How hard is it to have your photographs published at 1x.com? The short answer is: Hard. The long answer: It depends. I haven’t found much online about this topic, other than a few forum threads, so I thought I would discuss it in detail.
First of all, let me state, this post is meant to be educational in nature. I am not complaining or putting down 1x.com. It is a great site with incredible photography. Instead, I am trying to let people know how difficult it can be to have your photos accepted because it is not uncommon to have your photos rejected. I was a little surprised at first that the photographs I was submitting were being rejected since they have had success on other websites, and/or won awards from juried competitions. Based on my conversations with other photographers, an acceptance rate of 10%-30% is not uncommon at 1x.com.
To date I have submitted 10 photographs and only had 1 accepted (10%). Admittedly, 10 photos is a very small sample to be talking about statistics. It is however enough to get my point across. I will continue to submit photos to 1x.com, and will have a follow up article once I reach 20 photographs.
For first 10 images submitted, I made a conscious effort to upload a variety of photographs to see what might fair better. (6 colour, 3 black & white, & 1 duotone. 2 were HDR, 6 urban, 3 nature, & 1 self portrait). Below you can see the photos I submitted and whether they were accepted or rejected.
So what can you do to improve your chances of having your photos accepted?
- Send photographs to critique before submitting them for screening. You can gain valuable feed back from other members
- In my opinion, photographs that have a storytelling element to them tend to fair better
- The technicals aspects of your photograph should be top notch (exposure, colour, contrast, focus, etc)
- Black & White and/or moody photographs appear to be favoured
- Don’t be afraid to re-edit and re-submit photographs
- Just because you do well with your photographs on one website, doesn’t mean they will do well on others. Different websites have different tastes.
Can it be frustrating having your photographs rejected? Yes. Is it worth it to keep trying? Absolutely. One of the great aspects of 1x is that if your photo does get accepted, you get a lot of exposure (no pun intended). The one photo I have had accepted received 30,000+ views within a week or two. I don’t know of any other sites that can garner those kind of views.
Best of luck with your submissions!
hey i really like the topic. ur the first person that talked about this problem. i think there opinion sucks most of the photos on the site are "cliche". i submitted photos that were also accepted by a jury and when i say jury i mean people with high knowledge in art and in photography. And my photos were admired by these pro. I think they should change their rules and check the photos once again. Some photos don't deserve being on the site. and what makes this site so popular is the fact that they have strict rules. Well i will tell u something buddy. dont listen to what those people say ask professional that u can rely on. these are a bunch of guys that should are looking for cliche to post on the site. and what proves this is the book that they publish. C'MOOOON the cover !!!!!! it's really ugly i've seen this photo everywhere. GET CREATIVE GUYS.
btw ur photos are amazing specially the first one ! :)
1x.com sucks. I have no idea why people would want to have their photos on that site. The photos they feature are Flickr circa 2006....cliched crap. The moderators are arrogant and believe they "know" a lot about what makes a good photograph, yet they approve a bunch of garbage. (disclosure: i have never submitted, nor have i wanted to. i just hate the style of photos on that site and how people grovel to get accepted).
Well, 1x is a gallery. They have the right to choose what fits their artistic vision like any other gallery you could walk into off of the street. I have a hard time believing your claims, even though they are subjective. "1x sucks," you say. Why? They are cliche? I believe some of the most original and thought provoking photography Ive ever seen has been featured on their site. Besides, none of the moderators are arrogant and believe they know it all.... what are you basing this harsh judgement off of? You have never even attempted to participate in the selection process. You say you don't care to, which just shows me your unfair bias from the start towards the hard working curators. If you think the site is full of so much crap, then you should have an easy time having your "artwork" accepted. It sounds like you are too intimidated to even try, so you just have a negative opinion from the start.
I have been a proud member of their community for about two years, and have met many many wonderful people from around the world that have taught me a lot about photography, and my outlook on life in general. Maybe you shouldn't be so hasty to judge what you don't know about until you actually try it.
I quite agree with the statement made by the poster. I tried but also failed despite my work being published worldwide in all major publications,including many photographic magazines, I have had some 70 books published, major photographic exhibitions in Europe. I have no problems selling my work. But apparently my work is not good enough for their site either.
I've looked at the site and wonder why one would want to post work there. Why bother? What's the gain?
Speaking for myself, all I want as a photographer is to be appreciated. I guess that's the draw for people, to feel like their photography is worthwhile. Having said that, I don't feel drawn to the site. I find it odd that you would sell prints of photographs that the site selected, and not all the photos you might have chosen on your own.
People many times put too much emphasis on getting accepted there. It is a great honor to have your work selected, but if it is not chosen for their gallery, it simply means that it doesn't fit their views. It does NOT mean that your photograph is bad by any means. I guess the draw would be the sheer amount of exposure you get. It is not uncommon for a photograph to achieve 30,000 views in a matter of a few days. That to me is worth the attempt of getting accepted.
Also, there are so many other dimensions to the site besides getting accepted. I suggest trying out the critique section. It is a highly valuable resource which merits the site's worthiness on its own. I've learned so much about photography from people there, it is almost ridiculous.
Cheers,
Shane Peterson
I would like to hear from somebody who can quantify that having their photos accepted actually improved their business.
I know some people, myself included, who have had offers to licence images for magazines/websites. In that respect it could help a little bit. In the end, I think it's about increasing awareness of your work.
I don't get it either. I recently had a problem with someone recreating one of my most popular photos down to the last detail, practically stealing it. Even though they butchered it, it still was accepted. I then submitted my original image explaining that it came first and that my image was even shown in Times Square. Of Course it was rejected. Hmmmm I'm lost.
hi, how (and when) will I see if my photo is rejected or accepted ? thanks in advance
You'll receive an e-mail letting you know either way. Good luck.
P.S. to quantify the benefit of being accepted on the site, most pictures get an estimate of 5,000 - 15,000 views. It's a similar kind of exposure as being published in a small magazine targeted to photographers. Nothing to grovel about. Nothing to complain about either.
If you like the pictures on the site, then it's nice to be among them. if you don't, then why bother looking for places to discuss it?