Why assignment refusals should be welcomed

Assignments are a nice way to put your imagination to work and force yourself to think out of the box. But to have images approved for an assignment you need to raise the bar for yourself as well. I realized that the hard way as I had three rejections before having an illustration approved. Assignments sound tempting with the automatic Level 5 “gift” so it’s natural to rush with uploading the first images we think fit the theme. But the refusals that often follow shortly after should be rather welcomed than demotivating. I think It’s how the editors tell us that the image currently doesn’t deserve a Level 5, which doesn’t mean that it’s not a good image. But think of it that way - if your image is not an exceptional one, even for your standards, the Level 5 “gift” might actually do more bad than good. If an average image is given a Level 5 it will compete with similar Level 1, 2, 3 images, which in most cases will be preferred from buyers because of the lower prices. But if your image is submitted as a regular submission and you let the levels build up by themselves chances are that it might earn you more money that way.

So, always give your best for the assignments, be patient, don’t rush it, put an extra effort and it will pay off. If the image was not accepted maybe it was a good thing after all. Don’t put in in the trash bin, but submit it as a regular one.

For the Sustainable Living assignment I had three rejections before the acceptance of the image below, which is currently my favorite in my portfolio.