s time.

This is what you’re competing with in Stock inventory.

As a customer looking for commercial quality assets, which Lifesaver would you buy & why?

Before submitting, always curate assets at 100-300% magnification. Fix mistakes if you can, or discard the image.

If yours isn’t as good or better than what Stock is selling, don’t submit it.

Reasons for Rejection

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/content-moderation/common-reasons-content-refusal.html

Quality & Technical Standards

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/content-moderation/quality-technical-standards-reasons-content-refusal.html

Photo Submissions Overview

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

Photo Editing Best Practices

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/submit-your-content/submit-photos/photo-editing-best-practices.html

Hope that helps.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Ignacio562Author

Helps a lot, Nancy, thanks for the links. But on the other hand, what do we know what people’s or creatives gonna choose or need for they briefs? dark or light? just wondering

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Customers vote with their wallets. In time, you’ll learn what sells and doesn’t sell. Until then, trust us when we tell you that improperly exposed photos don’t sell.

Photoshop’s Histogram panel doesn’t lie. It measures shadows, midtones & highlights so you can see where the exposure is too dark (underexposed), too light (overexposed) or missing pixels (clipped). This invaluable tool removes any guesswork so you can get more professional results from your photos.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/viewing-histograms-pixel-values.html

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

jodij28273193

Inspiring

Adobe doesn't like dark areas in pictures. Yes, I do shoot, but I don't want my images copied. I have found a certain niche, and that is what I am going for.

Ignacio562Author

oh i see, thanks Jodi!

daniellei4510

Community Expert

They all have exposure issue in the shadows and a couple have some vignetting going on. Lens shade maybe?

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

Ignacio562Author

Oh, you’re totally right, it must have been the wide angle. thanks for taking the time reviewing my images.

jodij28273193Correct answer

Inspiring

Underexposed and not enough vibrance. Not sure what the black line is in the first image. Very little stock value. Very repetitive of what is in the stock library. Find a niche that is unusual and shoot it

Ignacio562Author

Thanks for the feedback! do you shoot also? where can i see your images? i understand that may have no stock value, i’m new on this and these images were not shoot thinking about getting into stock, i just thought about uploading them because they can be useful in many ways for some creatives (i’ve been in the advertising business for 15+ years), so that was why i’m so confused, also i don’t think that they are underexposed, you have details in the dark areas, they have a different mood, i think is just that. Thanks again Jodi, would love to see your images 😉

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