Fotolia and lesson to be learnt.

[Sue Burton Photography]

Well Fotolia seems to live up to its poor reports.

I thought I would upload a few images to see how they got on with Fotolia as some people on here seem to think they were ok.
Despite all these image already being accepted at numerous other ms sites and stock sites like Alamy they failed them all through totally unfounded and stupid reasons.

So glad I only bothered uploading a few images.

I will now be deleting my account and concentrate on the proper microstock sites where reviewers do know what their doing.

[Pilens]

Well Fotolia seems to live up to its poor reports.

I thought I would upload a few images to see how they got on with Fotolia as some people on here seem to think they were ok.
Despite all these image already being accepted at numerous other ms sites and stock sites like Alamy they failed them all through totally unfounded and stupid reasons.

So glad I only bothered uploading a few images.

I will now be deleting my account and concentrate on the proper microstock sites where reviewers do know what their doing.

LOL - Which ones are those? I only know micros with reviewers and then some sites without reviewers 

[MatHayward]

Hi Sue,

That's a bummer you are having a tough time.  Would you mind sharing a couple of examples of the rejected images here so we could have a look.  It's difficult to look at our own work through impartial eyes.  Could be some of us might notice something that you hadn't. 

-Mat

[Ron]

Come on  Matt, you know the rejections at Fotolia are nonsense. The laundry rejection list makes no sense 90% of the time. Fotolia is notorious for its rejection madness.

[MatHayward]

You are choosing the easy way out here Ron.  Of course we wouldn't upload our photos if we didn't think they were up to snuff.  I've been a photographer for a pretty healthy chunk of time and I've accomplished some things that I've never though possible.  That being said I look at photos I've taken in the past..heck, even as recent as this year and vividly remember thinking that photo was amazing when originally posted.  When I look back at it without the passion involved I see my work with fresh eyes and often cringe. 

Personally, I welcome honest, productive critiques.  I am constantly looking for ways to improve my skills as a photographer.  I've been around some of the very best shooters on the planet and I have yet to meet a perfect photographer.  We've all got room to grow.  The minute you start to become complacent and over-confident is the minute you get passed up by hungrier and harder working photographers.

This is not a career path for people with thin skin.  Rejection is an ever-present part of our reality.  You can choose to take it with a grain of salt and learn from it or you can get defiant and bitter.  Sometimes I do the latter as I suspect does everyone from time to time.  I make a conscious effort however to accept my rejections with humility.  Life it too short to get wrapped up in the negative. 

-Mat

Come on  Matt, you know the rejections at Fotolia are nonsense. The laundry rejection list makes no sense 90% of the time. Fotolia is notorious for its rejection madness.

[Mactrunk]

I agree with Mat here. I have no problem with Fotolia and submit from people to landscape images and I have about 95% acceptance. There is nothing wrong with taking a critical look at your portfolio. When I first started submitting at Fotolia about 50% got rejected. Looking back now I understand why. At that point I did not really agree but it did make me take a closer look at my work and that worked for me. My work is much better now than it was then.

[Ron]

There are the few odd ones out. Its got nothing to do with being humble and being critical towards ones self.

Many many photographers have the lowest acceptance rate on FT. My acceptance rate across the board is 90-98%. From Shutterstock to Alamy. Yet on FT its 60%. Got nothing to do with Fotolia according to you then.

Dont buy it. Sorry. Nothing towards you, you have to be loyal towards FT.

[Ron]

Actually Alamy is 100%

[topol]

I have a hard time remembering when was the last time I got a rejection from fotolia, unless a few denied from a long series with many similars. They are one of the easiest. Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills. If you have an impossibly hard time there, I don't even know what to say, they are anything but picky.

[Ron]

Aaah the anonymous bragging. No way to check that story now... lol. Big mouth behind the PC. I remember. Ok, time for me to take a step back again.

[Sedge]

Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills.

And with that condescending statement, you can now lay claim to the dubious honor of being MSG's resident village idiot. Congratulations!

[topol]

My acceptance rate across the board is 90-98%. From Shutterstock to Alamy. Yet on FT its 60%. Got nothing to do with Fotolia according to you then.

You kept comlaining about SS reviewing in general, also clearly wrote you had whole batch(es) almost completely rejected, so I find that... a tad bit dishonest. Maybe a bit more emotion than logic?

[topol]

Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills.

And with that condescending statement, you can now lay claim to the dubious honor of being MSG's resident village idiot. Congratulations!

Really? Explain why.

[topol]

Aaah the anonymous bragging. No way to check that story now... lol. Big mouth behind the PC. I remember. Ok, time for me to take a step back again.

Living up to the standards of a site like fotolia might seem so special to somkeone like you that it feels like bragging, but in reality it just means creating many pretty, but bland - boring and repetitous stuff conforming to simple but narrow standards 90% of the time.

[Sedge]

Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills.

And with that condescending statement, you can now lay claim to the dubious honor of being MSG's resident village idiot. Congratulations!

Really? Explain why.

Wow, you just proved my point.  Such delicious irony...

[topol]

Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills.

And with that condescending statement, you can now lay claim to the dubious honor of being MSG's resident village idiot. Congratulations!

Really? Explain why.

Wow, you just proved my point.  Such delicious irony...

I get nostalgic about exchanges like this. They take me back to kindergarten.

[Sedge]

Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills.

And with that condescending statement, you can now lay claim to the dubious honor of being MSG's resident village idiot. Congratulations!

Really? Explain why.

Wow, you just proved my point.  Such delicious irony...

I get nostalgic about exchanges like this. They take me back to kindergarten.

Okay, now be honest... How many times did your teacher make you sit in a corner?

 

[disorderly]

My experience tracks with yours, Lisa.  Nine of my first ten were rejected, and the exception was a composite I built from scanned elements.  It was months before I tried again, assured that things were different.  Then of course there were the repeated reductions in royalties and the shifting of the goalposts.  Coupled with an agonizingly slow and overcomplicated submission process (three different pages to submit every single image?  really?) and the stories about different payout amounts based on where in the world you signed up and you have an agency that doesn't even pretend to be supplier-friendly.  I'm happy not to bother with them any more.

[Curvabezier]

I also had my share of rejections over fotolia. Granted you are right and those were unfounded, still your decision of leaving might be a bit rush. As you said, you submitted a small amount of images.
Rejections are always frustrating, but enduring some of them, might give you sales from the third site on the poll. If you don�t, you will also miss the chance to complain about some other issues!  
Good luck whether you decide to try again or not.

[DiscreetDuck]

So, where are visible the pictures involved?

[JPSDK]

So, where are visible the pictures involved?

There arent any, its just a whining thread.

[pancaketom]

So, where are visible the pictures involved?

There arent any, its just a whining thread.

While I agree that we can't judge the pics w/o seeing them, it is also pretty obvious that from time to time a site will reject a whole batch that they probably shouldn't. Someday I want to whine about rejections and then when asked for pics I'll post my best sellers and watch them get ripped to pieces (and you know that at least some people would do that).

[ComfortEagle2095]

In my experience, it isn't so much about quality with Fotolia.  They clearly have specific types of images they are looking for and if yours isn't one of those, it'll get rejected more often than not.

It seems to me they don't like landscapes, concepts, objects or things like that.  They tend to take all my people photos, especially white isolations.

That being said, the income from FT has dropped so much that it hardly matters if they take anything or not.  I don't care about pleasing them anymore.

[Mantis]

I have a hard time remembering when was the last time I got a rejection from fotolia, unless a few denied from a long series with many similars. They are one of the easiest. Yes, I am implying: if you have a hard time with fotolia you need start thinking about gathering some skills. If you have an impossibly hard time there, I don't even know what to say, they are anything but picky.

Thank you Einstein.

[topol]

..They clearly have specific types of images they are looking for...

that might be stock type of images? just guessing...

[ingwio]

@TO:
Smile about rejections at FT, load up at other agencies and smile about downloads there (especially at SS).

[DallasP]

I suppose the illustration world at fotolia is a little different, I rarely get rejections ... and to think, I was contemplating buying a new slr
SS on the other hand, I can not get accepted for the life of me. lol

[heywoody]

Same as any site, they like what they like and don't like what they don't like, their ball, their choice.  IS used to be the same in that certain material would be pretty much automatically rejected so a matter of being selective, not necessarily about quality but about what is likely to get through.

[greenbroke]

I have a hard time there too.

[dingles]

When I had a portfolio there, they were very odd with what they accepted. I find they accepted a lot that the others guy wouldn't and rejected quite a bit of what the other agencies accepted. They are by far the hardest to gauge. I dropped my portfolio as sales were just too few and far between.

[Rebecca Bean]

l'm brand new with Fotolia, and have only submitted five images. They liked: 1. an image of burnt toast and 2. an old green glass bottle. The three I had rejected had a long laundry list of reasons for rejections. So, it's hard to know specifically why they really rejected it. But overall I'm happy with Fotolia. I hope in time I'll be better at guaging what they're really looking for.

[Andy800]

I shoot wildlife and natural history and Fotolia are my second largest sales source over the last 18 months.

But like everyone else, all I can say is they are a strange bunch.

Their QC is really frustrating with "similars" and just how "unsimilar" two shots can be and still be regarded by them as similar when the shots get accepted everywhere else.

They appear not to like backlit shots either!

[nicku]

Well Fotolia seems to live up to its poor reports.

I thought I would upload a few images to see how they got on with Fotolia as some people on here seem to think they were ok.
Despite all these image already being accepted at numerous other ms sites and stock sites like Alamy they failed them all through totally unfounded and stupid reasons.

So glad I only bothered uploading a few images.

I will now be deleting my account and concentrate on the proper microstock sites where reviewers do know what their doing.

Fotolia is my secon earner after SS. the revenue there is around 2.5 time more than my 3rd witch is DT.
From my point of view no complains regarding FT.

Regards,
Nik

[adigrosu]

After six or more months of absence I returned to FT and uploaded about 70 vectors starting from Sunday. I had two rejections for "similar", no problem for the rest of them. It is not the fact of being approved surprised me but the speed of it. I honestly doubt a reviewer had the time to inspect every vector, they started to be approved before I finished the upload process, for every of the four batches, Sunday and Monday. Like it was an automatic process or something. I only stopped to see if there will be any effect over my sales - nothing big yet.