Wow I now feel even more horrible after reading posts where people don�t fail the QC often and on my first outing starting out all 4 of my photos fail (also the fact that Alamy says "70% of first submissions pass"). That�s a huge blow to my self-confidence as a budding photographer and I was hoping that anyone could help and tell me why my photos failed. I guess I just don�t know what to look for when checking my images. I did look a the QC failed reasons on their website, but that didn�t help.

So the first image (DSC05035) got a interpolation artifacts and compression artefacts reason. The second and third image (DSC06342 & DSC04525) got a compression artefacts reason. The last image (DSC05062) got a interpolation artifacts reason. I want to learn from my mistakes and create great photos, so I hope everyone can help me out.

newbielink:https://www.flickr.com/photos/137754526@N08/albums/72157668285591172 [nonactive]

These are some of my questions about the said photos.

 I�m not very good at understanding technology but I was under the impression that compression meant that your file has been shrunk down for size. All of my files go straight from the camera into Lightroom, so I don�t understand how my images were "compressed". The second critique, interpolation artifacts, is something I just don�t understand in general. What I mean when I say that is when I looked in the QC failure reasons I don�t understand what it is trying to tell to me, so I don�t know what I did wrong. Is there a better example someone could give for this?

what settings are you using when saving (exporting the files)?

Probably those artifacts are created when saving it in lower quality jpeg (compression), if you saved it over and over again it would be like taking a photocopy of a photocopy, or when you enlarge/upsize the file which could create interpolation artifacts.
see if this helps https://photographylife.com/jpeg-compression-levels-in-photoshop-and-lightroom

Personally, I would go back and shoot four new photos which have less challenging light situations. You do not need to produce startlingly magnificent images for your first four submissions, just a variety of images which are technically correct and can demonstrate you have a grasp of how a professional camera works. Your present collection would present challenges to even an experienced photog.

So the first image (DSC05035) got a interpolation artifacts and compression artefacts reason. The second and third image (DSC06342 & DSC04525) got a compression artefacts reason. The last image (DSC05062) got a interpolation artifacts reason. I want to learn from my mistakes and create great photos, so I hope everyone can help me out.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137754526@N08/albums/72157668285591172

These are some of my questions about the said photos.

 I�m not very good at understanding technology but I was under the impression that compression meant that your file has been shrunk down for size. All of my files go straight from the camera into Lightroom, so I don�t understand how my images were "compressed". The second critique, interpolation artifacts, is something I just don�t understand in general. What I mean when I say that is when I looked in the QC failure reasons I don�t understand what it is trying to tell to me, so I don�t know what I did wrong. Is there a better example someone could give for this?

If we are talking about artefacts, those are most likely only showing in the 100% resolution of the images. So there is not much use at looking at a downscaled version on Flickr to give specific help. So maybe consider posting a 100% resolution somewhere (with a watermark in the center or something...) and give a link again.

However, in general, landscapes are not known to sell really well. The images may look beautiful but it's not really what agencies are looking for. With the exception of the fox in the tree, your images don't look like they have high sales potential, so reviewers are very likely to look much more closely to this kind of images than they would at a people shot with a good concept. So I would really consider other subject matter when applying to any agency these days.

On the technical side I do see what I think is heavy purple fringing in the fox image (where the branches are going through some bright sky). And in image number 4 it looks a bit like you couldn't make up your mind - it has some motion blur but it's not really a long exposure. This might not be ideal as well.

As MJF says, we really need to be able to see full sized images,  preferably with intact exif data to make any meaningful comment. Watermark any images you do put online.


Compression artifacts are caused by software compression used to make the file smaller in "lossy" file types like jpeg. The problem is cumulative if you are re-saving as jpeg during working on a file. You should save as the native format of the software you are using or a non lossy format like TIFF when working on files. Only save as jpeg once when you export the image at the end of your workflow. (which I've just seen has already been said!  )
Too much sharpening (Alamy don't like sharpening) and generally "pulling the image around" too much in conversion by adding too much contrast and saturation will also give artifacts.
Interpolation artifacts are caused by upsizing.


Again I'd agree with the others that you are choosing difficult light conditions for a first submission. They should be very different types of subject as well IMHO. As is often said, a landscape, a portrait of a person, a still life. . . 

Thanks everyone for all of the critiquing. I know stock photo sites don't prefer landscape but I don't like portrait photography and just want to do it fun fun at this point. I was wondering if the photos I posted on flickr would be 100% but I guess I was wrong. Like I said on the digital side of photography, technology just confuses me, so can someone tell me how I can upload a 100% version onto flickr.