The "I'm Disappointed, I Am" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just got the results back from the 6 photos that I sent to iStock about two weeks ago. I have written a story recently telling you about iStock and that people can purchase photos from them for newsletters, post card mailings and the like while also being able to send photos of your own to them that they in turn can sell. iStock recently was purchased by Getty Images which is one, if not the biggest, stock company in the world. Well I sent my 6 photos to them from my recent vacation. Thought they were pretty neat and that maybe someone would be interesting in buying the rights to the photos for maybe a one-time use. I waited and waited and finally starting getting email notices from them telling me about my photos and if they were accepted or rejected. Bad news! 5 of the 6 have been rejected for various reasons and I haven't heard back on the other one as of this posting. The final one pictures a young Barbadian man and his baby monkey on the beach in Barbados. His name is "Anderson Barrow and he lives in Welsh Village, St. John, Barbados. How do I know? I have a signed model release which I must admit I forgot to send along with the photo. Thought I would wait until they send me the results and if they are positive except for not having a model release, I will return the email with the model release attached. Pretty disappointed, I am. I thought the photos were the best half-dozen out of the 1500 that I took. Wow, they really are picky. The reasons they gave me don't seem to have anything to do with the photo, but what do I know. I have included a few of the photos with what they wrote about them. See what you think.

This photo received the following response:

We regret to inform you that we cannot accept your submission entitled Bottom Bay Beach for addition to the iStockphoto library for the following reasons:

This file has unacceptable levels of chromatic aberration, also referred to as 'purple fringing' or could also be a red glow. This fringing is normally apparent around the edges of swift color shifts like dark colored leaves against a bright sky or reflective surfaces.

My comments:

Wow, I had never heard of some of those things. 'Purple fringing and red glow sound pretty neat to me, but I guess no one would want to buy a photo with that.

This photo received the following response:

We regret to inform you that we cannot accept your submission, entitled Oisten Evening for the following reason:

++On the Boat is not allowed.

My comments: Maybe they should have told me that if I was able to get rid of the ++on the boat and resubmitted it, they would take it. Then again, I have learned and I will remove anything like the ++on the boat before I submit them the next time.

All three of the following photos received the following rejections:

We found the overall composition of this file's lighting could be improved. Some of the technical aspects that can all limit the usefulness of the file are:

-Flat/Dull colors

-Direct on-camera flash and/or flash fall-off (fright subject, dark background)

-Harsh lighting with blown-out highlights that lack details and/or distracting shadows

-Distracting lens flare

-Incorrect white balance

My comments: The first one certainly doesn't have flat or dull colors and the second one is supposed to have deepened colors. It is a sunset, you know. No flash was used on either one, but they must have disagreed. And, I'll be darn if I can see any lens flare or blown-out highlights. Oh well, I'll try again. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.