Author Topic: fotolia acceptance / rejections criteria (Read 7729 times)

MikLav · « **on:** May 06, 2009, 16:18 »

Some time ago I felt that rejections by Fotolia were rare and random.

However recently I've noticed increase of rejections and some regularity:

virtually all of my non-people shots are rejected (accepted by all other microstock; they are architectural photos; textures; street views, flowers, and landscapes);
virtually all my studio people shots are accepted (except those where I play with side light, strong contract etc);
outdoor people shots are partially accepted / partially rejected - kind of fifty-fifty. Those that are more "alive/candid" to my eye; and those that have "creative" kind of lighting (some strong shadows, high contrast) are rejected.

I wonder if others have similar observations (please do not complain about high rejections rate; the question is about regularity of rejections in order to understand what Fotolia wants from photographers).

Milinz · « **Reply #1 on:** May 06, 2009, 16:27 »

Almost all rasterized vectors will be rejected... You must send EPS now...

louoates · « **Reply #2 on:** May 11, 2009, 14:22 »

I really don't intend to complain about high rejection rates at FT. I had held off any uploading for over a year because of the rejection rates being so high as complained about by other contributors. I'm really not complaining even though last month I tried again and got a 90% reject rate compared to a 95% acceptance rate at the other big sites. And I'm not complaining that yesterday I got another 90% rejection on new images. Let others complain and moan about such things. But not me. I'll just adios there til next year.

b79 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 11, 2009, 14:44 »

Quote from: Milinz on May 06, 2009, 16:27

Almost all rasterized vectors will be rejected... You must send EPS now...

you can still upload the svg files as before the last changes, and they end up priced at 8 credits (at least it was that way until last friday)

Perry · « **Reply #4 on:** June 22, 2009, 07:22 »

I really got annoyed today. I had submitted three textures that were a bit special. I uploaded one where "stripes" were horizontal, one vertical and one diagonal. They accepted only one, the rejection note said

We regret to inform you that photo ******** was not accepted because the same or similar photograph was already submitted to Fotolia.

You may not be aware but if you submit two of the same or similar photographs, Fotolia chooses only those with technical or esthetic qualities that meet our needs and are the closest to its category selected.

They just don't know s*it about graphic design and that it would often be great to have both vertical and horizontal versions to choose from. This is total unprofessionalism.

null · « **Reply #5 on:** June 22, 2009, 09:56 »

Quote from: louoates on May 11, 2009, 14:22

I really don't intend to complain about high rejection rates at FT.

Neither do I. I stopped uploading long ago. Whatever they make on my old shots is an extra. I can't really tell about rejections since I never found out what they rejected and why. I just cash in now and then. Their esoteric upload system (FTP never worked, HTML crashes with more than 3 images in a row) takes too much time. The moment they go under 5% of my total income, I'll kiss them buhbye with a French kiss. Paris ne vaut pas une mess.

Freedom · « **Reply #6 on:** June 22, 2009, 10:01 »

Fotolia rejection has long been a joke in this industry because they don't make sense and Fotolia doesn't care if it makes sense or not.

I hope the new managment team will look into it.

willie · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2009, 11:28 »

Miklav, I can relate to what your topic here. However, what I cannot understand is why you insist on submitting what Fotolia rejects. You know what they want, so what's the beef?
Whatever Fotolia rejects from me are submitted to the other Big6 and they approve them. It works for me and it's fine.
But another thing that works for me about Fotolia is that although I have a small portfolio and is a new contributor (not even a year yet), my approval with Fotolia is pretty much as good for the other Big 6, if not better. And the bonus to it all is that Fotolia is the only site that is selling my images on a regular basis. Sometimes, my new images get sold within 24 hours.
Other submitters have the same good fortune with Fotolia , and for this, I cannot find fault with Fotolia.

They can reject all they don't need from me, I don't mind.
Simply because what they need from me, THEY SELL FOR ME.
That is something I cannot say the same thing for the other Big 6 which I have been contributor for much longer time than Fotolia.

As someone else pointed out a long time ago, each one of us has a site that likes us. So, we keep uploading to the one who does. For me? It's Fotolia.

RH · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2009, 12:29 »

FT s...s! I´ve cancelled my account. I´m uploading to 10 agencies, but FT isn´t worth to try.

sgcallaway1994 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2009, 12:35 »

Yes, Fotolia rejects most of my images (I think my acceptance ratio there is less than 35%).....

BUT...

1. The low acceptance ratio doesn't negatively impact me in the search engine or in any other way.

2. Acceptance of my images gives me a good gage for if it will be accepted at other agencies, thus I like to upload to FT first.

3. FT has a fairly quick review process (usually less than 36 hours)

My Experience with What FT Accepts:

1. Unique Landscapes (West Coast landscapes have done well for me)

2. Any image with a well executed shallow depth of field (especially those with an object in strong focus in the foreground and then some type of related object or people blurred in the background)

3. Just FYI my portfolio is mostly a collection of animals (strong focus on dog & horse photography). So, I don't believe they won't accept anything but people images. - I've had surprisingly good success, especially with my horse portraits.)

Slowly but surely I'm gaining sales at FT, its definitely not my highest preforming portfolio, but its a strong 3rd place.