Submission failed

[Maureen Bennetta]

Good day

I'm new here, submitted my 3 pics and 2 were rejected. i cannot upload new pics.

What do I do?

[Steve F]

Hi Maureen,

Alamy gave you the reasons for the rejection by email - what were they? You need to improve/make changes for whatever the reasons were and then resubmit.

 

If you fail quality control on your first submission, it might take several weeks before you can resubmit.

Steve

Edited September 9, 2020 by Steve F

[Maureen Bennetta]

Hi Steve. The reason for rejection was 'soft or lacking definition'. I understand I have to re-submit and replace 2 pics but I cannot upload. Why does it take several WEEKS before I can resubmit??

[Steve F]

Hi Maureen,

I'm not sure how long it is before you can upload again normally; I know anecdotally from other newcomers during the pandemic that it can take several weeks because of the effect on Alamy's staff. Did you come across this:

 

https://www.alamy.com/contributor/how-to-sell-images/guidelines-for-submitting-images/?section=3

 

And there's a PDF link within this text that also highlights common reasons for failure.

 

Generally though, Alamy  have relatively high standards - presumably as a selling point to clients - and they only spot check your submissions after you have your first 3 images approved. They expect all contributors to do their own quality control.

 

I'm not sure what editing you do. Some people get away with submitting JPEGs directly from the camera, but you're much more likely to fail QC if you do that. The majority of Contributors here will edit the raw files in an editing programme like Lightroom and then export as a JPEG for upload. 

 

Good luck!

Steve

 

p.s. you should probably resubmit 3 test images again, not just 2.

[Cal]

Without knowing what camera type and PP you are using some of it is guesswork but here are the things I make a mental note to look out for:

 

Motion blur, even tiny amounts of it can soften an image overall. I got into the habit of using a tripod where possible, as much of the time as I can. The sharpness difference can be quite noticeable. Otherwise in the absence of a tripod/good IS keep your shutter speed high. I'm nowadays finding that handheld on a crop body, even with in-body IS, I'm having to use 1/1000 in most cases to get a sharp handheld photo at 300mm. If your photos look soft with no definitive area where the focus peaks then you are likely suffering motion blur or an extremely faulty lens.

 

Also if you can use editing software try to get rid of chromatic aberration. This irritates the hell out of me so it's one of the first things I go for as if you don't get rid of it the whole feel of the image is cheapened. Spherical aberration is harder to get rid of in post, but if you're crafty you can use it to your advantage to help create a "dreamy" look in a photo. In most cases though you'll want to stop down if the look isn't appropriate for what's required.

 

If you've cranked up the ISO to get a higher shutter speed then the resulting NR will hurt the quality. The in-camera JPEGS from my A77ii at ISO 3200 or higher are just woeful, the NR being so heavy handed even on its lightest setting that the image starts to resemble a patchy watercolour. NR directly on the raw is better, but there's only so much you can do. I have, on occasion used an in-camera JPEG but only if it meets several conditions (low ISO is a non-negotiable one) and even then probably only for 0.5% of my port. The advice to try and use raw where possible is worth taking note of... but bear in mind some images just aren't recoverable.

 

Without wanting to sound unfriendly, be aware that the requirements for stock are by quite an amount more harsh than the requirements to upload a photo to social media and get complimented on it. Many people for instance think that mobiles take SLR quality images but that's because they only ever see them on a screen the size of a coaster. Have a good look at your images at 100% (full zoom) and ask yourself does it look good or bad, not just in terms of sharpness but in general quality, and again look for that "watercolour" effect and colour banding.

[Maureen Bennetta]

Hi Steve

 

Thank you for all your tips and info. I really appreciate it and will look more carefully at my pics from now on :-)