Third time's the charm?

iStockPhoto is another one of those sites who has an approval process. Submit three pictures, if they pass, you're in. They differ a bit from Shutterstock after that. If only one of your shots is accepted then next time around (after a one week wait) you have to submit two shots. Throw your next set at them and then another might be approved and then you wait another cycle and hopefully your third submission is your last. If you're lucky and or have better pictures to start with then you can easily end up accepted all at once. Sine iStockPhoto seems to be one of the biggest earners you definitely want to get in. In the long run, stricter entry policy should mean better quality photos which should mean better traffic to the site from serious buyers. We'll see.

For the examples of what was and wasn't accepted so far, look below.


Rejected for lighting. The lights are too bright and the shadows too dark. Hindsight being 20/20 this is a no brainer. I do love the look of the geckos though.


Rejected due to artifacting. I think this was a nice way of rejecting rather than saying that I should leave the vacation snapshot at home.


This one was approved. Looking back I'm a little surprised as the composition and lighting are only so so.

Round two.


Rejected, lighting composition. Interesting technique using a snoot. I learned about snoots from Strobist. However, not really stock photo styling.


Approved.

Now I'm waiting for round three. 47 hours to go.