Alamy QC rejection on test submission

Here is one of the images I uploaded for my test submission, with a 100% crop. The file has "Dirt & Blemishes" and "Soft / lacking definition".

I'm fairly new to photography, but I don't think those faults apply to this submission?

There are two other images that failed as well - I can upload if necessary. I'm getting rejections from stock sites and I don't know why!

Edit: didn't realise images came up under attached as well!

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I would have to agree with Alamy on this one. It is rather soft. It is very flat and lacks "pop." I don't really see where they're getting the "dirt/blemishes," but that's just me. Keep in mind that they are only looking for images that will make them (and you) money. If they don't think it's marketable, they usually won't accept it. It really doesn't say anything about your photography. It says that they are anal about their selection process. I got several rejections on Airliners.net. I didn't throw my hands up and wimper like a chump, I went out and shot better pictures. Now you know what they are looking for and you can adjust your technique to what they are looking for. Don't let this get you down.

asysin2leads wrote in post #7603011
I didn't throw my hands up and wimper like a chump

BTW, I'm not saying this is what you did or are doing, I was just making a point.

I would have to agree, I would also say it looks a tad underexposed, maybe thats whats leading to the flatness? Its definitely noisy as well. That is probably where they are getting the dirt blemish bit from.

I think the "noise" is compression - oops! This was ISO 200 on a 1dsII...

I've taken some new shots, let's see what they say!

motoroller wrote in post #7604048
I think the "noise" is compression - oops! This was ISO 200 on a 1dsII...

I've taken some new shots, let's see what they say!

Could be... When converting to jpg, make sure you save them at 12/max quality. No compression at that setting.

Do you honestly feel that image is a good representation of your work?

2 dust bunnies upper left corner... Alamy's really picky about those.
Background could use some improvement too.

asysin2leads wrote in post #7603011
If they don't think it's marketable, they usually won't accept it.

That is correct for some other agencies, however Alamy do not edit for content.

Stock photography is the brass ring of photography. I know many will dissagree with me. But think about it. How many thousands of images of chess games do they have? If you are not producing the best one they have ever seen, your sunk already. --dont meant to point you out, but you are a handy example-- And with so many to pick fron they can be as picky as they want to be. And the customer will be even more picky. So a sale is really a big thing. Yours gets picked out of 35,000 other images. That is kinda like hitting the lottery! All this means, you have to be even more picky than the final customer. Hats off for trying, and keep it up!

A couple of dust spots above the white bishop on the right

I just had my initial test submission fail. Only one image was noted as failing. Can you or anyone else confirm that they give you input on ALL failed images and not just one? This way I would know I have 3 that passed. Thanks.

Also on your test submission submit something with a bigger DOF-they don't seem to like BG blur-just for the initial submission anyway.

red snapper wrote in post #8031130
A couple of dust spots above the white bishop on the right

Oh, why would Alamy ever care about something like this? It does not affect their sales whatsoever. Seems like the QC is tighter than it really has to be just 'cause they want to weed out a certain percentage of contributers. Of course, it's their company, so it's their right to reject anyone for whatever reason they want to. It's also my right to complain about them if I want to.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #8476409
Oh, why would Alamy ever care about something like this? It does not affect their sales whatsoever. Seems like the QC is tighter than it really has to be just 'cause they want to weed out a certain percentage of contributers. Of course, it's their company, so it's their right to reject anyone for whatever reason they want to. It's also my right to complain about them if I want to.

I don't think you understand Alamy's QC process, otherwise you would probably have a different opinion on this.

Alamy only reviews samples of submissions. If they catch ANYTHING technically wrong in the batch, they fail the batch. Why? Those dust bunnies aren't easy to spot in this particular shot, but what if immediately after the next consequential shot happened to be of a bird in flight? Those dust spots are going to jump right off the screen at you when looking at the sky. They're giving the contributors the benefit of the doubt that the minor technical flaws like this are either corrected or cause to scrap the image from the submission.

For the initial submission, they expect you to be ultra picky in what you submit. If you're letting images through from a dirty lens, dirty sensor, etc.. and this is supposed to be your best work, then is it really any shocker that they fail the application?

They just want technically good. Content is up to you. No question though.. sometimes it's hard to maintain a perfectly clean setup, and you really do need to go over your images for stuff like this before you submit. It has nothing to do with weeding out a percentage, and everything to do with trying to maintain high technical standards for submissions.