Rejection! Nobody wants to receive a "no thanks" email from their stock agency. But it happens to everyone. And it's quite common during the first submission process.
The best thing to do is view rejection as a learning experience. Many times the person critiquing your submission will offer suggestions on how to improve your photograph in the rejection email. Depending on the agency, you may get a standard, "stock" reply. Other agencies actually respond with a personal note.
Your first submission is an opportunity to grasp the style, quality and details that an agency is looking for when they accept photography. And always remember - the process is totally subjective! There's a real person looking at your pics, trying to make a decision based on the agency's pre-set standards AND on their own personal judgement whether or not the image is sellable. Unless your photo breaks a basic rule (like no model release for a recognizable face) and is automatically tossed, it's really up to the person judging your image if it makes it through to the directory.
An example of how subjective the submission process really is can be seen by submitting the same photo to two different agencies. (You can do this if you don't sign exclusive rights over to one agency). The concept image seen above, called
"Three Bulbs and a Fluorescent." It was submitted to both of my stock agencies. It was accepted by
Dreamstime and rejected by
BigStockPhoto. So far, it has been a steady seller on
Dreamstime.
Rejection is all part of the process. Don't get discouraged. And don't let it become an ego thing - you can always learn something new and exciting from another person's perspective.
microstock photosLabels: micro stock, microstock agency, photography, stock photos
