Please Give Your Expert Advice On This Rejected Photo

Hi - I think you're getting really good feedback here. I'll add a few thoughts:

Think about the usage context: for someone licensing this photo through Stock, what would they be using it for? This will help you think about a few things:

• Nancy mentioned a great point: what keyword would this appear under? Maybe give that a think, do a search for that, and see what comes up.
• I think often about how an image will work in the medium. Is it for editorial layouts? Would there be a headline covering it? Is there any negative space that would allow it? For Digital editorials, would this scale appropriately and would crops work? Is there a focal point that should always stay in view? For product packaging, is this too busy? Is this intended to be on a billboard or at arms length?
• What industry might this be used for? Corporate communications vs editorial vs commercial placement all have very different styles
• Speaking of styles, as you explore your composition and in-camera settings/post-processing work, see if you can develop a style. Oftentimes, successful Stock contributors develop an aesthetic that, when consistent, becomes very easy for art sourcers (those who purchase Stock) to see one image and make an educated guess that the rest of the images will be of a similar family. This is particularly important for those who want to develop a portfolio.

Shooting for Stock is hard, because it often means putting the needs of the photo sourcer/licenser ahead of your own visual style. One is lucky if they can stay true to their personal style and it finds a paying audience. But keep at it! Best of luck...

Stock has millions of photo files. I understand that you felt emotions during your shoot. Temperature, smells, atmosphere, etc... But to be clear. Your image does not offer any commercial interest. And we are talking about stock. But there are dozens of other microstocks that sell this kind of image. I know it's not pleasant to read, but it's a reality ..... accountant. The images we provide must be perfect and sober. Banish the word artistic. Replace by technique. The contributors that we are provide vegetables and the chef (the customer) cooks our vegetables according to his own recipes. We are only raw material suppliers. I have been following this forum for some time. Basically the problems are the same. Technical knowledge concerning the quality of shooting, exposure, sharpness, framing, interest. It's difficult but you absolutely have to be objective about the quality of the images we submit. And given the amount of images provided to the various stocks, do not waste hours on an image. Tomorrow is another day and you will have other opportunities. Look on the different stock what is offered to improve you. Here is what is proposed with the nature and environment spirit. Good luck

https://stock.adobe.com/ch_fr/category/the-environment/240?load_type=category

https://stock.adobe.com/ch_fr/category/landscapes/596?load_type=category

I diminished the contrast between highlights and shadows and changed other settings. Does it look ok now ?

Hello,

Your attempt at fixing the exposure is too dark in the edited shot.

As @George_F mentioned, the light is harsh with strong highlight and shadow areas. In such conditions, it can be a good idea to use a polarising filter. This cuts out the reflection. You can fix it for your own use and get a reasonable result, but for Stock, rather not. And what is the commercial appeal for this shot?

Your metadata seems to be fine!

It looks to me that the light was very harsh when you took this photo.  I'm not sure any editing is really going to fully correct the highlight/shadow problems here.  I would retake this when the light was a little softer and there were less shadows.  It appears to be sharp enough.

I have to be honest, I'm having trouble putting together what this is a photo of exactly?  It looks like maybe there is an animal den or something in there?

I apologize. I forgot to mention that I would also like to know if my photo metadata is OK.