Does anyone here know why these photos were rejected?

[Paulo0D4B]

I'm new here and it was my first try. Thanks for your help.

[RALPH_L]

Hello @Paulo0D4B , right off the bat I can tell you that you need to check your focus. Also make sure that the horizon is horizontal.

[Jill_C]

Number One Rule of Landscape Photography: the horizon must be level! A Moderator probably looked at your beach image for 1/2 second before pressing the "reject" button. It's actually a very easy to fix in LightRoom Classic - just press the "Auto" button under "Transform" in the Edit panel.

[Nancy OShea]

Always examine images at 200% magnification to see the technical problems.  Fix them if you can before you submit.

If you can't fix them, don't submit.

[Abambo]

...and with such problems, there is nothing to be fixed:

• washed out colours, no detailed structure
• blown out areas on the 2 last pictures

What can be fixed is the horizon in the first picture. But that won't be enough to get the picture pass.

It looks to me that you used a small sensor camera, like a phone or similar. As it is correct, that such images get accepted, they get the same stringent vetting as all other submissions. Customers are paying a lot for the pictures, so they expect near to perfect pictures.

[phil_spencer]

1. Horizon not level. Focus too much in the foreground (depth of field not what editors are looking for). Read about hyperfocal distance.

2. Trunk in focus, not the monkey. Also a lot of haze that looks like steam on the lens or filter - or lens problem?

3. Same as 2, except nothing is really in focus, and still distracting steam.

Agree with someone above - these should be viewed at magnification 100% or greater for sharpness, focus, noise, etc. Lightroom can fix a lot, but if focus is incorrect or the picture is blurred, discard and move on to the next picture.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi @Paulo0D4B ,

Your frame is not very sharp. Also it seem you did not have enough depth for this landscape. The horizon is ok for this one. The island is horizontal.

Too much of the second photo is out of focus. You needed to set your camera for more depth of field to get a sharp capture of the second animal. The third image is totally out of focus. The second and third photos have a blue cast, meaning there is a white balance issue.

Best wishes

JG

Photographer and Nutrition Author

[ricky336]

Hi, Sorry, have to disagree. The horizon should always be level in landscape shots, especially seascape. A crooked horizon is just bad.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

The subjects on earth need to be taken in consideration. Vertical need to be just that and horizontal need to be that. Depending on the angle you take your shots from the horizon will come out crooked in the result. Here are four shots of the same location to compare.

1) Image of the wreckage of an old boat in a cage. Pay attention to the vertical posts of the cage, and the horizon created by the sea. These are the two parameters we will examine of all 4 images. In this image the posts are vertical while the horizon is slightly crooked. https://stock.adobe.com/images/wreckage-of-a-boat-at-shore-beside-rocks/353022944

2) Now take a look at this other picture showing two of the post on the left of the frame. In this case the posts are vertical and the horizon is horizontal 

https://stock.adobe.com/images/sea-waves-move-onto-a-rocky-shoreline/373044673

3) Now look at this third image. Posts are still vertical, horizon is even more crooked that in the first image, but look at the angle of the sore rock. You will notice the photo was taken from a different angle 

https://stock.adobe.com/images/movements-of-waves-onto-a-rocky-shoreline/364180904

4) Now for this last one, again notice that the posts are vertical. That is the constant used. Also notice that the angle the shot was taken from also changed. Now look at the horizon 

https://stock.adobe.com/images/sunny-day-at-the-sea-front/368157474

What if you should go to the location to take a look? There you can have a wider view of the area. The horizon is not really horizontal. Once it is in relation to a horizontal or vertical object on earth the object on earth has to be taken into consideration before attempting to straightening your horizon.

When next I visit the area, I will take a panorama. If Adobe fixes the problem that prevents me from uploading files larger than 6MB I'll upload it for you to see the entire area.

Best wishes

JG

Photographer and Nutrition Author

[Nancy OShea]

@jacquelingphoto2017

URL #1 gave me a 404 Not Found error.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Thank you @Nancy OShea . It should be ok now. I'm not sure what went wrong.

[Abambo]

The horizon should level. The island will still be ok with the corrected horizon. However, the picture is troublesome on more than this correctable point, probably due to some aggressive in-camera processing.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

It is obvious that horizontal horizon is not a criteria for rejection when it is in relation to other fixed objects that are in their proper perspective. In reality the horizon is not always looking horizontal. It is a criteria when it is flat sea, nothing else to compare with, then you need a straight horizon, or flat land with no upright object, then the horizon need to be straight. With fixed vertical objects or this case of the fixed island that are in their proper perspective, they take precedence over the horizon. So let us all stop dwelling on that subject as though it is one of the cause for rejection. If it were the photographer's, or lens issue causing the horizon not to be horizontal both horizon and island would be affected. One is straight across, the other not it means that is how it is. Horizon is not the issue here please.

Best wishes

JG