The day a food blogger gets his or her first acceptance notice from a food porn website is a very happy one. We do a happy dance, smile, pat ourselves on the back, tell our family, friends, and readers about it. The day a food blogger gets his or her first denial notice from a food porn website is not a happy one. Perhaps they shrug it off and say they’ll try again. Their next photo submission gets declined, then another, and another and another. No more shrugging it off. No, now the emotions range from confusion, frustration, sadness, and anger. (I’m sure many a WTFs are blurted out.) We’ve all been there.
I’m here to tell you don’t give up. You may think it’s easy for me to say because my photos are accepted to food porn websites. Not so. Upon discovering many of those sites I started submitting like everyone else. It seemed like it took months for my first photo to be accepted. Like many of you I was frustrated and perplexed as to what I was doing wrong. Actually many times I still find myself perplexed at the photos that get accepted and those that don’t. After nearly 3 years of submitting, I still get many rejections. Before I used to stress out about it, now I prefer to take it one submission at a time.
The most important thing to remember is that a rejection does not mean your photos aren’t good photos. I’ve had photos rejected by food porn websites that have been top sellers at stock agencies. So if people are paying to use one of my rejected photos that is clear evidence that the photo wasn’t a bad one. What we have to keep in mind is that many of the food porn websites want photos they, their editors, find pleasing and that varies from one person to another. Today we are going to be discussing some of the food porn websites and a few tips to help increase your odds of acceptance. Below are some reasons why your images have been rejected and tips on how to correct or prevent them. This covers a small amount of ways we can improve our chances. But more than one post is necessary to cover other ways of both improving our photography and chances of getting approved on food porn websites.
Lighting:
Make sure your photos are bright enough for the subject to shine. Underexposed (photos that are too dark) photos will always get rejected. You can read and apply my tutorial, Food Photography : What Lights To Use When Sunlight Is Not Available, to achieve proper exposures. If you are shooting using window or natural light use a reflector to shine more light on your subject. My tutorial Food Photography: My Shooting Setup With Artificial Light covers some tips on using reflectors. Also adjusting your camera’s ISO and shutter speeds will help achieve proper exposures. (more on ISO and Shutter Speeds soon)
Composition:
When shooting make sure you are paying attention to the rule of thirds. Make sure you don’t have too many things/props distracting from your subject. Even if you are shooting a photo for your website and the composition is perfect, when it comes time for submitting to food porn websites the composition in the square crop can be off. What I’m talking about is the square format that many of the food porn websites require.
The Dreaded Square Format:
Not sure why nearly all the food porn websites went with this format, but they did. The best way to save your sanity and not relaying on the default cropping tools, on the food porn sites, is to crop submissions yourself. You need to know where and how to crop your images in photo editing software. Look for the square cropping tool and enter the 6×6 (square) dimensions manually to cropping tool. Make sure the composition also flows well on the newly cropped square image. I suggest you take a look through the food porn websites for samples of the square crop compositions they like.
Proper Sizing:
Once you’ve cropped the image to a square format I highly recommend it be sized down. Double check the required size the food porn site you are submitting to requires, though most want 250×250 px. I always submit the 250×250 image size. This way I can see what the composition and sharpness will look like. (If you need help resizing images read my tutorial, Food Photography : How To Size Your Images For The Web. )
Add Sharpness:
Another reason for rejection is due to “dull or un-sharp images”. After you’ve cropped and sized down the image sharpening should be applied. Whichever photo editing software being used, make sure you know where and how to apply sharpening to your photos. It’s amazing how a little sharpness can make images pop. The amount of sharpening for larger images, such as used on your blogs, will require more than the smaller sizes required by food porn websites.
Submit and Wait:
The next step is to choose, which and how many, food porn sites to submit to. There are so many of them that you’ll have plenty of choices. Below are food porn sites I submit to or have submitted to. By no means does it mean you have to try all of them, find the ones you like best.
Good traffic but be ready for many rejections.
– Foodgawker: Submit here
– TasteSpotting: Submit here
– Tasteologie: Submit here
– Liqurious: Only alcoholic drinks. Submit here
– Finding Vegan: Vegan only recipes and photos must be 300 x 260 px (not a square, enter 3x 2.6 on cropping tool) Submit here
– Serious Eats: Submit here
Decent Traffic, Chances of Acceptance are Higher (because they aren’t as tough on submissions as those above):
– Dishfolio: Submit here
– Dessert Stalking: Submit here
– Savory Sights: Submit here
– Kitchen Artistry: No square photos needed Submit here
– Knapkins: Submit here
– FoodEpix: Submit here
Newer Food Porn Sites To Check Out:
– Recipe News: Started by a fellow food blogger, Cooking Rookie. We should help support her so, Submit here
**Information per Recipe News: “RecipeNewZ is a little different from other sites because we do not reject any photographs. All images are published within minutes of submission and then automatically sorted by our algorithm based on their popularity.”
– The Hot Plate: Submit here
– Jalapeno Mania: A great new site dedicated to “all things peppers, but not just the spicy ones, we love all peppers…” Submit here.
The photo above is the square cropped photo I will submit for this post. I’ll update you on whether it get’ accepted or rejected.
Like I stated above, this topic requires many tutorials and posts. I will be sharing more information and ways to improve your photography, which should in turn improve your chances of approval by food porn site.
If I can offer one last piece of advice it would be not to compromise your artistic vision. I’ve read and seen many bloggers start changing their style, even cropping all their photos to square format, once they’ve been accepted on food porn sites. Not being judgmental, but I feel that limiting ourselves like that can only hurt our artistic growth. Yes, it’s nice seeing your images there and the traffic they send is also pretty nice. But in the end the thing that matters most is if we are happy with the direction our photography takes. My personal opinion anyways.
Thanks for reading! Leave your questions in the comments below or stop by and read the previous installments of Food Photography Tutorials.
And don’t forget to stick to very conventional compositions. The big food porn sites love anything that looks like it’s from a food magazine. That undoubtedly looks good, but you never see much unconventional or creative there.
Very true. Thanks Justin.
A great post and tips! Yes, now I tend to not get frustrated when one of my pictures doesn’t make it on those sites…
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa.
Love this post! I remember the first photo I got accepted was on the first post I ever wrote. I was so excited, but then things went down hill and it’s been a battle to get things accepted by the bigger sites. It almost feels like they just don’t like me :P
I’m glad to see some of your tips to getting accepted and thank you for introducing me to a few new sites to submit to!
Hi Rochelle,
Well if they don’t like you, they are crazy! Thanks:)
thanks for these tips! they are really helpful!
Thanks!
Your so right on with this. I gave up months ago and now I don’t care as it doesn’t add any value to my life that foodgawker and tastespotting accepted a photo. I do see some on there and ask more questions why they were accepted. Then look at every picture you have ever taken in your blog and ask why all of them aren’t on every food porn site, to me its sometimes opinion more than a professionals view with them. But nevertheless I don’t have enough time in my life to waste that much energy in rejection overloads. I use to love photograzing can’t even figure out the new site. The rest bring no traffic to me whatsoever. Your the only site once a month that’s fair to everyone that posts, thank you for that, your the best, your work is impecable! Thanks for this great write up I enjoyed this one alot!
Hi Claudia,
It really is up to everyone to decide both which sites to submit to, as well as if they even want to participate in that. At the end of the day the most important thing is how we feel about our work.
Thank you so much:) Have a great weekend!
A very nice post to bookmark.. Thanks a ton for all this information !!
Thank you Nupur!
Useful information – wish I had had this 3 years ago!!!!
Thanks Mardi!
Superb post!!! Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge…I have much to learn!!!
Thank you Liz. Learning should never stop for any of us :)
This is a great post! I stopped submitting to these type of sites because I was sick of trying to learn their ‘secret set of rules’ (no hands in the picture, no blue bowls, no links to videos – even if it’s a videorecipe/blog!)
The thing to remember is that the sites aren’t necessarily run by professional photographers, and often it’s their opinion whether you make the gallery or not – if you don’t make it, don’t be discouraged! I’ve had pictures declined that were published in magazines and cookbooks!
xx
Hi Toby,?
I didn’t know they had restrictions about bowl colors, kinda funny and strange:)
“The thing to remember is that the sites aren’t necessarily run by professional photographers” Yes, that is a great point. Thanks!
Great post thanks for sharing the tips !!
Thank you!
The square format tends to frustrate me, it’s can be very limiting as not everything can be cropped to fit!
Hi Sylvie,
Yes, it is very limiting. When I have photos like that I just don’t submit. Why waste the time. Thanks!
This is one awesome tutorial, amiga! I learn so much from your photography tutorials. My photography skills have come a long way from the early days of my blog, but there is always room for improvement.
Hola Leslie,
Gracias! I think even the famous pros also would say there is always room for improvement. The key is to keep practicing and learning:)
Thank you for this post. This post is very helpful. Excellent.
Hi Angela,
Thanks!
Nancy, as you know, I have been working on this for some time. Thanks to your guidance and generous advice, I can say I’m happy with my pictures, even when I get rejected by the food porn sites. I’ve also received great traffic with Gojee (although they invite you to submit) and Food Porn Daily (even though you can wait months for one picture to be accepted!). Unfortunately with food porn, sweet seems to get accepted a lot more often than savory! Can you recommend good food stock sites? Or perhaps talk about it in another blog post? I’m considering submitting to them, but don’t know much about the business.
Hi Laura,
Glad to hear that you are happy with your photos:) Yes, Gojee is great. But as you stated they are by invite only and do work a bit different than other sites. I do remember Food Porn Daily from when I first started,but I didn’t like their site and the fact that no one ever responded.
As for good stock site, there tons of microstock sites that you can find with a quick Google check. In fact some of them are own by the big name stock agencies. For example the one I work for is now owned by Getty Images. I don’t want to give you specific names because the one that worked for me might not suit you. Good luck and I’m sure you’ll have success:)
Great post and pictures Nancy! I wonder if most of the photos that get rejected are photos that the reviewer just plain old doesn’t like and they make up the bad composition or lighting comments because it’s easier than saying, we just didn’t like your photo! I only submitted photos to Dishfolio for quite awhile because they took everything except one tomato shot that I think was too artsy,lol! But, the sites like Foodgawker and Tastespotting send lots of visitors to your site, that’s for sure. Now I’m back to submitting my ‘made square’ photos to more sites mainly because I feel more confidant now and can take the rejection in stride. I have to say that I feel like a work in progress and it would be good to understand why a photo gets rejected if I could learn how to improve my photography from it but that is not always the case;-) Your post explains in much greater detail how to be successful submitting photos which is very helpful;-) I do think that submitting photos to food porn sites could have a tendency to make you see and think ‘little square’ and that could be limiting to your creative process if you let it narrow your vision. My experience has taught me not to take the rejection too seriously, just try again and sometimes you get lucky;-)
Hi Patty,
I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. I can also imagine that day to day moods might affected what gets accepted and what gets rejected.
Glad to hear you are feeling more confidante. Your photography is looking fantastic! I agree if they gave more specific reasons as to why the photo was rejected we could learn from them. But I imagine they stick with a few pre selected reasons to make their work flow faster. I can only imagine how many submissions they have to go through everyday. Thanks!
Great advice! I just gave up on submitting to those sites, maybe I will use your tips and try again.
Thank you
Lots of great info…Thx Nancy! Never thought of cropping it myself before submitting.
I find I don’t get any traffic from Dishfolio and Kitchen Artistry.
Still can’t believe your pics get rejected…they are amazing!
Hi Asiya,
I do believe cropping yourself can make it easier to see what composition works and what doesn’t.
Thank you but I think sometimes they are looking for more “standard” and less artistic photos. Oh well:)
Gorgeous as always! Thanks for Savory sights, I hadn’t heard of that one. Dishfolio is so slow and I get almost no traffic from them so I quit that one.
I also find myself trying to purposely take pictures that will be able to be cropped into a square!
Hi Julie,
Thanks! Dishfolio is very slow in loading so hopefully they’ll improve that soon.
Great information! This is an area where I need to improve. Thank you!
Thank you DB!
Thank you so much for mentioning RecipeNewZ! It’s an honor to be mentioned by such a talented food photographer and blogger! Your photo tutorials are amazing!
For the readers’ information, I would also like to add that RecipeNewZ is a little different from other sites because we do not reject any photographs. All images are published within minutes of submission and then automatically sorted by our algorithm based on their popularity.
So people should still try to submit better photos to have a higher chance to be popular :-)
Hi Elana,
Thanks! I’ll add your information to the article. Best of luck and continued success to you:)
Thanks for another great photography tutorial!
Thank you Laura!
Indeed, a little bit of sharpening has always been my best friend!! lol. Definitely the whole square format is so strange and limiting – sometimes that’s how something wants to be photographed, but not always. I went through a period where I was having good luck being accepted to FG and TS but I realized that I was tailoring my photos to their tastes … not to mine. (I should say their fickle tastes!) And I haven’t submitted anything since. I will again, I am sure – but on my terms, not theirs. And if I get rejected … c’est la vie! Great post!
Hi Trix,
Yes, occasionally there are settings, or food scenes, that benefit from a square format. But it just doesn’t work with everything. I’m glad you listened to your self and not the fickle tastes of those sites. That’s exactly how I feel. I shoot what I want, how I want it, as artistic as I want, and never tailored towards other’s taste. Gracias:)
In. Love. With. You.
You make it look a little too easy though :) I have a full 68 rejections on Food Gawker and 12 that made the cut. That being said I haven’t even heard of some of the other site. So thanks for the list. I think I might as well submit to the others too. The pictures are taken and cropped, why not add them somewhere that wants them.
Hi Melissa,
Lol:) Oh, no it’s not too easy. I don’t remember the numbers, but for a very long time my rejections outnumbered approvals by a wide margin. Yeah if you already have the crops why not see what happens. Thank you!
This is definitely a keeper. As someone to whom photography doesnt come as naturally, it is disheartening when the pictures you put so much effort in get rejected. Some of the choices are always fickle and personal, but you can always find inspiration in photographs of other amazing bloggers, and find posts as these:)
Hi Richa,
Don’t let their rejections discourage you. We all work and try to our abilities, which always improve with practice and time. You keep working on what you want to improve and I promise you’ll reach your goals:)
Thanks for this post. It is reassuring to hear about other people’s experiences with these sites. As a writer, I am used to rejection and understand that opinions about the arts can be quite subjective and never more so than with these photo submission sites. Since I have had a decent camera and lighting set up, nearly all my photos have been accepted by Foodgawker (except a few which I wouldn’t have accepted either) but I have only had one ever accepted by Tastespotting. Go figure. The other sites take everything I submit and, of course, many accept everything, I suspect.
I found Recipenewz recently and they are really worthwhile. I get good traffic from them.
I was rejected by Foodgawker once because it was a simple salad and they said they are no longer taking photos without any real recipe involved. But I still see some lovely photos of food without any preparation, so even that is obviously a variable.
I also see some less than stellar photos on these sites and I think variety is also something they look out for. If they have just accepted 2 cupcake recipes, they will probably reject the next few even if they are good photos – just a thought.
As far as compromising my artistic style to fit into their square box, I take the photos I want first and then take a couple further away at the end when I have the set up that’s working and those can always be cropped because there is plenty of white space and either side of the food.
This is truly a learning process and a fun one for the most part.
Hi Suzanne,
Foodgawker also accepts more of my images then Tastespotting. Too many recipes in a row that are alike, might have something to do with rejections. I just don’t know.
I’m glad that you’ve found a setup and workflow that works for you. That is very important. Thank you!
Great post!! I have basically given up trying to send photos to these big photo sites because the rejection was annoying. I don’t send every photo… but ones that I really like and well I don’t want them to make me feel bad about it…. it’s just their opinion. Kitchen Artistry is the one I had most of my success on… but I have almost forgotten about sending them my pictures too. I have gotten lazy… I guess. Someday when I get my new camera then I’ll definitely re-think the whole thing. I have to see if I can change my pixel size and dimensions…. That’s good to know. :) Have a wonderful weekend! ~ Ramona
Hi Ramona,
Yes, its is just their opinion, and it shouldn’t affect our emotions so much. Like I said the most important thing is how we feel about our work. We should never let other’s make us feel bad about something we put so much time, effort and passion into.
You too have a wonderful weekend:)
Hola Nancy,
Thank you so much for this very helpful post. So many great tips. Most of my own photos are snapped during class, when I don’t have enough light or even time to set them up as I would like. I can “up” the exposure by fiddling with them, but I have been refused on sites like Tastespotting and others for being too dark. But I am learning! Gracias.
Hola Victoria,
Glad to hear you are practicing and learning:) Gracias!
Great post Nancy. I finally got over the rejection thing too. I am novice at best when it comes to photography so I really can’t complain about not getting it right. One of my problems with shooting food is making it look good from a more distant shot. I mostly choose close up because I simply can’t get my other shots to look good. I need to take a photography class to learn more about my camera. Thanks for your post.
Hi Suzanne,
Knowing how our camera’s work is very important. I still find myself learning what some of the buttons and functions do. The important thing is to keep practicing and learning:)
Such a great post with excellent tips – thanks so much.
My blog is still in its infancy but I decided right from day one that I wouldn’t submit anything anywhere until I think my photos are post-worthy… but, honestly, sometimes I do wonder when I see some of the pics on the foodporn sites! Then again, I look at pics like yours and wonder if I’ll ever be good enough! LOL!
Bookmarked your tutorial tag page for a slow read over the weekend. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience – it really is the ultimate tool for us newbies and is enormously appreciated. :)
Hi Rachel,
Thank you! Keep practicing and learning you’ll reach the goal give your photography:)
thanks nancy for this splendid post.
i do most of the steps that you have mentioned in your post. tastespotting was kind to me :-) but not foodgawker :-(
i not used to feel good when my photos were rejected. from my creative vision i knew that some of the photos were very good and artistic. the rejection simply means that my creative vision or style is not in aligned with their creative style. people are different…..
in fact i see more or less the same kind of styling and shooting on these food porn sites. what led me to your site was a unique and beautiful photo of the cookies on tastespotting. way different and standing apart & tall from the rest of the photos.
i knew this was a beautiful piece of art. something i can look again and again and admire. in fact even today i just love that shot. the same one that you have send for DMBLIT and i am so glad that you chose the same photo for the contest.
looking forward to more such posts in the future.
Hi Dassana,
I’m glad that you were able to understand that your creative style is not aligned with theirs. But also that you are confidant in your photography. Many people don’t see that and therefore think that their photography is bad, which isn’t always the case.
“what led me to your site was a unique and beautiful photo of the cookies on tastespotting. way different and standing apart & tall from the rest of the photos.” Thank you! That is a huge compliment to receive. I strive to make my photography look unique and when others recognize that it’s a great feeling:)
Thanks Dassana! Good luck to you on the DMBLIT contest:)
your photographs are unique nancy :-)
wishing you also, all the best for the DMBGLIT contest….
Thank you Dassana:)
Thank you so much for this post. In my three years of blogging, I’ve never known how to make a square image. And I’ve had photoshop since Christmas.
Hi Lea Ann,
My pleasure:)
Terrific post. Thanks for the tips. You give great advice…
Good luck with the bagel shot!
LL
Hi Lori Lynn,
Thank you:)
Nicely done, Nancy. Lots of great information. I was one of those people who jumped for joy at each accepted image and took personally those that were rejected. Oh, the heartbreak each time I thought I submitted something “really good” only to have it be denied. I felt much better when I learned to take my pictures for myself instead of for possible acceptance. I still get denied sometimes but there’s been a breakthrough so it’s been largely a win-win situation. This post would have saved me some unnecessary heartbreak last year, though. :) Thanks for the useful and encouraging tips. :)
Hi Jean,
Good for you! Thanks.
Such a wonderful and necessary post Nancy!! I had given up all my hopes and was totally frustrated until about 6 months ago. But then when I look back, I improved my photography skills because of these websites. When they reject an image, they are actually pushing you to work harder. I learnt this lesson the hard way, but I am glad I did and I still get excited when one of my images is accepted L)
Hi Ambika,
I’m so glad that you too positive from the rejections. Good for you for pushing yourself with photography. Thanks!
Ah good advice! I have enough rejection through fiction writing, so I’m not interested in submitting photography, but I am always looking for ways to improve the photos on my blog. Next time I work on a post, I’m going to sharpen my photos. I don’t know why I don’t play around with my photoshop program more often.
Hi Holly,
Like I said, people should only submit if they want to and not because “everyone else is doing it”. Have fun playing with photoshop:)
Great tips! I’ll definitely keep the cropping in mind from now on =)
Thank you Peggy!
Thank you so much for the tips! Very helpful!
I have not submitted a lot yet, but I have been quite lucky… I just have to say, it is frustrating when I see some photos there, that just don’t look right. At least compared to some that have been rejected to me…
Anyway, I think in the end, the editors personal taste might have a lot of influence.
Thanks a lot once again :)
Hi Pami Sami,
Yes, I would agree that personal taste has a lot to do with it. Thank you!
Thanks for the ideas. I endured over 30 rejections before I began getting acceptances. Posts like yours offer encouragement and motivated me to keep trying.
Thank you Maria:)
love this advice. its a rough world out there for artists! glad you’re persistent :)
Thanks Anna! We should never give up ;)
Wow, you really hit the nail on the head with this one! All the things you’ve mentioned on your post are oh-so-true! While I’m only on foodgawker, I will try and submit my photos to other sites :) Thanks for all your tips and opinions about the different sites and their requirements! Very useful and helpful info!
Hi Jen,
Thank you and good luck :)
This is an EXCELLENT post ever about submitting to food porn sites. You wrote such a thorough instruction and tips and I’m just grateful. You are so generous Nancy! Thank you thank you thank you! This is my 2nd year and I finally got over the rejection and I care less. But at the same time I have to admit that I stopped spending so much time making my submission post perfect too… (my attitude is more like if they don’t like it then it’s okay and move on). I think I should spend a little more time and prepare the best submission. Probably my way was my defense mechanism… I didn’t want to spend extra time so I won’t feel sad… Anyway thanks again!!!!
Hi Nami,
Thank you and glad to hear you enjoyed the tutorial. I’m also glad that you didn’t take the rejection badly. Your photos are fantastic and they are crazy not to accept them, so it’s their loss;)
Very informative post. I particularly like that you interspersed visuals with the narrative.
I stopped submitting photos a while back out of frustration with the top sites but after reading your post, I think I’ll try again when I have what I think is a particularly good image.
Thank you Joan. Good luck to you:)
Awesome post! I have gone through this emotional process of anger to excistment/bliss numerous times over the past few months. I got one photo accepted to foodgawker and I was ecstatic thinking that opened the doors for the rest of them but when I kept getting photo after photo rejected for months afterwards it really brought me down. But, all I could do was try harder, take better pictures, add props, start using lightroom, etc and in the last couple months I have been getting more and more photos accepted (tastespotting is still pretty harsh though). I’ll be sure to check out some of the food porn sites you listed here that I’m not familiar with.
Hi Vicky,
I’m glad you haven’t given up and have continued to work on your photography. Keep it up:)
This is a terrific post, I keep thinking if I read this las year, maybe my chances with food porn sites would be a lot better. I still have a lot to learn about photography and just getting over the usual “dull/unsharp image” and “exposure/white balance Issues” just tells me I have a long way to go. You have an awesome site, and i really appreciate the info and tips. Bookmarked and followed!
Thank you! I hope you can pick up a few tips from my tutorials. But do remember that photography is an unending learning process for us all. As long as we are willing to learn we can improve:)
What a fantastic and informative post! I hate submitting to these sites anymore, but you have offered tools to make it so much less painful :)
Thank Alisha. Yes, it can be a pain but I think it’s worth it:)
Thank you, this was very helpful! I was not even aware of the square crop. I like that you are honest but still positive. I will be taking your photography tips into consideration & will try my first submission!
Hi Sara,
My pleasure. Good luck to you:)
I just wanted to thank you again for this tutorial – I had my first submission accepted yesterday after I followed your advice to crop and resize it myself :)
Hi Rachael,
Congratulations on your first acceptance:) So happy for you. Thanks for letting me know.
I’ve been blogging for over 3 years, and I still get frustrated (maybe too easily?), when my photos are rejected. After all this time, I should “get it.”. Sometimes I dread editing my photos because I feel as though I can no longer tell if I’m making them better or worse.
Finding one’s niche in the food blogging world is difficult, especially since there are so many now! When I started, I think there was just a handful. I use a point and shoot, and I don’t have Photoshop, so I find it increasingly difficult to measure up to the standards that have been set.
When you create something delicious and from the heart, you want to share it with as many people as possible…you know people would love it, and now, they may never have a chance to enjoy it. All that lost potential due to something as trivial as tight composition saddens me. (Also depressing, the useless pounds put on to make something no one will ever see.) ;-)
It’s not all doom and gloom though! :D Reading this post, along with everyone’s comments, has made me feel much better (and much less alone). Thank you for shining the light on a sensitive subject for food bloggers. XO
Excellent post. I just started my blog a couple of weeks back and just bought my first camera. I’ve been lurking on food porn sites and checking our food photography blogs – I just didn’t have a camera! I sent my first submission to foodgawker yesterday and the accepted it! Then tastespotting rejected it on composition grounds. Crushed lol
Now I’m just going to crop my squares and submit to all, I wont feel dejected by their rejection. At least I think I’m a winner :)
Hi Asma,
Thank you and congratulations on your first, of many to come, acceptance. Good for you!
Hi Nancy
just found your site and it’s truly amazing.Loved your info and tips and .I started my blog 18 months back and trying to learn and improve my photography.Get fustrated after the rejection from the food porn sites,but now I know how to improve my pics,thanks a lot dear for such a fantastic and informative post.Today I learned a lot from you!
Thanks
Anjana
Hi Anjana,
Welcome to the food blogging community. Don’t let the rejections get you down, it takes time and I’m sure you’ll be approved in no time. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Nancy, thanks for the helpful tips and encouraging words. I’ve only just started submitting photos to foodie sites and as you say, there doesn’t seem to be any consistency in what does and doesn’t get accepted. Oh well, never mind … it’s still fun submitting. I get a buzz out of something getting published and try not to take it too seriously if it’s rejected. Love your site!
Hi Julie! It’s my pleasure. I’m glad to hear that you don’t take the rejections seriously. Keep up the good work. Thank you:)
Hi Nancy,
Thank you so much for all of these great tips! My blog is relatively new so I am still learning all about photography and the food photography websites…your tutorials are really helpful!
No wonder your photos look amazing =)
Hi Rose! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed my tutorials, it’s a pleasure sharing them. Thank you:)
Fantastic tips! Thanks so much. Beautiful photos, too. Just submitted my first photo to Tasteologie, FoodGawker, Serious Eats, and Tastespotting. Accepted by 2, so the disappointment was tempered by excitement, which won out. Thanks again.
Hi Sheila,
Good for you, congratulations! Don’t be disappointed, as long as you are happy with your work that’s all that matters. Also the more you practice the more photos that will be accepted. Happy shooting!:)
Great article, I am glad I found it (thanks for commenting on my blog, so I could get here). I also despair sometimes with the submission of fotos. I have some that I submitted being completely sure they will be accepted and they weren’t and some really bad ones that were approved. Figure that! There are weeks when everything gets accepted and then weeks when nothing does.
Maybe you should include FoodYub on your listing, they are not so hard in accepting and my best traffic comes from them lately (and Foodgawker of course).
Hi Adina! All this years later of blogging and being a professional photographer, and my photos will still get denied. You shouldn’t despair, it really doesn’t make sense why they approve some and deny others. Just keep going on your photography.:) Thank you for your tip on FoodYub, I hadn’t heard of them and will surely update this article with them.
Great Article Nancy,
I submit to some site but it doesn’t seem to bring that much traffic anymore. Once upon a time Foodgawker would send SO much traffic it really paid off to get the image perfect (by their standards) now I get more from Yummly and Pinterest. I still do submit to Foodgawker, Finding Vegan and Tastespotting & my success rate is about 75% but I don’t beat myself up if I’m not accepted.
Thanks for sharing the photographic tips. Your images are always beautiful and SO artistic.
xxx
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Hi Julie,
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed the read. I wrote the article in 2012 when those sites were everything as far as getting lots of traffic to our websites. The article needs to be updated, because as you said they don’t send much traffic anymore. Google and Pinterest is where I get my traffic. But I still submit to them now and then just to have extra traffic. Though this is only when I have extra time since it is time consuming and, like you said, the success rate isn’t great — which you’d think that they would consider that everyone is using Pinterest instead of them now. I don’t know. :)