Print this, or keep it open beside your export dialog. Every item is a reason we have had to reject or delay an image, and every one is avoidable in under a minute.

Technical

• Sharp where it should be, at 100%. Motion blur is fine if it is deliberate.
• Exposure and white balance corrected; no clipped skies or blocked shadows unless intended.
• Sensor dust, hot pixels and chromatic aberration removed.
• Straight horizons and verticals unless the tilt is the point.
• JPEG, sRGB, quality 10–12, long edge at least 3,000 px (we prefer full resolution).
• No borders, watermarks, frames or signatures.

Legal

• Model releases for every recognisable person, or the image is marked editorial-only.
• Property releases where a private property is the subject, or editorial-only.
• No visible logos, trademarks, artwork or copyrighted designs unless incidental and cleared.
• You own the copyright. No composites using other people’s images.

Large group of fisherman in traditional fishing…Forest in the mountains in mist or…A group of people in the park.…Monuments in Borobudur, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

Metadata

• Title: one factual sentence.
• Caption: what, where, when, released or not.
• 15–40 accurate keywords, including location and technical descriptors.
• Creator and copyright fields completed in IPTC.

Commercial

• Would a designer pay £6 for this? If you hesitate, cut it.
• Is there a version with copy space? Shoot one next time.
• Both orientations where the subject allows.
• Is it a duplicate of something already in your portfolio? Upload the best frame, not all ten.

Then upload

Via the contributor dashboard. We review within a few working days and tell you why if we decline anything. Read what sells before your next shoot.