Problems with quality requirements

[gerrit5C17]

I don't understand what is going on ?

Some time ago I started submitting photos to Adobe Stock.
In the beginning, several photos turned out to be rejected due to quality problems.
Gradually I learned to determine for myself which photos do meet the quality requirements.
If photos are now rejected, it is usually because there are already too many of the same images in Stock.

Until this week; suddenly almost all (out of 75) submitted images are rejected due to quality problems.
Several of those images come from series of which images were previously accepted.
In that case, the images were made with the same camera; the same settings, dimensions, etc.
They are also comparable or sometimes better in terms of image sharpness.

What could be the reason for this?

I attached two images from the same series 8591 is accepted, 8601 is not (because of quality issues)

[gerrit5C17]

Sorry, I made a mistake, 8601 is also accepted in the mean time (was still in judgement phase).

Four new ones. 8572 and 9473 are not accepted; the comparable ones,  and 9475 and 8571 are rejected (quality isues)

[Nancy OShea]

Rejection can be a bitter pill to swallow sometimes. Don't sweat it.  Everyone has rejections.

Almost every refusal is for reasons that may not be easy to spot until when you examine your images at 100-300% magnification.  Also check your Histogram panel to ensure lighting is evenly balanced.

9473 has IP issues.

9475 needs to be straightened and cropped closer to the subject.  Sand in foreground looks noisy.

[gerrit5C17]

Thanks Nancy. There's exactly the problem. I wrote it down wrong; 9475 was accepted and 9473 not.

[Nancy OShea]

Before submitting, do you correct your photos in Photoshop or Lightroom?

Do you then compare your corrected photos with current Stock Inventory to ensure

1) there are not 20 million of them,

2) yours are as good or better than what Stock has? 

That's the best way I know to reduce rejection rate.

[Jill_C]

8572 - sky in the left side is overexposed 

9473 IP issues and artifacts in the sky 

8571 - overexposed sky 

9475 - artifacts 

[gerrit5C17]

Thanks Jill.

I wrote it down wrong. 8571 and 9475 were accepted, 8572 and 9473 were not.

[Roshnyc]

Las fotos están un poco fuera de foco

[Jill_C]

In image 8601, the face of the main subject, the horse in the foreground, is not in sharp focus.

[gerrit5C17]

Both images of the horses were accepted.

[daniellei4510]

Just curious. Did you submit all 75 images at the same time? Seems a lot, Keep in mind the moderators are human. If I had spent the day looking at hundreds or more images and then same across a series of 75 submitted at one and the same time, I'd probably summarily reject most of them. Just a guess. Considering the number of images submitted daily, hey can afford to be choosy. I don't have a clue how the moderation process works, but I tend to submit an average of 2 to 7 a day. (The most has been 20 or so and all were accepted, but maybe my moderator was in a good mood.)

[gerrit5C17]

Ok, Danielle, that makes sense.

Every now and then, I "scan" my image libaries and send in a bunch.

I'll be less "abundant".

[Abambo]

It's always a good idea, to send small batches, waiting a few days in between. 

[Abambo]

I'd probably summarily reject most of them.

By daniellei4510

That's why you never will be a moderator. Moderation follows rules. It may be that one moderator is more stringent than the other, but generally, moderation is quite consistent. It's only when your picture is on the edge, that you may experience acceptance, after resubmitting unmodified after a refusal. 

Some bad images even sell, if the error is not important for the use (like website use, where artefacts and focus are a lesser issue). If the buyer does order wall paper and the asset is bad, they won't be happy.

[daniellei4510]

I would never WANT to be a moderator. 🙂 Although I do moderate myself, even after an image has been accepted in error. After one image was accepted, I noticed a glaring error that was overlooked. Well...maybe not glaring. It was actually very subtle, but I just couldn't bring myself t let some poor buyer not notice it until it was too late. I deleted it, fixed the problem, and re-submitted it. Again, moderators are only human and can make mistakes. I don't know how many stock photo sites vet submitted images, but it ones of the reasons I chose Adobe Stock to submit my own.

[Abambo]

From my experience, Adobe is the most stringent. But yes, there are many bad assets in the database. Mostly older assets, but also a lot of newer stuff.

[alessandrac7478031]

I want to call attention to this issue but I am not sure where. I have been a contributor for over six years and I do not really understand the last trend of rejecting entire batches of images for "quality issues". This has turned out into a big time sink for me, since I have to re-submit images over and over again to get them accepted. Most, if not all, have not quality issues at all, and end up being accepted. However, I don't really get paid enough to submit and resubmit over and over again. Please Adobe Stock, review your review process. It not ony has become very slow, but also somewhat unpredictable and counter-productive. 

[Jill_C]

Resubmitting previously rejected images can be considered spamming by Adobe and can get your account banned. I have seen several reports of large batches of images being rejected enmasse. Perhaps this is a side effect of the huge batches of poor quality Generative AI assets being submitted - Moderator fatigue??. My approach has always been to submit small batches, 4-6 at a time, and I rarely get a reject. 

[Abambo]

 I have seen several reports of large batches of images being rejected enmasse. Perhaps this is a side effect of the huge batches of poor quality Generative AI assets being submitted - Moderator fatigue??. My approach has always been to submit small batches, 4-6 at a time, and I rarely get a reject. 

By Jill_C

If you get the same picky moderator for your large batch, and you have a small error in most of them, the moderator knows where to look, even if the error is not that significant. I also prefer small batches, but I also submit slowly, selecting well my assets, and submitting one by one. My portfolio grows snail like.