Dreamstime

Similar images - how to upload and how much is too much

posted on 2nd of september, 2009

>Very often, good images are refused based on similarity issues. Contributors submit technically perfect (and usually sellable) images and get frustrated when they are refused.

Imagine a boy laughing photographed. One image should be enough, not ten of them. No matter if the photographer moved 2 meters to the left, the concept is still the same.

Similar images in Dreamstime's acceptance represent the content that fits a single concept, has small variations in composition OR model expression. Usually it's the kind of content where the designer/buyer can choose any image from that series without changing the visual message of his design.
This issue happens more often at studio images but applies for any kind of subject.

Price wise, this kind of series will...

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Tags: acceptance images similar similarity tips

Comments (50)

	Posted by Livingstonatlarge on June 09, 2011 Hahaha.....I wish I had read this yesterday.....Good to know for future submissions.
	Posted by Picturesbyme on January 17, 2011 I only saw this blog now and while it has - generalized - good points, I disagree with some. I don't mean to hurt ppl and won't put links here. Also, I hope my images won't disappear accidentally but I just have to say this: Advising people to delete their images from the cam. is ..well, a bad idea. I only started stock lately but 3 of my top5 most sold images (70x, 20x, 18x) on another site are ones I almost deleted. Unless it is technically imperfect keep it, even then you might will like it and/or will sell it somewhere else, not on the stock. HDs are dirt cheap. You must be very critical of course and I think most photographers are. I keep usually 5-10% for my site. The other thing why I read this is bc I had technically good images refused for being similar. OK. then how come when I browse among DTs photogs I see almost identical images from them as their latest uploads. Some has 5-10000 photos. I don't want to put links here but it's easy to find them. So if I cannot upload similar,...(More)
	Posted by Jjmcge on July 28, 2010 When I first started submitting photos for microstock, I was very dissapointed by my rejection rate. Then I decided that I absolutely had to think about what it was the evaluators were seeing. I looked at nothing but the best images here on DT. I started in my own mind trying to evaluate what about those images made them special. I realized soon that I was being lazy about so many things first was focus. I soon learned how to balance fstops with shutterspeed. I even learned how to hold the camera and when to give up and use a tripod. I, too, was extremely frustrated by my attempts to get a good focus. Then I would look at a fuzzy picture and find that the shutterspeed had been 1/15 on auto. As I went along I gradually increased my skills until things started getting accepted. I also had to learn what a stock photograph was compared to a really nice standard picture. Now I still have a small portfolio but the views are going up and almost everything has sold. Some files are moving...(More)