Guidance regarding requirements

[ImaRetiredTeacher]

Hello Contributora,

I trained long ago with film! I'm just now diving into digital and am attempting to be a contributor on here. I clearly have a long way to go as I keep getting rejected, LOL. Could you all please tell me everything that is wrong with this attached image. But be kind; my ego is fragile, haha!

Thanks, Annette

[Jill_C · Accepted solution]

Zoom in to at least 50% and you will see that your bloom is not in sharp focus. The depth of field is too shallow, and the frame seems to be cropped too tight. The Adobe Stock database is already quite oversaturated with floral images, and though photographing and editing floral images is good practice and fun to do, in order for your floral image to be accepted, or ever sold, it must be technically perfect and unique in some way.

As to entering into this business with a fragile ego, all I can say is "don't take it personally" and "learn from the rejections". I wish you success with your future uploads!

[ImaRetiredTeacher]

Thanks for your help--the ego thing was a joke. I have a lot of transitional learning to do. Thanks again.

[Jill_C]

I assume it was light-hearted; however we do get some contributors here who simply can't accept that there's anything at all wrong with their masterpieces, and they definitely get their feelings hurt at every rejection and every comment pointing out the flaws. I suppose those Contributors don't hang around long in the stock photo business!

[Abambo · Accepted solution]

You should indeed zoom in 100% to appreciate the focus and zoom in to 200 to check for artefacts. Looking at them at 200% or 300% just makes it easier to spot artefacts. Some problems, like the white balance or the saturation require some experience. 

If you are new to stock, you should consider these resources: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/tutorials.html
Please read the contributor user manual for more information on Adobe stock contributions: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/user-guide.html
See here for rejection reasons: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/reasons-for-content-rejection.html
and especially quality and technical issues: https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/quality-and-technical-issues.html

If you are a generative AI contributor, please look into these instructions and follow them by the letter: https://community.adobe.com/t5/stock-contributors-discussions/generative-ai-submission-guidelines/td...

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

The transition from film to digital photography is a bit thorny at first. Digtal cameras have limitations that film cameras don't have. And virtually every digital image must be retouched in Photoshop or Lightroom.  In the end, you spend more time with software than the actual camera. 

Regarding your iris, looks like the depth of field was too narrow. 

https://photographylife.com/what-is-depth-of-field

[ImaRetiredTeacher]

Perfect critique--thank you so much. I have been viewing them at 100% or higher, but my monitor is 15 years old so I wasn't sure I could trust what I was seeing (new one coming soon). What I'm realizing is forget the artsy fartsy stuff and just get as much in focus, as clearly, as possible. Keep it very, very simple and well composed. As far as subject matter goes, is it illegal to photograph things like strawberries at a farmers market? It might sound silly, but technically, I don't own them unless I buy them, LOL. Some of you are probably laughing at that question right now!

Thanks in advance, Annette

[Jill_C]

You can definitely photograph at a farmer's market as long as you're careful to omit any signs that include branding. 

[Abambo]

As far as subject matter goes, is it illegal to photograph things like strawberries at a farmers market? 

By @ImaRetiredTeacher

No it's not illegal. But depending on the subject you will need either a property release or a model release or both. The most awful thing that may happen to your picture is that you earn an additional refusal. Refusals are devastating for your ego, but are essential for getting you up and productive into the stock industry. You should aim as a short term target a refusal rate of less than 50%. I suppose it happened to all of us, the first refusal is the one you learn the most. My first two refusals were because an out of focus image and because of an IP issue. 

And yes, stock is not about art, but about craft. If assets are technically correct, they get accepted. But if, in addition, they are also nicely done, they sell. If the topic in the picture is hot, they sell well.