Common PhotoDune Rejection Reasons

We'd like to keep improving our review process, and part of that means making sure that authors understand what happens when an item is submitted for review. 

Reviewers use a combination of pre-prepared review responses and handwritten, personalised notes. The pre-prepared responses handle the most common errors and issues we see in the review queue, and are standardised to ensure that each review is as informative and clear as possible. 

You may see variations of these rejection reasons across PhotoDune: 

1. Your image has formatting issues or is corrupt.
   Your image doesn't meet our formatting requirements, or has not uploaded correctly and is truncated.  All images must be a minimum of 2MP, RGB, in JPG format. Please resubmit your image, ensuring that it is in the correct format and does not contain corrupt data.


2. Your image is a repeat of an existing image or is too similar to other images.
   We're not able to accept your submission as it appears to be a repeat of an existing image or there are already multiple variations of this image available or we already have enough of this type of submission in our library. 
   
   
3. Your image is more suited to sale (in another form) on another marketplace.
   This image is not appropriate in its current form for the PhotoDune marketplace. Images submitted to PhotoDune must be .jpg images that have commercial utility without the addition of layers or excessive editing. Your file may be more appropriate for one of our sister marketplaces, such as GraphicRiver or 3dOcean. For more information on our marketplaces and authoring process, please see here.
   
   
4. Your image is not sufficiently well-composed. 
   We're not able to accept your submission as the image quality does not meet our requirements due to unsatisfactory composition. Images should make use of key elements of composition design to provide a clear subject matter and potential use.
   
   
5. Your image has excessive in-camera quality issues.
   We're not able to accept your submission as the image quality does not meet our requirements due to excessive in-camera issues. These may include chromatic aberrations, noise, moiré pattern or other similar quality issues. 


6. Your image does not meet our requirements due to exposure or lighting.
   We're not able to accept your submission as the image quality does not meet our requirements due to issues with exposure or lighting. Take care to avoid clipping the highlights and shadows of the image, and to use lighting that highlights the subject matter rather than distracts from it.


7. Your image has cropping issues.
   Your submission's composition needs improvements in one or more of the following areas:
   – Cropping
   – Centering
   – Excessive space for copy 
   Effective composition should draw the eye to the subject matter of the image, and should not appear cluttered. Take care also to ensure that your subject matter is not partially cropped out, as this reduces the utility of the image. 


8. Your image needs improvements to reduce distortion or improve balance.
   Your submission's composition needs improvements in one or more of the following areas:
   – Balance
   – Horizon leveling
   – Reducing perspective distortion
   Ensure that your image is carefully edited to make deliberate use of angles and lines, and appears orderly and carefully composed. 


9. Your image contains dust spots or other distracting elements.
   Your submission contains the following small quality issues:
   – Dust spots
   – Distracting elements
   Please reduce or remove these issues. Remember to view your image at 100% during the editing process to ensure that quality is not being lost. 


10. Your image has issues with noise or over-sharpening.
    Your submission contains one or more of the following small quality issues:
    – Excessive noise
    – Over sharpening
    Please reduce or remove these issues. Remember to view your image at 100% during the editing process to ensure that quality is not being lost. 


11. Your image needs attention in the area of editing, filtering or isolating effects.
    Your submission contains the following small quality issues:
    – Excessive digital filtration
    – Excessive editing 
    – Unrealistic additions that do not add utility
    – Poor element isolation or isolated element placement
    Please reduce or remove these issues. Remember to view your image at 100% during the editing process to ensure that quality is not being lost. 


12. Your image contains issues with distracting lighting or uneven shadows.
    Your submission contains distracting lighting or shadows. Please reduce or remove these issues. Remember to view your image at 100% during the editing process to ensure that quality is not being lost. 


13. Your image contains distracting reflections.
    Your submission contains distracting reflections on shiny or reflective surface(s). Please reduce or remove these issues. 


14. Your image has issues with blur or softness. 
    We're not able to accept your submission as the image quality does not meet our requirements due to one of the following issues:  
    – Blur
    – Poor focus 
    – Excessive or distracting motion blur 
    – Softness
    
    
15. Your image does not meet our maturity guidelines.
    We're not able to accept your submission as it is not currently appropriate for our marketplace audience. The submission is overly explicit in one or more of the following areas:
    – Nudity (or sexuality)
    – Illegal or underage substance use
    – Language
    – Violence
    
    
16. Your image does not meet our currency policy.
    We're not able to accept your submission, as it contains imagery of banknotes or other currency that are copyright restricted or do not meet our policies for currency submissions. Photographs should not contain:
    – Banknotes photographed flat-on at any size
    – Imagery of the British royal family or other restricted peoples
    – Currency used in a derogatory manner
    – Currency that is otherwise covered by trademark or copyright protection
    It is your responsibility to ensure you are following the laws and regulations of the country for the currency being used in your submissions.


17. Your image contains map imagery.
    Your image appears to include copyrighted map imagery. Maps are copyrighted by their original creator and cannot be used without appropriate permissions. As this is a potentially sensitive area, we must request that you verify you have obtained permissions for the commercial resale of this map imagery. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience during this process.


18. Your image contains postage stamp(s) that may not meet our guidelines. 
    Your submission requires some changes before it can be accepted. Please ensure that you have met our guidelines for postage stamps. Verify the following:
    – The image must not contain any content covered by copyright. 
    – The stamp(s) must have a date of creation that ensures it is in the public domain. 
    – The stamp(s) must not contain recognisable portraits, trademarks, logos or other content unsuitable for sale as commercial stock photography.
    If you are able to demonstrate that the postage stamp(s) meet these criteria or are able to remove postage stamp(s) that don't meet these criteria from the image, please resubmit your photograph with appropriate information in the "Notes to Reviewer" section.