10 swings, 8 strikes at Shutterstock

Shutterstock has a policy that before you can submit as much as you want, you must become an approved submitter. This process involves submitting your "top 10" pictures for review. In order to be approved, 7 of 10 need to be accepted. If you fail, you're on time out for 30 days. I bit the bullet and through 10 at them today (I don't really have a large portfolio of stock work as of yet) and got turned down. Here's what I submitted and their reasons for refusal:


Poor lighting. This photograph was accepted by 123RF and Fotolia. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think).


Poor lighting. Accepted at 123RF. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think).


Poor lighting. Accepted at 123RF. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think) and sharp shadows.


Composition/Limited Comerical Value. Accepted at 123RF and iStockPhoto. Declined at Crestock, Limited Commercial Value.


Accepted. Also accepted at Fotolia and 123RF. Declined at Crestock, sharp shadows.


Potential trademark or copywright infringement. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think) and sharp shadows.


Potential trademark or copywright infringement. Accepted at 123RF. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think).


Accepted. Declined at 123RF and Fotolia for lighting. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think). Declined at Dreamstime for lighting and "lack of concept" (its an image of a Kokopelli, what other concept do you need?) I need to re-shoot this guy with better lighting and the camera on a tripod. He's got sharp edges and is very reflective so it's challenging.


Focus. Accepted at Fotolia, declined for lighting at 123RF. Declined at Crestock, out of focus (depth of field I think).


Composition/Limited Commercial Value. Approved at iStockPhoto. Declined at Crestock, doesn't meet their creative standards (snapshot I suppose).

From this you can see there is quite a bit of varience of what is considered acceptable at different agencies. Standards will also vary from one reviewer to another. I'm still waiting to hear back from other agencies and I'll update this post when I get results

Another thing you might've picked up from this post is how limited my current stock photography skills and portfolio currently are. Hopefully, by the time another 30 days rolls around I should be into Shutterstock with no problem.