Quality

QUALITY
The image quality of your photo(s) did not meet the very high standards of Airliners.Net.

This may be the result of several perceived problems happening simultaneously, such as grain, blurriness, or unfavourable lighting. This leads us to believe that a complete rework starting with the original camera file (in the case of a digitally taken image) or a fresh scan (in the case of a scanned photo, negative or slide) would be necessary, rather than a simple adjustment to the already uploaded file.

A common reason for getting this rejection is that you have cropped the photo too much. If the airplane is very small in frame in the original photo, cropping the image very tightly will almost always result in an image without much detail.

Heat-haze can also be a reason for this rejection. Heat-haze is caused by the difference in temperature between asphalt/concrete and the air above it. This phenomenon is most apparent on hot days but can also occur in winter. Long tele shots suffer from it the most. When you photograph aircraft on the ground, or even in the sky, heat-haze will result in a blurred or wobbly appearance, e.g. lines on the aircraft become wobbly. In most cases photos with this problem cannot be improved.

If you are using a digital camera, check the camera settings and use the highest quality setting and resolution the camera has to offer. Please be aware also that unprocessed digital camera output is generally not of acceptable quality for Airliners.Net. Most shots from a digital camera do require a certain amount of post-processing with image editing software, mainly levelling, sharpening and resizing. If you are using a lower quality digital camera with a resolution below 3 Megapixel, you might consider investing in a camera with higher resolution or borrow one from your friend/workplace/school.

If the image was a scanned photo, negative or slide, the most common cause for this problem is either a bad scanner or that the scanner wasn't used properly. If you think this might be the cause, please read the documentation for your scanner and find the best DPI and colour settings. Generally a higher DPI and colour setting will make a higher quality image, but only to a certain degree. Try many different settings until you find the best combination. If you are using an old or low quality scanner, you might consider investing in a new or borrow one from your friend/workplace/school.

If the resolution of the photo was 1200 pixels or higher, then it may also help if you resize the photo down to 1000 pixels wide. This will generally make any flaws the image may have less apparent. If the quality of an image is not sufficient for an image of say 1400 pixels wide, it may just be sufficient for uploading in 1000 pixels wide. Do not upload at sizes below 1000 pixels, as that is the minimum accepted size at Airliners.net.

some oversharpening (titles) but generally a little soft in places (tail area) + slight overexposure of the nose/cockpit area + poor contrast overall (e.g. grey tyres, slightly pale look) + slight oversaturation of colours --> all combined give a quality rejection / improved acceptable version - Photo copyright © Paul Markman

The quality rejection can be seen as a shortcut for saying that there are a number of things wrong with an image. It may be that several small issues work together to cause a rejection, but it may also be that the image is extremely poor.