The last 2 weeks in SS  I have had ALL images rejected for same reasons-POOR lighting, INCORRECT white balance, POOR composition- and I am utterly at a loss after spending HOURS in RAW Bridge and PS ! What is the problem? I am thinking of not submitting any more.
PS-similar images accepted in recent past.Is it a BOT or WHAT???

post for a critique on their forums - sometimes seeing something from someone elses perpective teaches us something new.
but all things said, I think we have all been hammered with the 100% rejection at one point or another

Poor Lighting--Image has exposure issues and/or incorrect white balance. Please advise me as I have spent hours in RAW Bridge and PS  ans used white dropper/ grey dropper, etc and am still  getting everything rejected. Thanks.

First picture has harsh shadows blown high lights and I would suggest if you got a  lot lower the composition would have been much improved. The second picture doesn�t ring true. Strong blue sky and grey water. Also would have been better without the structure on the left. The last one I don't understand why you took the picture so its hard to comment on. If I might suggest you read up on composition. Look at good art and photography to see how and why things are put together the way they are. A technically perfect photo can still be useless whereas good subject spacing and light   
make all the difference.

Also I question the 'commercial value' on these images.  They fall into LCV images at least in my view finder...

They had the rejection its was called the LCV rejection and SS did away with it. Any image technically in order will get accepted.

I consider composition to be a part of the technical aspects.

I get the impression SS just doesn't want nature shots. Most of my nature shots are rejected by both FT and SS. I pick only the cream of the crop, and then do a lot of additional work in Photoshop. Beautiful photos, they just don't want them.

I upload mainly illustrations, most of which get accepted, but uploading photos is so depressing. I get the message, they just don't want nature shots. I don't do people shots or studio shots, so there is really no point in my uploading photos. It's a bummer, because I really enjoy photography. I use my photos as elements in my illustrations, so I guess I'll just stick to using them there. 

I get the impression SS just doesn't want nature shots.

Sorry, but I really don't feel that's the case. I have a portfolio on SS of over 1400 photos. The vast majority of them fall into the "nature" category, and yes, they do sell. Not as much as slick studio shots of gorgeous models or fabulous food. But, they do sell.

Don't believe me? Take a look: http://www.shutterstock.com/g/marthamarks

Quote from: Allsa on December 31, 2013, 15:32

I get the impression SS just doesn't want nature shots.

Sorry, but I really don't feel that's the case. I have a portfolio on SS of over 1400 photos. The vast majority of them fall into the "nature" category, and yes, they do sell. Not as much as slick studio shots of gorgeous models or fabulous food. But, they do sell.

Don't believe me? Take a look: http://www.shutterstock.com/g/marthamarks

But what percentage of your nature shots get accepted? What is the trick to getting nature shots accepted? My nature shots have around a 90% rejection rate at SS, probably a 98% rejection rate at FT. Also, very few of my nature shots feature animals - could that could be a factor?

When I started at Microstock back in 2004, I was submitting photos only. As time went on, the micros literally killed my enthusiasm for photography, so I gradually switched to illustration.  Once in a great while I'll upload photos, but if I weren't primarily an illustrator, I think there's a good chance I'd have walked away from microstock by now.

But what percentage of your nature shots get accepted? What is the trick to getting nature shots accepted? My nature shots have around a 90% rejection rate at SS, probably a 98% rejection rate at FT. Also, very few of my nature shots feature animals - could that could be a factor?

Hi Allsa,

In general, I don't keep track of my acceptance ratio. (Except on DT, which kindly tracks it for me and now tells me it's 68% overall since I started with them in 2010.) But on SS, I'm sure it's higher. I'd guess 75-80%.

The situation is very different with FT. There's a thread on MSG somewhere where I bitched and moaned last summer that I'd uploaded my entire port on FT (as a newbie there) and they accepted 18%.

At present, I have 1404 images on SS, 956 on DT, and 288 on FT. All from the same set of images. But I'm not currently uploading to any of them. Been focusing on my own Symbiostock site, where I'm the judge and jury� and a pretty tough one at that. It currently offers 1490 images� but a couple hundred of those are "exclusives" on that site, the result of an extended trip this fall. I may never offer them to SS, DT, FT, etc.

There's no single "trick" to getting nature shots accepted, but here's my advice: Produce the very best work you can, with the very best gear you can afford. Be ruthless in your self-critique. If an image is flawed, don't submit it. And don't submit anything that looks like a tourist snapshot (which I suspect is common in landscape photograph). Forever work at getting better. It helps a lot if you genuinely love the kind of photography you've chosen to do.

I don't think it's necessary to include animals in a pic to get accepted. Plenty of fabulous photo-artists do only landscapes. And if by "animals" you mean wild birds and other critters, be aware that your equipment needs will likely be even higher. I make almost all my wildlife images with a Canon 500 L f4 lens. It took me many years to be able to justify buying that lens, but it has made an immense difference in the quality of my work.

And finally, remember... I've been doing this a long, long time. Decades.

Good luck!

North American Bias? Less than 10% of my sales are in North America.

What percentage have North American subjects?
So you sell a lot of nature?

Quote from: Uncle Pete on December 31, 2013, 17:34

North American Bias? Less than 10% of my sales are in North America.

What percentage have North American subjects?

I can't speak for Uncle Pete, but for myself� 100% of my images are of North American subjects. That's what I've chosen to do.

And I know that was the point you were making earlier: there may be a bias in favor of North American subjects, regardless of where the buyer happens to live.