Why did you decline my content when there is similar work in the collection?

Artists sometimes ask us why we declined their content when similar photos or videos are in the collection—either from another artist or their own portfolio. We understand that this can feel unfair or inconsistent, but there are many reasons why this happens.

Please check the editor's notes, as this may explain the decline. For example, there may be a technical error (exposure, focus, camera movement, image quality, lighting). 

If the decline was for Legal reasons, the legal position might have changed, we may have learned something new, or we may have made a mistake. Please follow the guidelines in this article. 

I've checked the technical quality at 100% and reviewed the editor's note, but the decline reason is still unclear:

There are also collection-health reasons we decline content. Stocksy's collection continually evolves, and trends and desired aesthetics change over time. What we accepted in the past may no longer reflect our current standards or needs. As we grow, we better understand what works well for our clients and what doesn't. We also have to manage growth challenges to the collection, such as subject saturation (too much of the same thing) and collection cannibalization (a collection that recycles, repeats, and copies itself). In other cases, the style or approach might be outdated. Without innovation, formerly popular concepts can quickly age into stock cliches.

You can learn more about our current standards by following our Creative Briefs and reading updates in Member News.

If you feel that none of this applies to you, you are always welcome to ask for more feedback.

Note: We don't discuss other artists' work out of respect for our community.