First contribution rejected for image quality... why?

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Hello fellow contributors!

All of the images in my first batch have been rejected for "image quality". In my contributor profile it just says 'technical issues'. Can someone please clarify what's wrong? I have these on various other stock websites and didn't have any issues getting them approved.

Thanks in advance!

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Juliet,

The files display white balance issues. They are too cool. Incorrect colors are displayed - green sea, brown-cyan sea, blue hair, images with dull appearance. There seem to be a little color fringing around the leaves of the coconut tree. Those are the technical issue I see.

Best wishes

JG

[juliet_dreamhunter]

I'll see to color fringing, thanks.

But what do you mean incorrect colors? How do you know which were correct colors? My hair is actually blue and the water on the photo with canoe looked exactly like that.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Juliet,

First I must say with the exception of the second image in which case the boat is too much to the right, and that the leaf of the last image is a little small I do not see a problem with your compositions. In fact I like the triangles of the first composition. I can see you were capturing lines, shapes and point of view. And I must add the two composition issues I identify is just based on preference, but are not causes for rejection.

The first image is a little too cool. Increase the color temperature a bit. 

I see image 2 displaying turquoise water. The water reflects the color of the sky. I cannot imagine the time of day the water would be bright turquoise.

Image 3 background lighting is a bit high. Since this is natural lighting, then reducing highlights would probably correct that issue.

Image 4: zoom into the lower right corner and look closely at the color of the sand. It has a blue overcast. That photo is too cool. 

The final image is not very vibrant either. You may need to add more warmth.

Best wishes

JG

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Thank you so much for the clarifications! I'll try to fix the issues whenever possible.

Could you maybe suggest some good place/resource where I can learn about composition and correct white balance?

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Juliet,

There is quite a wealth of resources on Linkedin Learn. I especially like the courses by Ben Long. Here's one of a two part series on exposure

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/photography-foundations-exposure-part-1/where-to-go-next-4

Here's a link on composition

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/photography-foundations-composition/welcome

Or you may choose other subject from this list of courses

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/search?keywords=photography%20foundation%20ben%20long

Best wishes

JG

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Wow, how come I've never heard about Linkedin Learning before.

Thanks, but I'm looking into free classes for now, maybe I'll consider those later.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Juliet,

You could perhaps utilize Google search, You wont get anything comprehensive, but you can still learn some fundamentals that will help you to get by for stock uploads until then. For example search for "Photography composition" and see what you find, try out the suggestions, and see what works. You need to however learn all the functions of your camera and what they do. In addition to what you read in your camera's manual, you may Google your questions.and see what you find. There are a lot you can learn.

Warning though be careful to try to gather the basic principles of exposure settings, rather than sticking to suggested numerical settings. 

Best wishes

JG

[ricky336 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

I think the main issue is the composition. What do you want to show? In your beach picture, perhaps it is a little too warm, the canoe picture, composition - it is unbalanced. The canoe weighs down too much on the right of the picture. I think the colour of the water is fine, as it looks like a lagoon, so the water does take on this colour hue! 3rd picture, composition. It is a bit of a mess here. 4th picture and 5th picture, nothing special really.

So, in my overall view the main issue is composition - which comes under technical issue/image quality.

These shots are great for holiday snaps, (and they look like holidays snaps) but probably not really good for Adobe Stock photos. (They have different standards compared to other stock sites.)

Have a read of this. It's a brief guide on image quality.
https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/quality-and-technical-issues.html

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Thank you for taking a look! Can you maybe point me to some place where I can learn to understand composition and white balance better?

[ricky336]

Hi, Yes, I can, but it does require quite a lot of reading. It depends on how interested you are in photography. There is a book by Michael Freeman 'The Photographer's Eye' in which he talks about composition. He has also written a series of other books about photography. Personally, I recommend this book, and others he has written. It is available on Amazon for example.

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Reading is not an issue, however money is. I'm looking into free resources right now, but thanks anyway, I'll consider it later!

Just looked at Amazon - hardcover is almost a thousand dollars! It this a joke? Who would spend so much money on a book?

[ricky336]

$1000, yes it is most definitely a joke! Must be a fake website you looked at.

[juliet_dreamhunter]

No, it's on Amazon, but I looked at the wrong author apparently. Still...

[ricky336]

Ok, So, I wouldn't go for this book. Perhaps the pages are gilded with gold leaf.

[Abambo]

Welcome to Adobe stock. Generally Adobe is more picky about image quality.

I see a mix of oversaturation, too dark shadows (first), overdone noise reduction, bad composition (coffee, boat),  sharpness (girl with the swing), a halo around the leaf and the hand...

There are so much DIFFERENT problems with those pictures. As for a deeper analyses, I would prefer you posting one image in one post. The forum is not a good image viewing program to make the experience pleasant for the counselor.

BTW the images are not too bad, just for stock, they need to be "natural" so that the buyer can modify whatever he/she wants.

[juliet_dreamhunter]

Thanks, I'll be working more on my photography skills then.

What is a halo?

[Abambo]

A halo a kind of artifacts at the borders of objects. It shows as a bright seam at the object borders that is very disturbing visually. Can be created by sharpening or HDR.