More on iStock Rejections

Lovely internet filter means I can't reply to your comments, but I wanted to add a few things:

My rejections are not just "we have images like these" or "we don't like the composition." They are technical in nature. Too much noise, artifacting, too filtered, not properly exposed, no point of focus, and so on. Basic stuff that any experienced photographer should have control over, but apparently, I don't. I've probably relied on fixing things in post too much. Well, no probably about it. I thought I was making good images, but iStock can tell what I've done in post and don't like it. So, I've learned, do very little post for iStock.

To become an iStock exclusive, you have to have a 50% approval rating. So right off the bat, I've blown my chances for getting to an exclusive status (which pays higher royalties). I had high hopes for that, and that's partly why I am upset. Well, also, the two photos that made it in aren't exactly going to sell like hotcakes.

I think I'm going to shoot on nothing but manual for a while now to better learn exposure. I've learned that I cannot shoot with my lenses wide open in a bright envirionment, or I get purple fringing. (I can't tell you how often I shoot in aperture priority mode with the ap. wide open. Soooo many of my photos would fail on the purple fringing test alone I suspect).

Part of the problem is that I've always shot for the screen and not for print, so I don't spend a lot of time zoomed in 100% on a shot. That's going to change if I want to keep submitting to iStock.

I'm also going to read the forums on iStock and see what I can learn too. Maybe with time I can develop the basic level of competency and get my photos rejected for their content and not their technical flaws.

My disappointment stems from the fact that I had thought I was competent and wouldn't have to spend hours and hours banging my head against my inabilities in trying to get better, like with my writing. I thought I'd get rejected, sure, but I was hoping for 1 out of 2, not 1 out of 6. But maybe the next batch I shoot will be different. I just wanted something that I am actually good at. Now I find myself with another massive time sink if I want to actually be good at it. Only so many hours in the day to spend on self-improvement.

As far as the pirate shoot, I'm not sure I'm going to bother uploading them. They're heavily worked over in post, and I am pretty sure they'll get rejected for the same reason everything else did.