1) Images must be yours. They must be wholly-owned by you and you must own the copyright of the images. Any images you have downloaded from elsewhere or belong to someone else can NOT be uploaded.

2) For new photographers uploading images for the first time, please do not upload more than 25 images. This is to help our Quality Control approval process and to provide exposure to more photographers in the beginning.

3) As soon as you have had at least 20 images approved and they appear in your portfolio on the website, you can then upload as many images as you like. All images you upload will still continue to be subject to approval to ensure maintaining a high quality website.

4) Images should be uploaded at the highest resolution (highest number of pixels i.e. 4,000 x 3,000 etc.) you have. Please do not decrease or try to increase the size of your images as this will impair printing options for customers and ultimately make your images less desirable. The resolution should be as high as possible, not the file size!

5) Images must be at least 3,000 pixels on one side with preferably 300dpi.

6) Images must be saved in JPEG (.jpg) format at the highest quality compression (usually 12) in the RGB colour space.

7) Images must be free of dust spots, scratches and heavy noise, otherwise they will be rejected. Please inspect your images close-up at 100% to ensure high quality before uploading images.

8) Images must be well exposed. They should not be under-exposed or over-exposed unless purposefully done so to enhance a special effect.

9) Images should be taken at the lowest ISO possible to reduce the effects of digital noise.

10) Images should be sharp with no blur. Images where the main subject is blurred will be rejected unless the main subject has been intentionally blurred to infer movement.

11) Images will be rejected if they contain harsh shadows from the built-in flash.

12) Images cannot have frames around them, display your signature or copyright, display any narrative whatsoever or contain a watermark. Your images will be protected by our own watermark after they have been uploaded and approved.

13) Images cannot contain registered trademarks or copyrighted objects, materials, logos or brands and brand names. Unless you have permission with a signed release from the owner of the copyright, these images will be rejected.

14) Images can either be uploaded individually, using the “Add photos” function in the “Photographer’s Area”, or they can be uploaded in batches using the “Batch upload photos” function in the “Photographer’s area.” The maximum amount our server can take per upload is 20MB so if your images exceed 20MB, try uploading them in smaller batches.

15) Images cannot contain scenes of a pornographic nature or be sexually explicit in any way. Artistic images portraying adult sensuality will be accepted at our sole discretion and must be accompanied by a copy of their ID so that we can verify their age.

16) Images cannot contain scenes of violence, or contain or portray content which violates Chinese law.

17) From time to time, images may slip through and get accepted that would otherwise be rejected. Stock Exposures reserves the right to reverse the decision on accepted images and delete them from public display.

18) Although we try our best, due to the large volume of images that Stock Exposures receives for review, it is sometimes not possible to provide you with an explanation as to why your image has been rejected. If you strongly feel that your image was rejected unfairly or rejected by mistake, please do contact us so that we can review the situation.

19) Stock Exposures is a purely digital company providing downloads of digital images. If you have images in film format that you would like to sell, we ask that you scan them into your computer and upload them onto our system digitally.

20) Our system reads the IPTC data in your images for cataloguing and for searching so it is vitally important that you input the relevant keywords for your images in order for them to be searchable and have maximum exposure for potential buyers. Please only use keywords that apply to a particular image. If you are found to be using irrelevant keywords or “spamming” you risk having those images rejected or deleted.

21) Customers will be searching for your images using English keywords. At present, we do not have the technology to automatically translate your keywords into English so for your images to be searchable and to have maximum exposure you will need to add English keywords to your images. If you are unsure what category to put your images in, leave that blank and we will categorise your images for you. Adding English keywords may take you some time, but just remember that you will be making your images globally searchable, increasing the chances of your images being sold...and you'll be improving your language skills!J

22) If your image contains the recognizable face of a person, even if it's you, and you want to sell it, then the buyer may want a signed model release (an “Adult Model Release” for adults or a “Minor Model Release” if younger than 18 years old) depending on how they want to use the image. To improve the marketability of your images we would advise you to submit a model release along with any images that may require them. You can download a Chinese and English model release here (Please note: you must be logged in to download forms). Of course it's not always possible to obtain a model release if it's after the fact and the person lives in another city/country etc. and the buyer may not need a model release for his/her intended use of the image, but it’s better to get one if you can, as it is protection for buyers and it may make them more likely to buy your images.

23) All photographers receive 60% of the proceeds from every image of theirs that is downloaded. Therefore, if a customer downloads one of your images and an Extended Royalty-Free license, which would cost US$200, you will be paid US$120 or the equivalent in your local currency.

24) Once photographers accounts reach US$50 or the equivalent in the local currency, payments will be made on the 20th of every month. Payments can be made via Paypal or Moneybookers, or for Chinese photographers living in China, we can pay you directly into your bank account. If any account balances on the 20th of the month are below US$50, or the equivalent in the local currency, they will be reviewed again the following month.

25) Always remember, you are not selling your photos! You are just selling Royalty Free and Editorial licenses for people to use them over and over again. They could appear in magazines, newspapers, books, billboards, posters and even on TV, but you will always retain the copyright to your photos, and they will always remain your property. You are not giving up your rights to your images so you have nothing to lose!

26) Licenses for Royalty Free images are sold on the strict basis that the images will not be in any way used in a defamatory, pornographic, libellous or humiliating way that could harm Stock Exposures or any of its photographers.