Community » Food Photography 

Subject: Rejected Photo

Hello !  I'm a brand new member, and just for fun submitted a photo a couple of days ago.  It was rejected ....  Sigh... (just kiddin').  Can I submit it here for review even tho it was rejected?  I'd like to learn from the experience.
Thanks for your help!
Diana

[edited June-24-2008]

Hi Diana,

First, just a quick note you probably know this already, but just for others who might stumble across this thread we don't normally "monitor" food/discussion groups here (for that, please see our Product Message Board). 

Thanks for submitting a photo.  We take a look at every photo submitted.  Sometimes, photos are rejected because they are duplicate.  Sometimes, it's because they are out of focus.  Sometimes, because they are submitted upside down or "mis-oriented".  Sometimes, it's because the "hero" of the photo is one or more people eating or showing off the food, not the dish itself.  Sometimes it's because the photo submitted had nothing to do with the particular recipe (page) that it was submitted on e.g., it might really be a terrific photo of a layer cake, but it was submitted for a recipe of "sauteed mushrooms".  Sometimes, a very tiny thumbnail is submitted, and when viewed at normal size, it's blown-up.  Sometimes, it's a clear scan from a magazine or a lifted image from another site or commercial source.  (We respect that they have a business to run as well.)

I'm not saying any of these apply to your specific case, but these are some of the most common reasons for rejection. 

Please continue to take and submit more photos they really make the site much more useful for everyone!

I've had a few photos rejected in my day as well. But I don't take it too seriously. Sometimes it's just not what the reviewer is looking for at that moment. I've resubmitted some of them later and they were accepted with no problem.
 
I admit it would be helpful if there was some reason attached to the rejection. Even if it came from a pre-set list of problems you'd have a clue what was going on.
 
Here's a few potential reasons that could be used in such a list:
1. Poor photo quality (out of focus, over/under exposed, major color shift)
2. Inappropriate subject (The main subject should be the FOOD.)
3. Text or captions in the picture (titles, dates, or credit lines are a no-no)
4. Obvious plagarism (copied from publication or website)
 
Other reason codes could be more vague:
A. Reviewer just didn't like the picture (or didn't like the recipe)
B. Reviewer wouldn't know a good picture if he/she saw one
C. Reviewer was ill, out-of-sorts, or hungover that day.
D. Problem determining just what food the picture was taken of.
E. Subject shown is too wierd for words or really gross!
F. No particular reason, just because he/she can do so.
 
Just a few thoughts. Try again and see what happens.
Remember, "If at first you don't succeed ... bomb disposal just isn't your thing!" 

Good suggestion as usual, Pete. 
 
Our rejection email includes a list of the most common reasons for rejection, but it doesn't narrow it down.  (This was solely due to development priorities and expedience of implementation.)  But great idea; we can add this to the list of things to consider.

Thanks to all for the helpful comments.  My pic did have a date on it...I didn't know that is a "no-no".  Wish I knew a way to remove it!  It might not meet the other criteria anyway.
 
Pete, I thought your suggestion was great.  The "rejection email" could still be a form-letter, but simply have a spot for error #_____.  Mr. "Admin", thanks for your feedback, too.
 
Looking forward to learning more from the group members!
Diana

Thanks Diana! 

For what it's worth, we've actually increased our quality bar just a little since the site first was launched.  For instance, we used to permit a small amount of captioning and/or dates in the photo, but over time we've found that this detracts from the clean look and more importantly international-appeal quite a bit, and might prevent us from localizing the site in the future.  (BigOven.com is currently used by people in more than 30 different countries many of which have different date formats, languages, etc.) 

Hope you understand... and please do continue to submit photos, thanks!

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