MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: My images always refused by fotolia  (Read 23632 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« Reply #50 on: July 03, 2013, 07:28 »
0
I'm mostly wildlife and nature and they reject most of my images. I still upload them there anyway. It's just part of my workflow. I don't take rejections personal, just keep moving on.

Amen to that.  If you do isolations and such, most tend to get in.  Anything wildlife/landscape/nauture will net you 0-5% acceptance in my experience. I don't even waste my time with them.  I do one upload a month and whatever they don't take that's their loss (and their right to reject, too). It's just how this game is played.


« Reply #51 on: July 03, 2013, 07:32 »
0
I can't quite grasp agencies anymore. Lately FT is accepting everything I sent them, while Bigstock rejected 50% of my last batch (same images accepted everywhere else)

marthamarks

« Reply #52 on: July 03, 2013, 09:00 »
0
Martha, good work. I looked at your DT profile.  Sharp and clean images. I am far behind to achieve this level of quality images. I added as you Fav in DT.


Thanks so much for that! I'm proud of my growing port (and sales) on DT and enjoy uploading to them, despite the slow review time.

Funny... of my 32 best sellers on DT (the top 4 rows on this page http://bit.ly/15fML18), FT only accepted 5, and none of them are my very best sellers on DT. Go figure.

However, just this morning, FT accepted almost all of my "Santa Fe in Snow" shots. I live in Santa Fe, so I guess I need to get out and shoot more locally. LOL!!

« Reply #53 on: July 03, 2013, 11:21 »
0
I like FT for its ratio of views vs downloads. It may not be the best agency but for ratio, it is among the best.  Consider the reverse case of CS and other agencies, high views but no sales.  If FT accepts my images ( no matter how many rejections I got), I can be sure that my images are with good agency which intends to go business.

marthamarks

« Reply #54 on: July 03, 2013, 11:57 »
0
You make a very good point. I have two images on DT that have been viewed over 1,000 times. One was downloaded once, the other not at all. So lots and lots views there don't automatically lead to sales.

OTOH, I recently had a sale there after only 3 views. That was a real surprise.

WarrenPrice

« Reply #55 on: July 03, 2013, 12:27 »
0
Martha, good work. I looked at your DT profile.  Sharp and clean images. I am far behind to achieve this level of quality images. I added as you Fav in DT.


Thanks so much for that! I'm proud of my growing port (and sales) on DT and enjoy uploading to them, despite the slow review time.

Funny... of my 32 best sellers on DT (the top 4 rows on this page http://bit.ly/15fML18), FT only accepted 5, and none of them are my very best sellers on DT. Go figure.

However, just this morning, FT accepted almost all of my "Santa Fe in Snow" shots. I live in Santa Fe, so I guess I need to get out and shoot more locally. LOL!!


Interesting ... Love New Mexico and especially the Santa Fe/Taos area.  We worked as volunteers at Orilla Verde for several months.  Had a chance to tour a lot.
Still have friends with BLM in Taos.

Envy you.   ;D

marthamarks

« Reply #56 on: July 03, 2013, 14:36 »
+2
Quote
Envy you.   ;D

Yep, Warren, it's a tough place to live, but somebody's gotta do it!

My husband and I moved to Santa Fe in 2001 after 32 years in the Chicago 'burbs. Came here as visitors and fell in love with the funky place. As soon as we retired, we bought a house here and never looked back. He has blossomed as a fine artist, sells his work through a major gallery on Canyon Road. Life is good.

marthamarks

« Reply #57 on: July 03, 2013, 14:52 »
0
BACK ON TOPIC:

Fotolia has just rejected my #1 best seller on Shutterstock, an 11.9 MB image which currently has 57 downloads of all kinds on SS. In case you're curious, here's a link to that photo on SS: http://shutr.bz/1aDiygg


Here's what FT said in rejecting it (and I would DEARLY LOVE to know which of these "technical issues" is the culprit):

Title: Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos

Hello Martha,

We are sorry to inform you that your photograph was not accepted because it contains one or more the following technical issues:

Blurry or out of focus image
Voluntary blurs need to bring added value to the subject/theme. Your photograph must be focused on the subject. When focusing on a small area, try a higher depth of field to avoid blurring.

Over/Under exposure

Cropping
The subject matter or background has been cropped too tightly.

Over or under saturated colors

Inadequate contrast

Noise or Pixelation
Please verify your images at 100% zoom to review pixel quality.

Interpolation problem
Images must be in their original definition. Enlarging a picture in software is strictly forbidden.

Effects Problem
Use special effects with caution (buyers generally prefer to add their own effects).

Size Problem
Images must have a minimum definition of 4 MP, and a maximum definition of 50 MP.

If you selected the free option during the upload process, Fotolia will be informing you if your photo has been integrated to the free section.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Best Regards,

Team Fotolia

Ron

« Reply #58 on: July 03, 2013, 15:10 »
0
I know you are not going to like this, but I kind of agree with the reviewers there.

Mind you, I have fought many battles with FT over rejections, and my best advice is to give up. Just let FT reject your images and move on. It has resolved a lot of frustration for me. My acceptance ratio is around 90-98%  but on FT its 60%

As for your rejected image, FT doesnt really like nature or landscape photos, or they need to be exceptional. Images of ducks are so many on offer already. I can also see its one of your older images on SS, it might no longer be of the standard required in stock today.

marthamarks

« Reply #59 on: July 03, 2013, 16:24 »
0
Hi Ron, and thanks for your comments.

Actually, no, I don't mind hearing your opinion. You're right that this is an older image of mine, so it's not surprising in that regard. (Altho FT has accepted even older images of mine this week w/o flinching, including a few scanned from slides and one with dust spotswhich I just noticedfrom a camera long gone from my arsenal. Aargh!) Just seems odd that a shot can do pretty well on one quality site and not even meet the minimum standards on another.

I'm not going to do battle with FT over this image. I've already accepted that they're rejecting a good chunk of my original offering, so I can deal with one more rejection. No use getting my knickers in a knot over it. That's an important lesson I learned early on from this thread. :-)

At present, my brand-new port on FT stands at 286 images (http://us.fotolia.com/p/203392298), and they're still not done reviewing. I'd love to wind up with 300 to start, but if not I'm happy with the batch I've got.

See ya!

Ron

« Reply #60 on: July 03, 2013, 16:43 »
0
Hi Martha, I am surprised by the amount of landscape and nature images you have on FT. But they look good. Its also much better work then your duck image  ;)

Here is a story for you: I create these face flag images and face concepts, I have over 230 accepted on Fotolia, and when I wanted to add my last flag, it got rejected 3 times, I added notes, contacted support, no go. They categorically refused to add the last image from a series of around 190 flags. Its the weirdest thing I have experienced at FT to date.

PS: Its the North Korean flag, it might have something to do with it. But they did accept my Iraq and Iran flags.

marthamarks

« Reply #61 on: July 03, 2013, 16:53 »
0
Good story indeed, Ron, about the North Korean flag. I guess FT had to draw the line somewhere or other!

I shoot mostly wildlife and nature images, so if I'm gonna have a port on FT, that's what it will be. Just happy they took as many as they did.

Ron

« Reply #62 on: July 03, 2013, 16:57 »
0
Well if the agencies get into politics then a lot of images have to be rejected  :)

Dan

« Reply #63 on: July 04, 2013, 06:47 »
0
     I've  had  my  share  of  refusall  but  my  best  seller  keep  getting  sales.  Just  gotta  try  harde  i  guess.

« Reply #64 on: July 04, 2013, 07:02 »
0
Considering the mallard photo.

1.. mallards are super common and everybody photographs them.
2.. the mallard hen has domestic genes in it and is unnaturally dark on the body and unnaturally light on the head. That may lead the reviewer to think uneven lighting.
3.. the blurred branch does not ad to the picture, and since it doesnt the mallards are too small in the frame.

« Reply #65 on: July 04, 2013, 07:25 »
0
 :o Another one from the clowns at Fotolia  ::) No model release attached  :( it was attached, so I resubmitted the photo with the model release again  :) Rejected because they could not find a signature  :o Yup, I am done with them for sure!

« Reply #66 on: July 04, 2013, 07:43 »
+1
:o Another one from the clowns at Fotolia  ::) No model release attached  :( it was attached, so I resubmitted the photo with the model release again  :) Rejected because they could not find a signature  :o Yup, I am done with them for sure!

These are just irregular hiccups in the life of photographer/artist.  With refusals, rejections and unapproved applications at SS, I am in no better condition than yours.  I am going with the flow and improving with every batch. I know the situation would just change soon. I cannot change the way agencies work but certainly I can change the way I look at all this situation.

Keep yourself motivated and move ahead. I keep telling myself, do not quit, you may be there and give it best try.  My port at FT is just 57 images out of submitted 457 so far.  There is nothing personal in it. I just wish to improve and make myself better in the game.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #67 on: July 04, 2013, 08:02 »
0
Keep yourself motivated and move ahead. I keep telling myself, do not quit, you may be there and give it best try.  My port at FT is just 57 images out of submitted 457 so far.  There is nothing personal in it. I just wish to improve and make myself better in the game.
Hope the payouts are great - I couldn't be bothered with the  hassle of all these apparently random rejections otherwise.

marthamarks

« Reply #68 on: July 04, 2013, 12:56 »
0
For the record, I wound up with 289 images accepted on FT (http://us.fotolia.com/p/203392298) from my original submission of about 1600. That's 18%. Yuck. I'm happy to have those up, but... gee they made some odd selections. This morning, I'm going back through those accepted images and rearranging the keywords to suit FT's standards. I process through Lightroom, which arranges keywords alphabetically.

So here's a question for future reference: Is there a way to get LR to let me arrange keywords in "order of importance" and not change that order?

FWIW: that particular mallard duck image was never my favorite, so I'm not crushed that it didn't make the FT cut. Just funny how SS buyers have seemed to prefer it over others in my port that I know are much better.

Thanks to all who've commented on the quirks of FT. You've helped me deal better with my first "yikes!" experience there.

« Reply #69 on: July 04, 2013, 13:01 »
0
Xnview saves the order, don't know about LR

« Reply #70 on: July 04, 2013, 13:47 »
+3
Fotolia has been one the most frustrating agencies to deal with re: rejections for a lot of people, myself included.  Just look at the Fotolia section of this website and you will find many threads dealing with this topic.  My acceptance rate at the agencies I submit to ranges from 80 to 99%.  My acceptance rate at Fotolia was about 40% (I no longer submit to them).  I've found that they're simply not interested in certain types of imagery, which unfortunately includes mine.  If I change my style or subject matter sometime in the future, I may try uploading to them again, but for now they're in stasis.

Here's a good example of my frustration:  one of my best-selling abstract backgrounds on SS has been downloaded close to 1800 times in less than 3 years.  The same image on iStock has about 300 downloads to date.  Fotolia rejected it 3 times, for various reasons I can't recall.  My last attempt included an explanatory letter to Fotolia's "moderation team," to no avail.  I just couldn't get it through their thick skulls that this image had a reasonable chance of being successful on Fotolia, if only they'd give it a chance.  It was a maddening situation, but as I have no control over their acceptance policy I came to realize it was time to move on and concentrate on other venues. 

As others have said, don't take it personally.  But also don't put much faith or lose sleep in regards to their rejection reasoning, especially if they're the only agency that's rejecting images that get accepted everywhere else. 

marthamarks

« Reply #71 on: July 05, 2013, 08:46 »
0
Yesterday, FT finished reviewing my port. This morning, I have my first sale there.

Clearly, it's more fun to sell images than get rejections. :-)

« Reply #72 on: July 09, 2013, 13:05 »
0
@TO:
Smile about rejections at FT, load up at other agencies and smile about downloads there.

OLJensa

  • Visit me at: www.jensmolin.se

« Reply #73 on: July 10, 2013, 11:56 »
0
I looked at my stats for Fotolia and I have an overall aproval rate of 76% and on the last 70 images I have only one rejection. I am very sure that it is not because I am a better photog than anyone of you out there. Probably the opposite. But I do think it has to do with what kind of images you submit. They seem to really like isolated person images taken in studio, which is the major part of what I have been submitting...


marthamarks

« Reply #74 on: July 10, 2013, 14:18 »
0
They seem to really like isolated person images taken in studio, which is the major part of what I have been submitting...

Yep, that would explain a lot. LOL!!!

So if you shoot cooperative models in controlled studio settings, FT will love your work. OTOH, if (like me) you sneak up on wild birds that can fly away and wild critters that can run away, FT doesn't much value what you do. Guess that makes me even more pleased to have managed to get 200+ wildlife shots into my new port there. And happy as can be that SS, DT, and others actually do value (and sell!) wildlife images made in the field.

Thanks for adding to my understanding of this cranky, new-to-me stock site. :-)


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
11 Replies
5372 Views
Last post April 03, 2009, 11:18
by Magnum
28 Replies
13633 Views
Last post October 06, 2009, 13:42
by Dook
15 Replies
4874 Views
Last post May 27, 2013, 21:21
by Mrblues101
8 Replies
5061 Views
Last post March 15, 2016, 03:20
by dpimborough
27 Replies
7167 Views
Last post May 27, 2020, 09:09
by disorderly

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors