Rejected!

1. Don't load up your submissions with multiple copies of the same shot with only slight variations. Some, if not most, of the multiples will be rejected and your favorite might be one of the images that gets the knife. Plus you will have divided downloads over many similar photos reducing the popularity of what is the best image of the lot and lowering the placement of those images in the rankings of microstock search engines. (This is important since many users sort search results to see the most downloaded images.)

It can be difficult to choose between a dozen or more variations of a set up but you must learn to be your own best editor and to be thoughtful in selecting your subjects. Image editors and reviewers favor photographers who take the time to self-edit.

2. A vertical and a horizontal of similar photos are generally OK unless one of the formats doesn't suit the image content. But don't send too many of both formats. (Worth saying again).

3. No need to submit a B&W copy of a color image. The end user can convert to B&W if that is what they want. You are simply creating another similar but this one will be an exact duplicate.

4. It's tempting to submit a cropped version of a portrait, for example, as it reads much better in the thumbnail size; but remember if you submit both the original and the cropped photo, one might be rejected. (And severely cropped photos don't leave room for type or product inserts).

5. Good advice for any creative endeavor: "sleep on it." Do your major edit and then give it a rest for a day or more. Fresh eyes will most likely give you another view on what to cut.

6. Here's the big one: if you consistently submit images on themes that have already been covered extensively and your images don't stand out from the crowd, expect that they will be rejected. This falls into the "no more photos of clouds outside airplane windows" category of advice.

7. A tip straight from the pages of my book, Microstock Money Shots, "Boring photos will be rejected. Sleeping cats are especially dull."

8. Avoid what I call the Las Vegas style of shooting - and I don't mean show girls and gambling photos. When you click the shutter as fast as an old lady at a slot machine reloads her nickels, you are creating a ton of editing work, cluttering up your storage and wasting your time and that of the reviewers. Take your time, be patient and plan ahead to build a successful portfolio over time and to avoid the ego smashing experience of rejection.

Check in over the next two weeks' posts for an explanation of the major technical reasons images are rejected and to develop a formula for planning a shoot that will maximize your time and increase your percentage of accepted images.

Ellen has over thirty years of experience in the stock business gained at such organizations as Dreamstime, UpperCut Images, Workbookstock, Corbis, Getty (Stone), The Image Bank (Artville) and the creative agency, After-Image, she started in Los Angeles at the beginning of her career. Having been directly involved in the creation of four major stock photography collections, Ellen offers her decades of experience to assist photographers seeking success in stock photography.

@ellenboughn ellenboughn www.ellenboughn.com/blog