Review your answers

1. All recognizable faces require a model release, including crowds:

All recognizable human faces require a model release, including public areas, crowds,
self portraits and vintage photographs.

2. Logos are acceptable in wide angle photographs:

Any visible logo should be removed in royalty-free stock photography.

3. Identifiable design marks, such as the 3 stripes for Adidas or the Nike swoosh,
are allowed if the name is removed:
All design elements that are recognizable to a company may also be protected by
trademark, and should always be removed for royalty-free stock photography.

4. Landmark buildings such as the Sydney Opera House or Empire State Building
require a property release to be used as royalty-free stock:
Famously recognized buildings and modern architecture may require a property
release. Questionable buildings should be researched prior to uploading.

5. A model release is required for a self portrait:

All recognizable human faces require a model release, including public areas, crowds,
self portraits and vintage photographs.

6. The photographer can witness their own Model/Property Release:

A model or property release cannot be witnessed by the photographer.

7. A simple snapshot is acceptable; iStock does not require quality in composition:

The iStock collection is a selection of the highest quality, both creative and technical,
images submitted. Simple snap shots will not be accepted.

8. It is acceptable to protest a rejection in the iStock forums:

To protest an image, it should always be addressed through "Scout", located in the
Support section.

9. It is acceptable to copy the composition of another photographer’s work

iStock respects the creative value of each original image and does not condone
mimicking the work of others.

10. Photographs should be upsampled or interpolated to the maximum XXL size:

iStock will not accept images that have been upsampled or interpolated above their

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 native resolution.

11. The above example contains:

Compression can be spotted in a photograph by the "chunking" of colors.

12. The above example is:

Harsh light or distracting shadows unintentional to the composition will be declined
from the iStock collection.

13. The above example is:

The use of noise reduction should never create a "watercolor" or overly smoothed
appearance.

1.0 - Account Information

The personal information in your account must be full and accurate in order to upload files to
iStockphoto. Ensure that your full first and last name are correct, and include your current
street address (so that we know where to mail your royalty payments). If this information is
incomplete or incorrect, your application will be declined. At the end of the application, you
will also be required to upload one piece of government issued picture ID (Such as a passport
or drivers license) in jpeg format. You may always correct this by contacting Client Relations
with your full information.

2.0 - Quality Standards

iStock welcomes all experience levels of photographers and non-photographers, but reserves
the right to decline files in its discretion, including reasons based on the following criteria:

 Poor Focus
 Poor Lighting
 Excessive Noise, Grain & Color Distortion
 Compression Artifacts
 Over Filtering
 Poor Isolation & Cropping
 Dust & Debris in Scans
 Upsampling or Rezzing up Images
 Poor Composition
 Inappropriate Title or Description
 Copyright / Trademark Infringement or Risk
 Adult Content unsuitable for iStock
 Profane or Violent Images

2.1 - Quality Standards : Focus

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Motion Blurs: Motion blur is achieved by lowering the shutter speed, (1/4 to 1/15 sec) on
your camera, to capture movement. The keys are intention, effort and composition. As stated
on the Needed Files page, iStock has reached its limit of blur abstracts; unless an image is
unique and high resolution, we are not accepting any more of this category.

Do Submit:

Motion blur that demonstrates movement

Composed light blurs

Do Not Submit:

Blur abstracts

Soft Focus: Soft Focus is the effect of bending light areas with soft blurring while still
maintaining the quality and detail of the image. Images that have lost detail in appearance
may be declined or subject to a lower rating based on the overall quality and composition of
the photo. "Soft focus" and "slightly out-of-focus" are not the same thing, and the latter will
be declined.

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Soft Focus Examples:

Camera Shake: Lower shutter speeds do not freeze action as higher settings, and make your
camera more sensitive to movement (an unsteady hand, for example) while taking a photo.
Using a wider aperture (lower "F" number) can allow you to shoot at a faster shutter speed, as
can using a higher numbered ISO/ASA (film sensitivity). The drawbacks of these solutions
are that a wider aperture will cause a more shallow depth of field (DOF), and a higher ISO
may cause more grain/noise. The best solution for camera shake is to use a tripod and remote
trigger. If you are in a pinch try using both hands and leaning against something grounded.
Camera shake can often happen with digital cameras and also specific lenses.

Tips:

 For blur effects always keep intention, effort and composition priority
 Blur effects are seldom effective if applied to the whole image
 Blurring should never compromise the quality of the image
 Use a tripod & remote trigger to avoid camera shake

2.2 - Quality Standards : Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of photography composition. With the rise of
digital cameras and the electronic flash, quality in this area has diminished, replaced by the
convenience of the "snap shot". The disadvantage of relying on the built-in flash is that its
close location to the lens can cause severe shadows and unsightly reflections on shiny
surfaces. When shooting stock photography, put priority in the balance of light in your image
(to avoid the technical errors below).

Do Not Submit:

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Reflections

Possible Solution: Distance yourself further from the object, or use natural or additional light
sources, don't rely on the built-in flash. Use a diffuser for flash units.

Harsh shadows

Possible Solution: Bounce the flash, (from a wall for example), to even out lighting, or place
wax paper over the flash to soften shadows.

Underexposed

Possible Solution: Decrease shutter speed or increase aperture size to let in more light.

Overexposed shadows

Possible Solution: Increase shutter speed or decrease aperture size to let in less light.

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Lens flares

Cause: Recorded light refractions from direct light sources in the camera lens.

Possible Solution: Avoid pointing the camera directly at light sources (to reduce reflections
within the lens), or lower the aperture to reduce reflections. Spot edit problem areas with a
cloning tool.

Purple fringing

Cause: Commonly a problem of digital cameras when shooting in low light settings against
high contrast borders, causing a purple, (or other hue), glow around edges. The issue can also
be affected by lens model and focus quality.

Possible Solution: Adjust aperture settings to a higher level, (f4 and above) to balance light.

Tips:

 Keep in mind great lighting doesn't have to be expensive

 Use bleach white cloth, paper or cardboard to photograph isolated objects
 Use wax paper in front of the flash to subdue shadows

2.3 - Quality Standards : Noise & Color Distortion

Digital Noise & Color Distortion: Image noise is the variation of values in the detection
process of your camera. Noise and color distortion (or digital noise) occurs most frequently in
uniform color areas (i.e. skies and shadows) and is caused by temperature and/or
sensitivity/ISO settings. With increased sensitivity, more light is required to avoid producing
noise. With long exposures, cameras can also produce a different category of noise called hot
pixels (stand alone color dots/pixels).

Noise Correction: The key to noise reduction (by either spot editing or noise filters and
programs, such as Neat Image and Noise Ninja) is to correct the problem areas without
affecting the overall quality and detail of the image. Freeware programs tend to produce lower

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quality results by creating a blanket "watercolor" or blurred effect and can also have limited
settings for saving in highest quality.

Compression: The JPEG file format uses a "lossy" compression method, in order to make the
file smaller information is thrown away, or lost. The "quality" setting that most image editing
programs and digital cameras have when saving JPEGs determines how much information is
lost. At a certain point, with lower quality settings, the removal of information during the
compression process can become visible in the form of compression artifacts (places in the
image where too much detail has been lost). Too much JPEG compression can become visible
either in the form of a general loss of detail, or grainy/patterned areas (especially in flat
spaces, such as skies).

Artifacting: Compression artifacting can be introduced by the camera and/or by your image
editing software at lower quality settings. Also, re-sizing, re-sampling, and re-saving can all
degrade the quality of a JPEG image, so one should be careful about re-saving JPEGs. If for
example, a photo was re-saved 4 times (even at a quality of "12" or "Best") the image quality
will become worse and worse. With this in mind, it is obviously best to start with the cleanest
image possible. You may want to double-check your camera settings to make sure it is saving
at the highest quality.

Original Image

The above is an example of an acceptable image. Viewed at 100%, there is no visible noise,
pixel discoloration, or "jaggies" caused by too much JPG compression.

Do Not Submit:

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Noise (and pixel/color distortion)

Possible Solution: Adjust the ISO settings of your camera to 200 ISO or slower. Alternately,
use slower speed film (25 to 200 ISO) for the least amount of noise and/or film grain.

Compression (*jaggies)

Possible Solution: Save your original image at a higher quality level (9-12 is optimal). Also,
re-sizing, re-sampling, and re-saving can all degrade the quality of a JPG image, so one
should be careful about re-saving JPGs.

Tips:

 Always save images at 100% quality

 Some images have too high levels of noise to be corrected by noise filters/programs
 The higher the ISO setting the more light needed to avoid noise
 Some post editing programs can create noise once resaved
 Every part of a photo needs a different amount of adjusting to get rid of noise, etc.
 Post edit images in TIFF (or PSD) format to avoid compression

2.5 - Quality Standards : Over Filtering

While it has been argued whether photographers should post-edit their photos or leave that to
the designers, some images can benefit from touch-ups to grab more viewers attention.
Whether you are cross-processing colors or applying filters for desired effects, the end result
should be a photo that can still be molded into a design. There is no definitive line to what
editing makes or breaks a great images, but inspectors judge images based on quality,
composition and usability.

Do Submit:

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Cross processed colors

Grayscale & sepia versions

Do Not Submit:

Simple one process filters, such as cutout.

Overly high contrast that compromises image quality

Tips:

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  Edit stock photos with the designer in mind
 Filtering should not compromise image quality & detail

2.6 - Quality Standards : Isolation & Cropping

Shooting objects on white backgrounds, manually removing backgrounds and including
clipping paths can be some of the most useful images to designers, as they are easily placed
and manipulated for designs. However, for a designer to have to knock out a shag carpet can
be a nightmare, and will likely affect downloads and the composition quality of images.

Do Not Submit:

Jagged edges

Extreme feathering

Distracting Shadows

Tips:

 Keep edges clean and smooth, but avoid excessive feathering or jagged edges
 Don't rely on Magic Wand to cleanly removed backgrounds

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  Don't rely on built-in flash to illuminate backgrounds, it will likely create harsh
shadows
 White and black are the most useful colors for isolated shots

2.7 - Quality Standards : Scanning

Artifacts: Both high and low end scanners can produce imperfections or streaks into images,
which can sometimes only be visible when the file is reviewed at 100% or printed. In this
event, try rescanning the image, or you may need to upgrade your scanner.

Noise: Occurring most frequently in low light or shadows, commonly due to the quality of the
scanner. Sometimes the problem of noise can be corrected by a noise reduction program.

Drum Scanning: For the highest quality scans there is no substitute for the drum scan. This
specific type of method is a varied process from average desktop scanners, by working with
transparencies and negatives against an acrylic drum to capture the finest detail at high
resolution from the original image.

Over-Sampling: Oversampling is the process of a scanner scanning an image multiple times

then combining the data to average differences. The benefit of this is cleaner scans especially
in low light and shadow areas. This feature is offered by most high end scanners, but if you do
not have this option you can manually scan the image multiple times with different tonal
ranges, then post process the images together experimenting with blending and opacity
settings.

Do Submit:

Original »

Cleans scans, visible film grain acceptable

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Do Not Submit:

Scan that appear fuzzy/out-of-focus

Scans that have visible dust, hair &/or scratches

Scans with noise distortion

Thing to consider when buying a scanner:

 Resolution, (optical at at least 2,700 ppi)

 Maximum density, (quality of scan transparencies, optical 3.6)
 Quality of film carriers
 Driver interface
 Over-sampling, (to minimize unwanted noise & artifacts)
 Automatic dust removal

Tips:

 Keep scan beds spotless to avoid dust and hair showing up in your images
 Allow scanners to warm up for at least five minutes to get the best quality
 Use film speed under ISO 400, (100 being optimal) for quality scans
 Do not submit scans of 4x6 prints to iStock. 8x10 prints (particularly b&w) may be
acceptable

Film Scanning Services

To simplify the process for our film photographers, iStockphoto offers you a very reasonably
priced scanning, retouching and keywording service. Although these images will still need to
go through the standard approval queue, they will be processed with professional drum
scanners and experienced image enhancers.

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Get more info

2.8 - Quality Standards : Duplicates & Multiple Angles

Variety has its place, but limit your series to the one best angle, rather than uploading 10
images that appear identical at first glance. Any series of images that appear too similar will
likely be rejected by an inspector.

Do Submit:

A black and white version »

Do Not Submit:

Multiple color versions

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Similar angle series

3.0 - Nudity
iStock does accept artistic partial and full nudity stock photography, reserving the right to
decline files if the subject and composition is considered pornographic, obscene, or otherwise
unsuitable to the iStock collection.

Nudity Filter: Due to request, an "adult content" filter can be activated through your profile
to remove potentially offensive images from your search results.

iStock defines adult content as "language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in
terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for publishing
medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities." This includes patently offensive sexual or
excretory references that do not rise to a level of obscenity.

Filter On:

 Exposed genitalia, pubic hair, female nipples

 Partially exposed genitalia, pubic hair, female nipples
 Sexually suggestive and potentially offensive subjects

Filter Off:

 Underexposed genitalia and nipples

 Non-sexual partial nudity

4.0 - Image Requirements

Image Size: iStock accepts files 1600 x 1200 pixels or larger. Any file smaller than 1600 x
1200 pixels will be declined. As a rule for image sizes, the bigger the better. iStock will not
accept files that have been up-sampled / rezzed up, (increasing the size / dpi to be larger than
that of the original file size).

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File Formats:

Image: iStock accepts RGB, JPG files only. TIF's, PNG's, PSD's will be declined. CMYK
images will also be declined.

Vector / Illustration: When uploading Vector files, one (max) 270x270 preview/thumbnail
JPG is required. The source file for Vector/Illustration files must be a zipped EPS or AI file.

Flash: zipped SWF & FLA

5.0 - Needed Files

Take a quick look through the site. We get a lot of certain types of pictures. There is nothing
wrong with these pictures - we just have a lot of them. Provide something more unusual - or
sought after - and it might make the most downloaded page.

Do you need a particular image or video? Post your requirements in the Request Forum!

Here are some of the files that we do and don't need. Please note that this is not a definitive
list, and our inspectors may reject photos at any time if they feel we have enough of a
particular subject.

Images that iStock does need:

Corporate shots
Everyone looks a little more handsome when a suit's involved.

Groups & Teams

One person is great, two, three, four… just gets better and better.

15
Concept Stock
Leave it to others to shoot the obvious.

Sports
Cycling, ping pong, soccer, skateboarding, kung-fu, bocci ball, the list goes on.

Rare Artifacts
The more rare, the better.

Illustrations
Vector and not rasterized.

Holiday & Seasonal Themes

Christmas, Valentines, Easter: don’t wait until the last minute.

Fashion
Leave the jeans behind, unless they're couture...

Analogue and Grunge

Intriguing textures, effects, & treatments – not for the amateur of style.

Food and Beverages

Preferably with someone holding the edible item.

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Images that iStock does not need:

Your dog or cat

He's adorable. Send a picture to your mom.

Flowers
iStock now possesses the definitive online collection of files called ‘flower’.

Flags
We can now proudly say we have every country covered.

Photos of your feet, socks, etc.

Try looking up with your camera instead.

Your immediate environment

Get up, move around a little. Keyboards, mice, cables, compact discs, floppy discs and
monitors are covered.

Light Blurs
Great for fun and experimenting...

Brick walls
The Wall came down in 1989. Get over it.

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Close-ups of fire
It's for your own safety.

Close-ups of eyes
They scare small children.

Symbols (!$%@)
You see it in every e-mail.

Sunsets & clouds

Very pretty, but...

Forest Snap Shots

We love nature, but...

Airplane Wings (& out the window shots)

In the end, they seem to all look the same.

Your Shadow
Try another route of dodging the model release.

Overly simple 3-D & Bryce renderings & Photoshop backgrounds

Challenge yourself a little.

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Photoshop Backgrounds
Fun to experiment, but they're not quite stock.

Overly simple text

Let people pick out their own fonts.

6.0 - Title, Descriptions & Keywords

Title:
Don't lead File Titles with: A1, A, AAA, 1A, etc.

Unacceptable Title: "A Five Pencils" or "1 Five Red Pencils"

Manipulating the titles so that your uploads will appear first in search results by starting every
image with "A Five Pencils" or "1 Five Red Pencils" is not allowed. Titles should accurately
reflect the subject. Reviews of member accounts occur regularly.

Remember, a title is a name you give your file. These aren't translated, so keep it simple.

Descriptions:
Please provide us with a good description of the image. Include relevant details: the subject,
location and any interesting or valuable information, such as the camera used, scanner, or any
special circumstances about the image. The information you provide may help us decide if we
can approve your file. You are welcome to include a banner or a link to similar images, as
long as this is in addition to a properly detailed description.

This information is not searchable, nor is it translated, but it can provide important details to
the person who is considering your file for download.

Keywords:
Keywords are the most important information you can provide to help users find your images.
While people often know the specific subject they are looking for, concept keywords may
help to inspire the end-user to choose your images to represent the idea. Keywords are closely
reviewed in the inspection process; inappropriate words will be removed.

We utilize an advanced indexing tool called a Controlled Vocabulary (CV) to tag images.
This allows your keywords to be translated into any one of our supported languages.

Each keyword you enter will map to the tag that will be used to find your image in our search.
The keyword you enter is a "tag", and it will be displayed on the left side; the corresponding
"term" will be on the right. Sometimes there will be several available terms for a word, based
on the natural ambiguities found in language. For example, the tag "pen" will give you two
term options: animal pen (enclosure) or pen (writing instrument). It is your responsibility to
check the correct box so that the right terms can be attributed to your file and allow it to be
found. This process is known as disambiguation (DA).

19
It is not necessary to add every synonym for a tag, as the CV does this work for you. Adding
these redundant synonyms is a waste of your time, and doesn't improve your search results in
any way. More information on the amazing CV and appropriate tagging can be found in the
article. K is for...Tags?

Categories are a tool that allows people to browse images that have been placed in the same
category without using keywords. You will need to attribute at least one category to your
image. You can have up to three.

Acceptable Example:
Keywords: Young Woman, Red, Apples, Makeup, Biting, White Background, Shoulders Up,
Large Group of Objects, One Person, Young Adult, Healthy Eating, Looking At Camera

Category: People > Human Gender > Females > Women > Only Women > One Woman Only

Unacceptable Example:
Sin, Bible, Temptation, Medicine, Doctor, Eden, Exercise, your user name, your business
name, your email
Detailed Categories > Food And Drink > Cooking

Acceptable Example:
Keywords: Man, Barefoot, Shadows, Tie, Green, Stairs, Head in Hands, Depressed, Giving
Up, Sadness, Square, Urban, One Person, Young Man, Skinny

Category: Content > Frustration

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Unacceptable Example:
Suicide, Prozac, Breakup, Girlfriend, Argument, Business, Bankruptcy, Death, your user
name, your business name, your email
Style > Viewpoint > High Angle View > Directly Above

7.0 - Trademark, Copyright & Protected Items Training

iStock makes every effort to conform to International copyright legislation and other
applicable law, with our principal jurisdiction in Canada. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-
42/index.html

Uploading someone else's photographs or artwork is strictly prohibited and a violation of the
iStock membership agreement, the Artist's Supply Agreement, and other applicable law. You
must be the copyright holder (original artist) of every image you submit. Uploading any of the
following is strictly prohibited and may result in a lifetime ban or legal action:

1. A photograph of a photograph.
2. A photograph that you didn't take.
3. An image you found (on the web, from a book or magazine or other printed object).
4. Desktop patterns that are found.
5. Stock photographs from other stock agencies.
6. Tracing (illustrations) or creating unauthorized derivative work.

For more information see the iStock Technical Wiki.

Copyright is very important to the iStock community and should be adhered to as closely as
possible. Where something falls into a grey area, you will find that we generally err on the
side of rejecting the image. As a photographer uploading your images to err, you will find that
our inspectors do not accept files that contain:

Do Not Submit: (image examples)

7.1 Logos & Trademarks:

logos, trademarks, company names, product names, product brands or trademarked and
patented designs

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7.2 Patented & Trademarked

Product Designs:

most modern toys, many brand name watches, brand name computers and other licensed
products.

7.3 Artwork:

Paintings, sculptures, any object in a museum, any object in an art gallery, including public
sculpture, some architecture, advertisements, other photography (a photo of a photo)

7.4 Documents:

Modern maps, documents where names are mentioned, computer screens (interfaces and icons
are copyrighted).

22
7.5 Illustrations:

Traced illustrations based on stock photography, fashion editorials, etc, that you do not own
the original copyright for.

7.6 - Embedded Copyright Notices:

7.7 - Government & Military Property:

Agency insignia, military decorations, golden eagles, Presidential seals, flat scans of US
currency.

7.8 - Trademarked Buildings, Monuments & Landmarks:

The intellectual property laws of this category can sometimes be confusing. It is best to
research the structure before uploading it to iStock. For instance, photographs of the Eiffel
Tower during the day are legal for resale, but not night shots (showing the light show).

8.0 - Prohibited Use:

Our Content License Agreement includes several restrictions. You may not do anything with
the Content that is not expressly permitted. You may not provide a copy of the Content, or
any portions thereof, to anyone or allow anyone to gain access to the Content, or any portion
thereof, except as permitted above. For greater certainty, you may not:

23
 1. use the Content in design template applications for resale, including, without
limitation, website templates, flash templates, and brochure design templates;
2. display the Content on websites designed to induce sales of "print on demand"
products, including postcards, mugs, t-shirts, posters and other items (this includes
custom designed websites as well as sites such as Cafe Press (i.e.
www.cafepress.com));
3. use the Content in any posters (printed on paper, canvas or other mediums) or other
items for resale;
4. use the Content or any part thereof as part of a trade-mark, design-mark, trade-name,
business name, service mark, or logo;
5. incorporate the Content in any product that results in a re-distribution of the Content
(such as electronic greeting card web sites);
6. use the Content in a fashion that is considered by iStockphoto LP (acting reasonably)
as pornographic, obscene, defamatory or libelous in nature;
7. use any image in the Content that depicts a person to endorse a business, product or
service;
8. use any image in the Content that depicts a person in a potentially sensitive subject
matter, including, but not limited to mental and physical health issues, social issues,
contraband or crime;
9. to the extent that source code is contained within the Content or accompanying
materials (if applicable), reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of such
source code;
10. remove any notice of copyright, trade-mark or other proprietary right from any place
where it appears on or in the Content or its accompanying materials;
11. sub-license, re-sell, rent, lend, or otherwise distribute the Content;
12. post a copy of the Content on a network server or web server for use by other users; or
13. transfer the rights to the Content or accompanying materials (if applicable), except as
specifically provided for elsewhere in this Agreement.

9.0 - Model Release:
1. All images containing recognizable people require a model release. There are no
exceptions. Look at the image and ask yourself ‘Could any of the people depicted
recognize themselves in this picture?’ If so, you will need a model release. Sometimes
the context of an image is enough to make a person recognizable, even if their face
isn't visible. We have provided detailed examples here of what kind of images require
releases.
2. If the photograph is of a minor (a child under the age of 18), a model release must be
signed by a parent or legal guardian.
3. If the photo is of the photographer (a self portrait), a model release is still required.
4. A model release should be uploaded with each file. If you're uploading successive
shots of the same model, the model release should be uploaded with each shot.
5. A valid witness signature must appear on the model release. It must be someone other
than the photographer.
6. Please see this article for a more detailed explanation of when a release is necessary,
and how to correctly fill one out.

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Note: iStock does not accept digitally created or digitally signed model releases (this includes
using script fonts as signatures, e-signatures and scanning signatures and then pasting into the
model release).

Standard Model Release (Sample Only)

Model Release with Guardian as Signators (Sample Only)

9.1 - Property Release:
 The requirement for a property release isn't as clear-cut as for a model release, because
there is no specific right of privacy that attaches to property, as it does to people.
Having said that, there are at least two reasons for obtaining property releases: (i) on
the theory that a person's identity might be connected to the property in question (such
as where a person's property is used in a manner that might defame the person as
owner); and (ii) on the basis that to use someone's property for commercial gain
without their consent may amount to an offense called "conversion". Also, if you go
on someone's private property to take a picture of them or their property, it could
amount to trespass.
 iStock recommends that a Property Release be obtained when the image contains
identifiable property wherever possible (this isn't just for houses, it could apply to
pets, cars and other personal property. The more recognizable and unique the property
(and the more the owner's identity might be connected to or determined from the
property) the greater the need for a property release.
 The Property Release needs to signed by the legal and beneficial owner(s) of the
property or their authorized agent. Many of the same formalities apply as for Model
Releases.

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