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I had turned in my 4 pictures for approval and got the response to all of them, "Soft or lacking definition" . Im not sure what they mean by this because i felt like the images were all pretty good. Id appreciate any advice or further explanation as to what they meant for each picture.

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4149938

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4009814

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4191373

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/3510758

 

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"Soft or lacking definition" . Im not sure what they mean by this

 

From Alamy's guidelines for contributors:

 

The image may appear soft and / or lacking definition for one or more of the following reasons:

  • The image has been interpolated beyond its limitations / an unsuitable camera has been used.
  • The image is slightly out of focus.
  • The image has been over-manipulated (such as overuse of noise reduction) causing degradation in image quality.
  • There is slight camera shake / shake that was not evident before the image was upsized.
  • A lens with poor optics has been used resulting in loss of fine detail.
  • A dedicated film scanner has not been used / poor quality film scanned / image scanned poorly.
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Its very hard to say looking at that size. If you post a 100% crop it would be easier. But they all looked soft to me except the squirrel. They are not great pictures to use to pass the QC test. Just take 4 simple photo's in great light and submit them. A tin of baked beans on a table or a road sign, anything thats very simple then read this http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/prepare-images.asp#QC  check them at 100%.

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I think they all look soft, though larger would be better to look at. What I see on the old barn image is too much noise reduction or some effect added that softens it too much. One thing to keep in mind is if too much is done to an image whereas noise reduction is concerned or the like, it limits the buyers ability to do anything with it. Not that creative edits are not sellable, but completely smooth and void of texture doesn't equate to usable. Hope that makes sense... And as has been stated, always look at your images 100% to be sure there's no issues per Alamy's list.

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Its very hard to say looking at that size. If you post a 100% crop it would be easier. But they all looked soft to me except the squirrel. They are not great pictures to use to pass the QC test. Just take 4 simple photo's in great light and submit them. A tin of baked beans on a table or a road sign, anything thats very simple then read this http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/prepare-images.asp#QC  check them at 100%.

 

+1 with the exception of the squirrel the focus looks out to me, the face and the eye does not look as sharp as the body.

 

Regards

Craig

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Personally, I think that some (or all) of those images might have passed if you had an established QC track record. Tough to say for sure, though, without seeing them at 100%. Best to keep it really safe at first, as suggested above.

 

P.S. Make sure you are using a camera that isn't on Alamy's "not recommended" list. The "recommended" list is incomplete BTW.

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It's the same camera as I use, and that's on the accepted list.

 

I really like the images, especially the snow scene.  Perhaps they aren't sharp at 100%, as was mentioned, and/or perhaps try a safer set of 4 for your first submission.  Photos with less drama, more even lighting, and sharp.

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You can take the advice, to upload 4 "safe, easy" images, to get accepted. That´s ok, but it wouldn´t be my approach. I would upload 4 pictures, that represent my style, and what I think, should pass QC. Why? Because your first upload is the only chance, that a rejection doesn´t harm your Alamy rank, and you don´t have to wait in the "sin bin". And it´s also the only time you can be sure, that all of your images are checked carefully, and you can estimate, what is acceptable, and what is not.

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I had turned in my 4 pictures for approval and got the response to all of them, "Soft or lacking definition" . Im not sure what they mean by this because i felt like the images were all pretty good. Id appreciate any advice or further explanation as to what they meant for each picture.

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4149938

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4009814

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/4191373

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/3510758

 

From what you say it sounds like EVERY image was tagged as soft and that does surprise me. There is a shallow depth of field but that is usually OK. Do you know that they reject all four even if only one is soft? If they only mentioned it for one the others might be OK. As others have said, it is hard to tell without looking at 100%.

 

Paulette

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Your first two images look soft, even when not presented at 100% (the cicada's eyes don't look sharp and just what part of the seascape composition is an observer supposed to concentrate on that's in sharp focus?). From your picture information, I think you are handicapping yourself shooting at low ISO (100) and at wide apertures which may not be in the "sweet" range of sharpness for your lens. 

 

As this is your first four-image trial submission, QC scrutinizes each of your four images and then lists the main problem for each failure (the only time you'll have that extra "service"). Sorry, but your statement "because i felt like the images were all pretty good" seems to indicate that you really didn't critically look at your images at 100%. QC is seldom wrong, especially when they are looking at a qualifying submission.

 

As other posters have noted, we really can't help you if you don't post a 100% (actual size) crop of an area that you think should be be razor-sharp focus. 

 

Dave

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I think that Dave/OneWay makes a good point about lenses. Personally, I've never been able to afford expensive glass, so I've had to learn to work around the limitations of the lenses that I have, which usually means staying away from wide apertures as much as possible and finding the "sweet spot(s)." Alamy doesn't mind a little softness as long as there is a sharp and clear centre of focus (COF). I had an image fail QC earlier this year because the COF was obvious to me, but not to QC the person who was examining it. Your seascape photo might fall into this category.

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Surely the cicada image is not taken at f1.0 as stated in the link. What lens would that be? If you were shooting macro at f1 the DOF would be so shallow I don't think you'd have a chance of hitting the required focus point.

 

Edit: I guess you're using an extension tube or lens that does't communicate fully with camera.

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I'm sorry but apart from the bug, and without the benefit of an enlargement, they all look soft to me. Did you use a tripod and hyperfocal focusing for the landscapes, if not try it. A while age I had problems passing QC and nearly gave up but upgrading my camera from a 20d to 60d did the trick.

 

QC are normally accurate so try looking at your technique and equipment; and before submitting do a search for what you are about to upload and ask yourself if your stuff is as good as that already available.

 

Good luck

Joe

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Just my opinion here...the bug and the hut look saleable to me. NOT the same as 100% pin sharp, but saleable. The coast shot, for a new entrant, was dicing with death due to the oof foreground flower and I think the chipmunk/squirrel's eye is soft and lacking sharpness. I honestly think (infact KNOW) that what Alamy QC'ers call SoLD does sell via other libraries (been there done that) but, for better or worse, when we sign up to Alamy to promote our work it has to be by their rules. I do NOT always agree with QC but I do accept their judgement - they are usually spot on.

nj

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Great pix - love them all and I am sure that they are sellable. I wish I had your creative eye. That said Alamy QC say that they are SoLD and, although I can't tell without seeing them at 100%, I am sure that they are right. The next step is to view them at 100% and identify what went wrong. IMO the squirrel eyes are soft and the beach looks a bit flat. Learn the lessons and future images will sail through.

 

dov

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I had turned in my 4 pictures for approval and got the response to all of them, "Soft or lacking definition" . Im not sure what they mean by this because i felt like the images were all pretty good. Id appreciate any advice or further explanation as to what they meant for each picture.

 

Alamy used to allow you to submit up to 10 images for your first submission. Once you have got on top of the issues for your rejections consider sending a larger batch of images of different scenarios next time. In this way you will get feedback on each image. Thereafter you will only be advised of the reason for one image rejection in each batch.

 

dov

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I had turned in my 4 pictures for approval and got the response to all of them, "Soft or lacking definition" . Im not sure what they mean by this because i felt like the images were all pretty good. Id appreciate any advice or further explanation as to what they meant for each picture.

 

Alamy used to allow you to submit up to 10 images for your first submission. Once you have got on top of the issues for your rejections consider sending a larger batch of images of different scenarios next time. In this way you will get feedback on each image. Thereafter you will only be advised of the reason for one image rejection in each batch.

 

dov

 

Erm... not a good idea. I think Alamy want just four images first up... not more...

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