Top 10 Most Common Rejection Reasons for Beginner Photographers & Simple Tips to Avoid Them

Top 10 Most Common Rejection Reasons for Beginner Photographers & Simple Tips to Avoid Them

Want to improve your approval rate on Shutterstock and Adobe Stock? This guide covers the most frequent mistakes new stock contributors make, plus easy tricks to prevent rejections.

For many new contributors joining the microstock photography world, the biggest frustration is: “Why do my photos keep getting rejected?” The truth is, stock agencies have strict review standards to ensure images are truly usable for commercial purposes. When I first started submitting, I went through countless rejections—from poor focus to excessive noise. Honestly, the rejection reasons felt endless, and at some point I almost questioned my existence as a photographer.

Using Shutterstock as an example, here’s a breakdown of the 10 most common rejection reasons for beginner photographers. Hopefully this will save you from unnecessary mistakes and document my own painful rookie journey.

※ Sample images in this article are referenced from Shutterstock’s official guidelines.

1. Out of Focus / Blurry

This is by far the most common reason for rejection. Reviewers zoom in at 100%, and even the slightest blur or camera shake on the subject can lead to rejection. Smartphone photography is convenient, but when it comes to image quality and fine details, it often falls short compared to cameras—especially in low light or night scenes. Always zoom in at least 200% to double-check sharpness before uploading.

Common focus problems include: completely out of focus, unwanted soft focus, focus on the wrong subject, or motion blur.

• Out of Focus

The focus point is on the puppy’s body instead of the eyes.

• Wrong Focus Point

The camera focused on the tree bark instead of the slug’s head and antennae.

• Motion Blur

This type of blur is caused either by subject movement (motion blur) or camera shake (shutter speed too slow).

TIPS: Use a tripod whenever possible, and remember—always focus on the eyes for portraits of people and animals.

2. Noise & Artifacts

Excessive noise, grain, compression artifacts, or banding are common rejection triggers. Smartphone images often suffer from this issue. Even though phones can technically capture multi-megapixel photos, the quality rarely matches that of a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Early on, I had tons of photos rejected because of this.

• Noise

Random color specks or brightness variations that appear as dots across the photo—especially common in low-light shots.

• Compression Artifacts / Macroblocking

Square-shaped artifacts caused by image or video compression.

• Banding / Posterization

Visible step-like changes in color tones, usually due to over-editing.

TIPS: Avoid shooting in low light with high ISO. Don’t upscale small images artificially (e.g., enlarging a 2MP photo to 4MP).

3. Exposure Issues

Photos that are underexposed, overexposed, or poorly lit will often be rejected.

• Overexposed

• Underexposed

TIPS: While post-processing tools are powerful, it’s always better to get the exposure right during shooting. Use extra lighting if needed.

4. Overusing Noise Reduction and Sharpening Tools

Noise reduction is often used to minimize luminance and color noise. Many photographers apply noise reduction in post-processing to avoid rejections caused by “excessive noise.” However, too much noise reduction can make photos lose important details or even appear out of focus. On the other hand, overusing sharpening to make blurry photos look clearer can result in visible noise or unnatural halos.

TIPS: Both noise reduction and sharpening should be applied moderately, or only to specific areas (for example, sharpening the eyes to emphasize focus).

5. Chromatic Aberration and Dust

• Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is an optical issue where colored edges appear around subjects, especially in high-contrast areas. It is also commonly referred to as “purple fringing” or “color fringing.”

TIPS: Use a high-quality camera lens or correct chromatic aberration in post-processing.

• Dust

Dirty camera sensors, smudged lenses, or fingerprints on a phone camera can create unwanted black spots or visible dust particles on your photos.

TIPS: Always clean your lens before shooting, or remove dust spots during post-processing.

6. Obvious Retouching Effects and Watermarks

Covering logos with messy brush strokes or using unnatural retouching techniques can cause immediate rejections. In addition, any uploaded stock photos must not contain personal watermarks, signatures, or text overlays.

7. Missing Releases

For commercial stock photography, model releases and property releases are required if the image contains recognizable people, trademarks, landmarks, artworks, or intellectual property designs.

• Model Release

If a photo contains identifiable people but lacks a signed model release, it will be rejected without exception. This rule is strict—even side profiles showing facial features are not allowed. Only body close-ups, silhouettes, or back views may be accepted without a release.

• Property Release

One of the most overlooked issues is signage in street photography. Many famous landmarks, artworks, and design elements also require a property release. You can check the Known Image Restrictions list. For example, Taipei 101 and London Tower at night are restricted.

TIPS: “Editorial Use Only” photos do not require releases. If appropriate, consider uploading under the editorial category.

8. Incorrect Labeling

Illustrations or editorial photos must be properly categorized. Editorial stock photos have specific title requirements, and don’t forget to select the correct content type. If you convert a photo into an illustration via post-processing, you must also upload the original photo for review (and it must be your own work).

9. Translation Required

Any visible non-English text in your content must be translated into English. If there is only a small amount of text, include the translation in the title field. Content containing large amounts of text is not allowed, except for editorial photos. As a general rule, any non-English words must come with an English translation.

10. Wrong Orientation

Sometimes, an image that looks fine in preview might suddenly switch from horizontal to vertical during upload. The only solution is to delete it, rotate it again on your computer, and then re-upload.

Conclusion

Getting rejected is not the end of the world. The key is to learn from each mistake and slowly build habits that meet stock agency standards. Double-checking your photos and being more mindful during shooting can significantly reduce your rejection rate.

As I mentioned in my article 10 Things a Beginner Microstocker Should Know, sometimes it’s best to let go. Instead of wasting hours trying to fix an unfixable photo, move on and focus on better shots.

I hope this list of 10 rejection reasons + tips helps you avoid common pitfalls and makes your stock photography journey smoother.

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