What's Cooking in the Kitchen?
Foodgawker
Sat, 06/27/2009 - 05:30
I just had two pictures declined.
No big deal, it happened before, but this time I can't understand the feedback, it says "photo/food composition", and I can't find any explanation about that, or a contact to ask what it means.
The pictures are of a tart and of a blackcurrant plant, composition is pretty basic.
Can someone help me?
__________________
Foodgawker has been quite snooty lately... I have much better luck with Tastespotting.
Maybe the way their program re-centered your picture made the composition look off? Or maybe it's *too* basic (which is ridiculous really)? Those are the only things I could think of. :-\ Hope you have better luck in the future!
YES, Foodgawker has been quite picky as of late when compared to Tastespotting. They give me a lot of 'unsharp, dull' rejections, which is true most of the time, but Tastespotting always accepts it!
That said, I had an 'opposite' situation occur in the dumpling challenge. The best photo I took, in my opinion, was the 5-spice caramel apple gyoza, oozing. Tastespotting said my crop ruined the composition, and I totally agreed. However, Foodgawker accepted it, which stunned me!
Here's what I always do. I send each site several photos from an entry, so this insures, out of the many they have to choose, you'll usually get one accepted
~@Lisa@~
Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives
Thank you for your replies!
Can you send several photos of the same post at once? I usually wait to send another until they decline.
That said, I tried a few times to use tastespotting, but I'm transparent to them. Ialso asked to be notified when my picture is moderated, but I never get published and/or notified!
http://www.kitchenlander.blogspot.com
YES, you can submit as many as you'd like at one time from one entry. Depending on how many I think came out OK, I usually send anywhere from 2 to 7! Just keep submitting, one after another, and then I guarantee you'll get one in. They usually only choose one per entry, even if there are others they like, but sometimes they choose two, which happened to me with the Bakewell Tart
~@Lisa@~
Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives
Good to know, thank you, Lisa!
http://www.kitchenlander.blogspot.com
i am frustrated with foodgawker. cannot do anything right with them.
i got the food composition thing too. 4 in a row declined.
infant blogger with major writer's block.
http://msmflo.wordpress.com/
i am frustrated with foodgawker. cannot do anything right with them.
i got the food composition thing too. 4 in a row declined.
Yes foodgawker is being picky at the moment I send the same photo to both foodgawker and tastespotting and never get the same result one says OK and the other NO. I know how you feel.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) My blog
Yeah, the first couple of pictures I subbed and had accepted at FG ages ago were...well, relative crap compared to the ones of mine they reject now.
My accept/reject stats are 12/23, which isn't half bad, hahah.
And as frustrating as it gets, don't even give up...the traffic from FG and TS and even PG is invaluable
Tastespotting's been a lot kinder to me lately, which I wasn't expecting XD (they just take longer to accept/reject)
I love the FG and TS! But the acceptance process seems a bit random. Out of sheer frustration I once sent in numerous photos ( some of which I knew were in the 'unsharp' category ). To my surprise FG chose one that, in my opinion, was horrible compared to some of the others.
When you finally do get a picture posted it almost feels like you have been accepted into an exclusive sorority/fraternity. It is silly, But it feels good anyway.
Une Gamine dans la Cuisine
Re: Foodgawker, my most common rejection reason is "unsharp when reduced in size". It's frustrating, because then I look on there and see plenty of other photos that are less sharp than the ones I submitted. Tastespotting never has a problem. My boyfriend, who is a professional photographer, even said they looked fine to him (and he's not just saying that cause he's my boyfriend!)
I think the official "rule" on both the sites is that you're not supposed to submit any additional photos for consideration until one is rejected- it slows up the process for everyone else. They want you to pick what you think is your strongest photo, rather than them having to wade through them all. If they have let you do it, or accepted multiple photos from the same post, it's probably because they didn't notice it was the same person/ blog post.
On another note, someone started a new blog that's kind of fun- it's called "Tastestopping" and she posts photos that were rejected by either TS or FG. She'll post any photo you send in, as long as it was previously rejected by one of the other sites, and she comes up with humorous captions. Sometimes she'll make a game out of it, like "guess which site accepted/ rejected this photo". It's funny, some of the photos she posts, you can understand why they didn't make it, but others look totally fine...
http://tastestopping.wordpress.com/
cheers,
mlle noëlle
simmer down! (a food lover's blog)
I'm another one who has the same stories to tell about FG and TS! But then I'm no great photographer so.....
It does feel good to have one's photographs accepted and appreciated by them, and yes it does drive a lot of traffic to one's blog, so don't give up submitting pictures because of rejections.
But I want to say one thing.
If your photograph was rejected by any of them, but you were happy with your picture then that's the bottomline. Beauty, appreciation, etc are subjective. What looks good to you needn't get you the same reaction from someone else and vice versa.
So if you liked your picture, its a winner!
Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen
"I'd give up chocolate, but I'm not a quitter - Anonymous"
i blinked. honestly i did stare at the computer screen for several minutes. I have traffic from foodgawker.
They actually accepted my submission. So my macaron made it. LOL
infant blogger with major writer's block.
http://msmflo.wordpress.com/
Re: Foodgawker, my most common rejection reason is "unsharp when reduced in size". It's frustrating, because then I look on there and see plenty of other photos that are less sharp than the ones I submitted.
I may be wrong, but I believe this is a technical/file issue and not a photography issue. I find when I submit square versions of my original photos I often get this rejection, but I have never received this rejection reason after submitting my square versions of my photos after they've been converted for the web (via flicker, etc.).
I am not sure what causes the issue or necessarily how to prevent it. I emailed FG once asking them to clarify this and never received a response.
http://jenncuisine.com
Re: Foodgawker, my most common rejection reason is "unsharp when reduced in size". It's frustrating, because then I look on there and see plenty of other photos that are less sharp than the ones I submitted.
I may be wrong, but I believe this is a technical/file issue and not a photography issue. I find when I submit square versions of my original photos I often get this rejection, but I have never received this rejection reason after submitting my square versions of my photos after they've been converted for the web (via flicker, etc.).
I am not sure what causes the issue or necessarily how to prevent it. I emailed FG once asking them to clarify this and never received a response.
I'm not sure what causes this either, but its definitely a file issue. I've found that it I reduce the photo to 250 pixels myself, I never get cited for this reason.
I'm having a lot of trouble with this.
Maybe someone can help me?
My pics look very sharp and clear when they are full size, but when I reduce the amount of pixels they get blurry.
I'm reducing the size on my computer and then uploading that copy to TS and FG.
I tried to upload the full size images, but they were too big.
What am I doing wrong?
Dust Bath Ladies
http://dustbathladies.blogspot.com/
Well, I had one accepted!
Dust Bath Ladies
http://dustbathladies.blogspot.com/
I am of the opinion that you should always submit your own pre-cropped 250x250 photo. That takes the "they" did that to my photo out of the equation.
Also I suggest using unsharp mask after downsizing/cropping of your photo/thumbnail. (That is a photoshop filter) Don't get crazy with it but it does help the sharpness lost when downsizing.
All that being said, FG has been quirky as of late. I had a photo denied because of not being in the blog I linked to. Well it was in the blog, they just didn't take the time to look past the first few photos.
After many submissions I have come to the tough conclusion that my personal aesthetic is nowhere near what FG's editors are looking for.
Does the artist change for critical acceptance or do the critics change after the artist dies?
So good to hear that I am not alone in becoming frustrated with FG. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to their selections. I have sent in some pretty good pics and they have been declined. And, like so many of you, I have some accepted by FG and rejected by TS and vice versa. Although I am finding TS much friendlier. As much as I find the third option cute, I just don't like slamming either. I'm sure it will come back to bite me. I am to the point that the picture is more important than making nice food and that isn't my goal.
Sarah G
http://allourfingersinthepie.blogspot.com
Yeah, well you guys are more successful than me at this! lol I've had 1, just 1, picture accepted, and it was by foodgawker. Worst of all, I thought it was a pretty crappy picture, I was totally expecting rejection from both sites. Tastespotting, I've yet to crack, one day...
In the mean time... there's a couple sites that publish your pictures regardless, check them out...
www.savorysights.com
www.tastestopping.wordpress.com (this site actually is based on the rejections we all get)
and there's also a new photo site... www.refrigeratorsoup.com
Food Gawker always turns me down. My acceptance rate with them is 2 out of 22. Tastespotting is a lot better. I have come to the conclusion that I do not take the type of photographs the people at FG like.
When I started submitting pics to TS & FG, I didn't have a very high approval rate, in fact, it was rather tough on the ego.
But... I do think that I've found a way to get rid of one type of rejection note: "unsharp when resized" (or whatever the wording is)
I used to submit the resized pics that go straight onto my site, which work out to be 500x333, then decided to try something different.
Now I take the original file, resize to 1000x667 then save as an uncompressed .jpg. This keeps high image quality without it being too large to submit. Since doing that, I don't have anymore "unsharp when resized" type rejections anymore.
Hope this helps a little!
I saw a subliminal advertising executive the other day, but only for a second... .
What The Fruitcake?!
Oh, wow, and I thought I was the only one who's photos kept getting rejected. It's nice to know that I'm not alone. Although I agree it has been tough on my self confidence in photography I haven't given up and I am determined to be accepted one day.
Also, the advice about saving it as a JPEG sounds useful and I think I'll try that soon. Thank You!
One more thing, do you have to have photoshop to be able to resize photos to exactly the way you want it, because I don't and I was thinking that may have been one of my problems.
Thanks!
Full Time Foodie at http://fulltimefoodie.wordpress.com/
Oh, wow, and I thought I was the only one who's photos kept getting rejected. It's nice to know that I'm not alone. Although I agree it has been tough on my self confidence in photography I haven't given up and I am determined to be accepted one day.
Also, the advice about saving it as a JPEG sounds useful and I think I'll try that soon. Thank You!
One more thing, do you have to have photoshop to be able to resize photos to exactly the way you want it, because I don't and I was thinking that may have been one of my problems.
Thanks!
I've had quite a few accepted by Tastespotting now, but Foodgawker still rejects me.
I upload my pics to Flickr - pick the size I want - download that size to my computer - and then upload the pic to Tastespotting.
Bet there is an easier way! But that's how I do it.
Good luck!
Dust Bath Ladies
http://dustbathladies.blogspot.com/
I'm sort of glad that Im not the only one here to.. because like most of you my ego has taken a hit. Specially the frustation of knowing that others have accepted the same pictures. Today I posted one, and got "Composition: Too Tight." what DOES THAT MEAN??? They should have a list of rejection reasons and their meanings.. at least tell me what it means and how to fix it so I don't do it again... plus I'm sure that they will get more "acceptable" pictures.
Since I'm a type A .. I will continue to submit until I get one accepted.. its now become a challenge!
http://www.sweetbitesblog.com
After reading this thread, I decided to send a photo in and it was accepted! I just use a point and shoot and have no photoshop-type programs, so I am thinking their selection process is totally random. I'm still chuffed, though!
Mary
http://marymaryculinary.blogspot.com/
Ha! I should have just left it, but I submitted 2 more and they were both rejected! Beginner's luck, I guess:)
Mary
http://marymaryculinary.blogspot.com/
I've only recently begun to submit photos to both FoodGawker and TasteSpotting. I have found the opposite of what others have reported here, TasteSpotting has rejected more of my photos than FoodGawker.
The majority of my "rejects" have dealt with composition, and after having another look, in most cases I was able to understand why. There are some "rules" dealing with composition, but the interpretation of these can be subjective; which is why sometimes one site will publish what another has rejected.
Most of my images are shot in 3x5 format, and by cropping them to fit the square format these sites use, my composition does suffer at times. I have recently begun to think in terms of the two formats when I take my photos and I now do my own cropping in Photoshop, and save the two resulting images; one for my blog and one for submitting to these sites.
http://cookingweekends.blogspot.com/