After my last post, My Honest Evaluation Of Dreamstime, I’ve decidedto make it a regular feature, partly as a journal of my experience with them but mainly so that others can learn from my experience.
As you can see from that last post I haven’t had much luck getting my photos accepted by Dreamstime and this latest batch hasn’t fared any better. For this latest shoot I decided to go for a little drive to Gumeracha, a small town in South Australia, that is famous for it’s rocking horse. As you can see from the following photos it’s no ordinary rocking horse, it’s actually the largest rocking horse in the world.
OK, so let’s look at the first photo I submitted.
I lucked out with this one as it got rejected for the following reason.
– Lack of composition. Please visit the Stock Photo Utilities section of our site or the message boards for more information on how to produce stock-oriented images.
– Poor color: this image has a low color profile and needs improvement in order to increase its sales potential. You can process your image with color enhancement software, such as Photoshop, giving it the appeal it needs.
OK, this white balance parameter has me mystified as it’s set to automatic so I’m not sure where they’re coming from there.
As for PhotoShop, seeing as how that keeps coming up I thought that perhaps I should get hold of a copy. So I went online and bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere Elements 8 so that I would have a complete editing package. Now, seeing as I’m not one to spend too much time playing around with stuff I decided to go for the one click enhance feature, and this was the result.
Not too bad I thought, and it was so easily done too. I resubmitted the photo and I thought that this one would pass muster for sure. Nope, missed out again.
- Lack of composition. Please visit the Stock Photo Utilities section of our site or the message boards for more information on how to produce stock-oriented images.
Lack of composition huh? Well I can’t really fix that without taking the photo again and if I do that I can’t use the resubmit feature, which is faster than submitting the photo from scratch.
I’m not sure bout the “specific or niche-oriented” aspect of it. Anyway, I figured I would upload a new photo that was already enhanced using PhotoShop.
Struck out AGAIN!
WTF! I would have thought that the guys who own the rocking horse, being a very popular tourist resort, would have loved the exposure and would therefore not complain if I used the photo. But then again I suppose their just covering themselves. I’m sure not about to obtain a property release. As for the poor lighting setup, it was an overcast day so there’s not much I could do about that, other than driving out again when the conditions would be more favorable.
I went and had a look at some of the rocking horses they had already accepted, and sure I may be somewhat biased, but I reckon mine was better than some a whole lot of those I found online.
So far I think that Dreamstime is a little lacking when it comes down to assessing member’s photos. They shouldn’t assume that all members are experts at what they do, and that perhaps some, such as myself, may need a little more help with their photos. Also if a photo just isn’t good enough I would rather they said that outright rather than waste my time trying to fix it.
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Tagged with: Adobe Photoshop Elements • Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 • Color balance • Dreamstime • Image editing • PhotoShop
Filed under: DreamsTime
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What you’re going through with them is what I was going through with Demand Studios when I was writing articles to submit to them. For me, it just wasn’t worth continuing to try.
Mitch recently posted..Sunday Question – What Happened To Modesty
True, but for me they’ve opened up new possibilities for blog posts on this blog Mitch, and who knows, I may learn something about photography along the way
You’re a better man than me, Sire. Not a better chess player, but a better man.
Mitch recently posted..Would You Be Missed
hey, give me time Mitch, I’m still trying to learn your moves.
Sire recently posted..Why I Won’t Vote For The Greens
As a designer who frequently uses stock photos for work, there’s a few reasons that this one wouldn’t work. Aside from Dreamstime’s explanation about the trademarks visible, I think the other important factor is how valuable/likely the image is to sell. Images with flat gray backgrounds that are shot in a studio or are easy to integrate with other designs will probably get approved more often than ones that might be difficult to use. That’s just my thoughts though.
Eric Shafer recently posted..Harnessing the Power of Geometry for a Creative Nike Shoe Design
That’s all true Eric but in my opinion you never know what will sell, and seeing as how it’s not costing them anything to have it online the only reason I would refuse it was if it was absolute crap, and even then ‘crap is in the eye of the beholder’
I shoot a lot of stock and they are so strict on acceptance, I mainly shoot for Alamy who seem to be pretty good.
Never heard of them Wayne, reckon I may give have to check them out to see if I like what I see.
Sire recently posted..Men And Women Are Just Born That Way
Wauv I didn’t know it was that difficult to be accepted at Dreamstime.
I like your attitude and you are right of course You will learn in the process :-)
Bent recently posted..Gør din video synlig i Google
Well I guess now that they have nearly 10 million photos on file they are getting picky, but it seems like more headach than its worth.
David in Raleigh recently posted..Best Wedding Photos From Edbrooke Wedding- Breakers Resort- Myrtle Beach Sc
It’s not much of a headache David, you just upload it and hope for the best. Reckon it will be pretty exiting if one gets accepted.
Sire recently posted..Is Market Samurai Bullshit Or Is It The Real Deal
It would be great if they’d used that as the wooden horse in the film Troy!
Richard, Leeds recently posted..How Much Does a Website Cost
Wouldn’t it just lol