World’s largest 3D Model and Stock Photo resource site!
       
The3dStudio.com Blog Network

Thommy's Blog
I'll be making comments here and there about everything I put up on the site or what I'm thinking or doing or feeling at the moment.


I keep getting my stock images rejected
Posted on Friday, June 04, 2010 @ 10:42 PM by Thommy-g

I am having really bad luck with my stock images. First I tried creating them from photos taken with my camera and resizing them in Photoshop and that got rejected. Then I tried taking one of those photos and doing a live trace in Illustrator and that got rejected as well. Here is the image that got rejected:
 
Please keep in mind that I have resized all the images for the web. The reason I was given for the rejection was "Composition / Quality – Limited commercial value or market appeal due to quality, framing, rotation, cropping or composition." I don't know what else to do.
 
Would anyone know if either of the following two would be rejected as well?
 
 
 
 
Note that I am not planning on selling these at all just examples of what I hope I can do and not get them rejected again. The first one I drew then scanned into Photoshop then opened it in Illustrator to trace it and then put it back into Photoshop to add color, highlights and shadows and the background. The second one I created some quick models in Gmax and added textures to them (not very fancy but it was the only way I could get them to render) and lights and then rendered them out in an open-source renderer called Yafaray and then put into Photoshop to do some minor treaking to the levels. If something like either of those two is going to be rejected then I should not even be thinking about stock photos or images. I feel really worthless at the moment like I can't do anything right. Please let me know of your thoughts. After I reinstall the operating system, I will have 3ds Max installed on my computer ( a legal copy even and I didn't have to pay for it).

Tags / Keywords: stock, images, rejection 


Reader comments:

Thommy-g @ 6/4/2010 10:49 PM
Please keep in mind that the images were shrunk down for the web. The ones I would be planning to upload would be much larger.

Bublic @ 6/5/2010 2:03 AM
I don't know much about stock images, but I can say I know a little about art, aesthetics and I suspect myself having some common sense. I don't want in any way to offend you and I try to put it in a very polite way: your drawings are very infantile (a five years child might do that and, if he has a little talent, he can do it better). There's a big difference between simple and simplistic.
Look at Tesselated images (to give just an example) and see the difference. That's what I call photographic art and an artist eye.
I apologize if in any way I hurt your feelings.

Thommy-g @ 6/5/2010 11:10 AM
If you were commenting on the quality of the drawing, I am working on that (which wasn't what I was asking and I did mention that I wasn't planning to sell it anyway). What I wanted to know if the quality of the image itself would get approved. I mostly deal with anime drawing anyway. If any image I upload with the intent of becoming stock images keeps getting rejected then I might as well give up on that.

Tracy @ The3dStudio.com @ 6/5/2010 11:31 AM
Hi Thommy-g,

This is Tracy. I review stock images here at The3dStudio.com.

You’re right about the resizing, most of the time an obviously resized photo will get rejected. We view our photos at a minimum of 100% and images that have been resized become grainy, which we cannot accept.

As for the first image you posted above, I felt that it just didn't have enough commercial value as it had been retouched. I realize sometimes as the photographer you are going for an artistic look, but overall we find that less is more. I would say that almost all photos can use some post processing to help liven them up or fix compositional errors, but to add too many artistic "touches" is sometimes not the best for a photo meant for stock. (As a side note - I personally find the dreamy look in your first photo very interesting.)

You also have to keep in mind the potential usability any stock image might have. While I would probably approve the image of the woman above, (we have a Toons/Sketches category) maybe blue hair is not the most usable image? Of course maybe it is - it all depends on what a particular buyer is looking for at that moment.

I would suggest that in any hobby, skill or work - you just keep practicing! If it's something you enjoy doing, practice will no doubt help you get where you want to be. And please don't ever take image "rejections" personally. It's a very subjective thing to have to critically look at someone else’s work and you should not take it as a reflection on your talent or on you personally.

To prove my point about practicing - I've recently just rolled the counter in my newer camera past 10,000 clicks. Am I better than I was on click #1? Hopefully. Am I still disappointed in some of my pictures? You bet! Do I keep trying because I have an idea in my head that I can learn more and do better? Yes!!!

While you can always blog about questions you have, if you ever need or want a quick answer right from the source, you can email me directly at Tracy@The3dStudio.com anytime. :)


Thommy-g @ 6/5/2010 12:56 PM
I tend to blog to get more than one opinion. The blue hair thing was just something I was messing around with as I tend to lean more towards the anime/manga style of drawing when drawing people (I have a few books on that now and I am hoping to get more soon and then again there is always the library where I can check some books on drawing and of course the web which is what I started with).

When I saw the rejection, I just felt like I can't do anything right, but I will keep at it. Also, I wasn't planning on selling them at all (the second two) as the image of the woman was just something for my portfolio and the render was trying to figure out the renderer I am using with Gmax (I'm still trying to figure it out and unfortunately there isn't much help on the web for it, but I will keep looking).

Thanks for your comments, Tracy. You actually made me feel a little better about myself.

stockphotoman @ 6/13/2010 11:34 AM
Hey Tommy this is stockphotoman just keep at and you will get it down before too long.Did you get a different Camera yet?????? Your friend stockphotoman

Thommy-g @ 6/13/2010 4:40 PM
@stockphotoman: No I didn't get a different camera yet. I haven't had the money to be able to do that and I am feeling down about that at the moment because I haven't been able to find a job and nothing is selling here. I feel like I am at the point of just giving up on life completely but I will keep trying my best and hopefully something will eventually break.


You must be logged in to comment. Login now.


  Thommy-g's Blog

Subscribe via RSS

Featured member
Exclusive member


My latest products:



Help spread the word:
Bookmark and Share
 


This blog and the views and opinions expressed in it are those of the independent blog author and not necessarily those of The3dStudio.com, Inc.