Image got rejected due to quality issues.

[Anna300020302bvc]

Hi Everyone. I need your help. These photos were rejected due to quality issues. Can I get feedback to improve the quality of these photos?

[RALPH_L · Accepted solution]

Adobe already describes in its guidelines what you need to watch out for. 

Special emphasis is always given to "view your image at 100%"!

Here is a portion your first photo at 100%.

Notice that almost nothing is in focus? Notice the green fringe around the branches?

Also, I believe the shadows should be a little lighter and the blossoms that are cut off at the top are a distraction.

Please, view your images at 100%. I even suggest up to 300%.

[Nancy OShea]

Did you submit these right out of your camera?  Or did you examine & correct photos in Photoshop or Lightroom before submitting?

Focus problems:

[Anna300020302bvc]

I did color correction in Photoshop.

Does the whole photo have to be in focus? I wanted the strawberry in the center to be in focus.

[Nancy OShea]

The subject is strawberries (plural), right?

The entire subject should be focused, not just parts of it.

If customers wish to blur the background elements after purchase, they can do that easily enough in Photoshop.  But they can't make a blurry image focused.  You reach a wider customer base with properly focused images.

[Abambo]

No, you do not need to have the whole picture in focus. But you need to have a decent DOF. When taking such pictures, you should use different apertures, so that you can choose the right one. 

As for quality checking: use 100% for sharpness appreciation and 200% for artefacts checking. I often go further 300% or 400%, but only when I have to explain the artefact. If you don't see "something" at 200%, it's not worth to make a fuzz about it. Don't use odd magnifications, as the algorithm to calculate the magnification is trimmed for speed, not accuracy. 

[Anna300020302bvc]

Thanks for the detailed and clear comment.

[Abambo]

You're welcome.