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5 replies

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 18, 2025

You have some formidable competition in the "ocean sunset" category.

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k="ocean+sunset"

 

Before you submit, compare your best work with similar content in Stock's inventory.  Ask yourself these questions:

1. Does Stock need this, or do they have millions of this already?

2. Is mine better than what Stock has now?

3. As a customer, would I buy this?

4. What would I use it for commercially? 


This isn't the same as social media.  Adobe Stock customers expect the highest visual and technical quality for use in commercial projects -- print, digital & merchandise. Read your Contributor User Guide carefully.

If you're new to photography in general, enroll in some courses.  

Search Google for Smartphone or Mobile Photography courses online.

 

Good luck.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
Jill_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025

KK rise-1-4.jpg - blurry, underexposed, noisy. Cell phones can capture images that are acceptable for Adobe Stock under ideal lighting conditions, but this wasn't one of those conditions. Additionally, virtually all images require at least minimal editing before submission, and it doesn't appear that you've edited any of these.

Jill C., Forum Volunteer
Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025

Phone images are not good if the light conditions are difficult. KK rise 1-3 is underexposed as shown in the histogram:

The whites are missing. But even if you would correct the exposure, you would still earn a refusal for quality issues, as detail is missing because of the small phone sensor. Most detail gets optimized away from the noise reduction system.

If you correct the exposure, lift the shadows, you would also amplify the artefacts in the picture.

 

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025

Adobe did give you a reason, and you should publish that reason with your question. The header of the refusal is enough.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
Participant
May 17, 2025

Hi, these all got rejected because of quality issues 

Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025
quote

Hi, these all got rejected because of quality issues 


By @dhanush_raj_k

Quality issues is a common issue, if the pictures do not meet the quality required for commercial use. It does not necessarily mean that the picture is bad. In cases like yours, you have nice sunrise pictures, that will earn you many likes on social media, but they are not good enough for Adobe stock.

 

Even for social media, I would still work on the exposure, contrast etc of the pictures.

 

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
daniellei4510
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025

Exposure in this one. And your horizon line is smack in the middle. I'd like to see more of the foreground and less of the sky, or possibly vice versa.

 

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.
Participant
May 17, 2025

Thank you for your suggestions. Can you please some more suggestions, I am just a beginner photographer capturing with a smartphone 

daniellei4510
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2025

You will always be at a disadvantage using a cell phone, especially for wide-angle landscapes, as the sensor is too small to capture the finer details needed for stock. My main suggestion would be to follow up with some editing software to adjust for your exposure and to reduce noise and artifacts. Don't upscale your cell phone images if that can be avoided. Beyond that, I would suggest you check out some YouTube videos on composition, getting the best quality from your cell phone images.

Adobe Community Expert | If you can't fix it, hide it; if you can't hide it, delete it.