rejected woes by shutterstock etc pls advise

[leobox1]

arrgghh rejected

i need advise from a few bros

1) they say my method of isolation is poor.. bros how to do professional isolation? is it must use pure white paper like mahjong paper background?

2) they say i poor lens quality resulting in uneven focus.. etc is Canon A590IS so lousy? or issit i no tripod etc hence blur?

3) i saw alot of nice pictures but not photo ones.. if i draw on drawboard.. scan in.. use program put colors.. can this be counted as jpeg photo? or must submit as what.. vector format?? please please advise bros.. thanks and sorry for being a noob.. dont flame me pls

[Kit]

To be honest, I can't be bothered with them anymore. As it grows, the rejection slips are getting more and more ridiculous. Most of the time, they just cut and paste. If your images are not what they were looking for at that moment, there are 1001 reasons to reject them. I haven't uploaded anything since a year ago and I'd like to keep it that way as long as the cheques come in monthly.

[leobox1]

understandk it.. but i no Chq cause i zero pics


can give me advise on the 3 points pls?

[Kit]

Like I said, their reasons for rejection are erratic. Unless I see your images, I can't really draw a conclusion. You are allowed to submit graphics and illustrations too. They have a section on top selling images and most searched keywords. That would give you a clue as to what sells and that's what they are usually looking for.

[hazmee]

If you are looking into stock images as a way to make a quick buck, I think you are so wrong. But I'll try my best to help you anyway:

1. They are looking for a clean edged out photo on a white background. If you don't know how to do that on a photo editing software, I would strongly advise don't even bother sending in your pics. No offense. You can either brush up on your photo editing knowledge, i.e. go for course or read up a book about it. National Library has tonnes of free books for you to choose.

2. I am guessing that your image of the subject is not 'sharp' from edge to edge, i.e. meaning your depth of field is thin or not large enough to cover the whole subject. If you don't know what this is, no amount of tripod or image stabilizers can help you. BTW, once they see a point and shoot camera from the exif info, they will immediately reject it. They want professionally taken photos with at least a decent DSLR. Period. Unless you can impress them with your photos, I would say do not try to send low quality pics just for kicks.

3. I don't quite understand this. Are you submitting an illustration or a photo? If you want to submit illustrations, you can either draw it and scan (most likely to be rejected) or you can use vector softwares like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand to draw. If you need to know what these are, again don't bother sending in your work because to them it is a half baked effort.

Sorry to burst your bubble mate but if you don't have these basic knowledge, I would say you are totally wasting your time and effort with these stock libraries. See what they have and try to follow the same standard. Learn the basics first and Keep trying until you get it right.

I am just adding this extra piece of info for those thinking of submitting your pics to stock libraries like Shutterstock, iStockphoto or 123RF...

1. Think corporate business/universal so be it photos or illustration
2. Shoot more Asian faces or business culture
3. Have a proper concept and plan your shoot properly

If you want to submit your holiday or hobby pics to make a quick buck, think again. There are millions of pictures in their library so it is like throwing a stone into the sea. Pictures with poor concept will likely 'collecting dust' in their library since no one is searching for your photos. I believe they are weeding out happy snappers and focusing more on quality photos to compete with other well stock libraries.

Hope that helps. Cheers!

[leobox1]

2) can i remove the exif ? will they reject
3) lets say i can draw well... and add color well through say photoshop... i send in as jpeg under photos? because istock vector needs some wierd .EPS thingy... i know vector is draw based on maths.. i dont understand how maths.. make up say a hello kitty?

in short.. if i got good drawing, draw on drawing board b/w.. scan in jpeg. add color... now upload as?

thanks

[satan_18349]

You can save an eps file in photoshop too.

[Sion]

Originally Posted by leobox1 arrgghh rejected i need advise from a few bros 1) they say my method of isolation is poor.. bros how to do professional isolation? is it must use pure white paper like mahjong paper background? 2) they say i poor lens quality resulting in uneven focus.. etc is Canon A590IS so lousy? or issit i no tripod etc hence blur? 3) i saw alot of nice pictures but not photo ones.. if i draw on drawboard.. scan in.. use program put colors.. can this be counted as jpeg photo? or must submit as what.. vector format?? please please advise bros.. thanks and sorry for being a noob.. dont flame me pls

1) Isolation is easy said than done. There is no reason not to shoot a subject with a white background and submit as such without bothering about isolation. If the subject has commericial value it will sell.

2) Shoot with a tripod and cable release and stopping down aperture will improve sharpness and depth of field. Could you post an example of what they rejected? As someone else advised here DSLR with a good lens is the way to go as you'll be facing lots of competition with better equipments.

3) Yes the scan can be counted as a jpeg photo. If you are good with drawing and painting you may try it.

[Zohan]

Originally Posted by leobox1 2) can i remove the exif ? will they reject 3) lets say i can draw well... and add color well through say photoshop... i send in as jpeg under photos? because istock vector needs some wierd .EPS thingy... i know vector is draw based on maths.. i dont understand how maths.. make up say a hello kitty? in short.. if i got good drawing, draw on drawing board b/w.. scan in jpeg. add color... now upload as? thanks

1. Leobox1, you cannot submit a compact camera jpg. Period. Maybe you can do that in a few years when compact cams have the same CCDs (like the Sigma) but it's not possible. Even if you remove the EXIF, it's still easy to tell if the image is from a DSLR or compact. If you don't have the experience nor knowledge to know the difference between a compact camera processed and post processed DSLR jpg, you should take up a course on DSLR 101. Do learn to crawl first before running.

2. If you don't know what an EPS file is, no offense but again, I don't think you have enough knowledge to be in the design/photography field. Nothing personal.

[Zohan]

Originally Posted by satan_18349 You can save an eps file in photoshop too.

Yes, it's an EPS file but shutterstock is referring to EPS vector graphic files. Not EPS photo image files.

[leobox1]

Originally Posted by Zohan 1. Leobox1, you cannot submit a compact camera jpg. Period. Maybe you can do that in a few years when compact cams have the same CCDs (like the Sigma) but it's not possible. Even if you remove the EXIF, it's still easy to tell if the image is from a DSLR or compact. If you don't have the experience nor knowledge to know the difference between a compact camera processed and post processed DSLR jpg, you should take up a course on DSLR 101. Do learn to crawl first before running. 2. If you don't know what an EPS file is, no offense but again, I don't think you have enough knowledge to be in the design/photography field. Nothing personal.

Hi, no worries i know you are been direct... but i really hope to learn.. 1) so are you saying.. as long as i use my A590 IS.. no matter how good or using tripod.. good lighting etc, the pple sure reject???


I know eps is vector graphics.. i am just wondering whether i can draw etc and submit as photo jpeg.. will they reject saying its not "photo"

[leobox1]

Originally Posted by Sion 1) Isolation is easy said than done. There is no reason not to shoot a subject with a white background and submit as such without bothering about isolation. If the subject has commericial value it will sell. 2) Shoot with a tripod and cable release and stopping down aperture will improve sharpness and depth of field. Could you post an example of what they rejected? As someone else advised here DSLR with a good lens is the way to go as you'll be facing lots of competition with better equipments. 3) Yes the scan can be counted as a jpeg photo. If you are good with drawing and painting you may try it.

bro are you saying if the photo is a decent white background, i dont need to specifically do isolation??


I face problem photoshop.. although i use white background, i use what magic lasso or poly lasso, it will still eat into my subject one.. i dont know why.. in the end, i have uneven edge ah.. what excessive feathering ah etc SIGH any tips on this?

[viix]

Originally Posted by leobox1 bro are you saying if the photo is a decent white background, i dont need to specifically do isolation?? I face problem photoshop.. although i use white background, i use what magic lasso or poly lasso, it will still eat into my subject one.. i dont know why.. in the end, i have uneven edge ah.. what excessive feathering ah etc SIGH any tips on this?

It seems you do not have experience or the know how of how to use photoshop. A compact camera and an SLR has significant difference. Just looking at the pictures' histogram in photoshop already you can tell the level of details in the RGB. Compacts tend to have more "crushed" details.

I've been doing so much touchup that just by looking at the histogram I can almost make out what brand of sensor is the image captured in.

Not wanting to be a cold blanket but at the moment, you should stop thinking of posting images to shutterstock. period. Not until the moment you understand the digital aspect of a photo requirements which you can google online for plenty of tutorial.

[ortega]

you cannot use the quick and dirty methods of selecting in photoshop

got to do it manually, like all the designers do

the clients are design houses and quality is very important

[quantize]

maybe you can post a few of your photos here and let people comment? NPNT

[Darcy.Zhou]

Originally Posted by Kit To be honest, I can't be bothered with them anymore. As it grows, the rejection slips are getting more and more ridiculous. Most of the time, they just cut and paste. If your images are not what they were looking for at that moment, there are 1001 reasons to reject them. I haven't uploaded anything since a year ago and I'd like to keep it that way as long as the cheques come in monthly.

I agree with Kit.

istockphoto and shutterstock are very strict now. very hard to get a high accept rate. But you can try some other stock sites,
like dreamstime
http://www.dreamstime.com

[wildstallion]

Originally Posted by Darcy.Zhou I agree with Kit. istockphoto and shutterstock are very strict now. very hard to get a high accept rate. But you can try some other stock sites, like dreamstime http://www.dreamstime.com

The strict acceptance rate is good, it keeps all the crap out and makes you a better, more careful photographer. I still have around an 85% acceptance rate on both sites. I wouldnt recommend DT at the moment, yes its user friendly, but the sales are appalling compared to the other sites at the moment.

To TS, you have to post photos for us to see otherwise we cannot help you.

[aeskywan]

TS, to answer your questions of whether using a compact will get your photos accepted or not.

Well look at it this way. One has to have some degree of skill to coax some good pictures of a DSLR... for compacts.... just switch to Auto and it can take pictures.

So if I am a company buying stock pictures.... of course I will be using photos taken by people who at least know something about photography. If I take photos taken from compact cameras, I might as well go take a compact and shoot myself....

Whether you get a tripod, your shot is steady is irrelevant.... no compacts period.

So my advice go learn more about photography and if you really want to go into the stock picture business, go get yourself the right equipment.

[wildstallion]

Originally Posted by aeskywan TS, to answer your questions of whether using a compact will get your photos accepted or not. Well look at it this way. One has to have some degree of skill to coax some good pictures of a DSLR... for compacts.... just switch to Auto and it can take pictures. So if I am a company buying stock pictures.... of course I will be using photos taken by people who at least know something about photography. If I take photos taken from compact cameras, I might as well go take a compact and shoot myself.... Whether you get a tripod, your shot is steady is irrelevant.... no compacts period. So my advice go learn more about photography and if you really want to go into the stock picture business, go get yourself the right equipment.

Please dont take this the wrong way, but thats utter crap. I know many photographers on Shutterstock that shoot solely compact cameras and there stuff is way better than most peoples.

So for the one hundredth time:

ITS NOT ABOUT THE CAMERA, ITS ABOUT THE FINAL PICTURE

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-ukenny123.html

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-uPaul_Lewis.html

Alot of the photos in those galleries are all from compact cameras. And these guys do alright!

[aeskywan]

Originally Posted by wildstallion Please dont take this the wrong way, but thats utter crap. I know many photographers on Shutterstock that shoot solely compact cameras and there stuff is way better than most peoples. So for the one hundredth time: ITS NOT ABOUT THE CAMERA, ITS ABOUT THE FINAL PICTURE http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-ukenny123.html http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-uPaul_Lewis.html Alot of the photos in those galleries are all from compact cameras. And these guys do alright!

In that case alot of others before me also posted crap when we advised the ts why submitting as a compact gets him no business.....