10 Stock Photos That Just WON’T Sell!

Now, we're not trying to be elitist here, we would like everyone to submit their best photos to Crestock, but let's be honest; we all take bad photos sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that, if you're continuously awaiting the right moment to take that perfect photo, you might be waiting forever.

Stock photos don't all have to feature euphoric business men/women either – the real issue is being able to objectively judge your photos, even if they depict your very own oh-so-cute cat, or are snaps from a fantastic holiday you've been on.

Once in a while we do see examples where people seem to have chosen the Dirty Harry approach to photo assessment, simply asking themselves "Do I feel lucky?"

These are probably the worst stock photos ever submitted to Crestock:

Lifestyle & relationships:

I can't deny that this is a bit funny, but as a stock photo, it fails in most areas. It's dark, unsharp and is composed in a manner that fails to fully bring out the umm... gripping theme of the image.

Performing arts:

At first, I thought this might be the moves from a new thumb-dance craze or something along those lines, but then I saw that the power-cord is disconnected.

And speaking of disconnects – the symbolic value of this image is hard to catch. Why it is in sepia is a complete mystery to me, and the fact that it is terribly unsharp makes it even worse. Which makes me reconsider – this must be art of some sort?

Wildlife:

This cat has about the same expression my girlfriend once had when I came home with a brand new 62" TV – but the thing is, the hissing cat is actually quite interesting.

Unfortunately, all the other stuff in the image, such as the couch, the other cat and the background, have no reason for being in there; they do not contribute any relevant details to it.

A cleaner image of the hissing cat on a uniform background, or alternately, in a more relevant situation (with good lighting) would have been a welcome addition to the Crestock collection.




Now, of course we can't all go on safaris and photograph exotic animals, but if you are going to photograph something as mundane as a city pigeon, make sure you get up close. At this distance, anything would be dull.

Pigeons are dumb and thus aren't particularly hard to trick – you won't need a camouflage shelter or a big expensive lens – a piece of dry bread is usually enough to get their attention!

Food:

Food photography is difficult, there's no doubt about that. Lighting can make food look either mouthwateringly delicious or frankly unappetising. This photo does perhaps have some merits in terms of promoting healty eating – I think it has put me off chocolate muffins for good!

portraiture:

I was in serious doubt whether or not to put this image in here. It's incredibly weird, so much so that I am wondering if this might actually be a great work of absurd art instead of just a plain bad image, but of course, the differences between the two aren't always obvious.

In addition to that, it is so damned spooky, I fear I am bringing a curse over Crestock and myself just by posting it here.




Yup, we've all done it, but honestly, do you think anyone else cares to see it?

Architecture:

Huh? Oh, sorry, I must have nodded off there for a second!

Yup, not the the most dramatic photo I've ever seen, and unless this happens to be the Seven Pillars of Wisdom T.E. Lawrence wrote about, a rather curious choice of subject matter.

Unless you're photographing a building or construction which is already a masterpiece of dynamic shapes and lines, you probably have to work hard to get interesting mages. Dramatic perspectives and good lighting can help.

Abstracts:

Water, in all its forms, has great potential for photographers, particularly when it comes to taking wonderful, abstract close-ups. Reflective, rippled, ever-changing … one thing that water shouldn't be, is purple and resembling radioactive soup.

Travel(?):

What was the purpose of this image? Was it to document damage to the roof, for insurance purposes? Perhaps the claim was rejected, but if plan B was to earn some cash from selling this as a stock photo, there are more bad news on the horizon...

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