I have not been uploading as many cards as I was last year and the year I started here.  The reason being is for some reason, this last month I keep hitting roadblocks and every time I submit cards now they get returned for one reason or the other.  The last batch was for a font i used and have used hundreds of times here with no objection from the reviewers.  Today I got a few returned for the reason stated below by the reviewer.  Please note, this image has already been approved here on other cards and is on other sites on greeting cards and other products of which I have already sold.  It is getting really irritating now and I don't enjoy uploading images here at GCU anymore.  I am experienced with photography and I dont like a reviewer critiquing my cards because of their own opinion.   The photo on this card was taken with a long lens creating the blurred effect in the background focusing on the main flowers of the card in the center, this is called a bokeh effect.    This was taken like this because this is the effect I wanted, I have many, many cards here with the same effect using dogs as the focus.  I changed a few already that were returned because of the font but the set that was returned with this explanation for the return I would like to have them approved because this makes no sense!  
 
Product Id: 863434
 
Status: Returned for Edits
Resubmit Notes: 14. Poor Image This image will not translate well in print as a greeting card. The composition and photograph will not produce a quality greeting card. Due to our new marketability standards here at GCU we are returning htis card to you for edits for the following reson / reasons: Cute idea, but the blurry leaf and part of a yellow flower on the lower right side of the image, and the blurry yellow flower on the left side of the card image is distracting and taking away from the image. If you are able to improve this image by doing some cropping, or using a different image, we will be happy to have another look at it for you. Thanks  
 
 
This is a link to a card with the same image, fellow GCU artists, please take a l look and let me know your opinion, does the very very small piece of blurry yellow flower distract you from the cute dog in the flowers in focus?
 
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Pug+puppy+in+Pansies-greeting+card-859200?a id=135645
 
One of my flower photos with the same effect:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Yellow+Iris+Flower-greeting+card-610787?aid =135645
 
Bokeh Effect description:
 
http://www.advancedphotography.net/bokeh-effect-6-tips-create-bokeh-effect/
 
Please approve ThankYou!

Quote from MONICA_135645 on Sep 20^th, 2011, 2:38pm:

 
Hi Monica,
The review team already cconferred earlier this morning re: this cute collection of pug cards in an effort of consistent reviews finding as you have shared, there are in fact no issues with the image.  You shall see these approved in the next few hours with the exception of those that also will benefit from an adjustment to better accommodate the apostrophe mark.
 
Thank you for your understanding!

Very nice DOF Monica.  I often try for and very much like this effect for many photos I have taken.  Both macro and non macro too.  They look nice...  to my eye anyway!  

Your cards are beautiful!  I had alot returned for edits, and some declined -  truthfully some made sense and some didn't.  I'm trying to take the attitude of can't fight city hall, and I am down with a painful back condition so I don't have alot of fight in me, at the moment.  It took a long time building my shop.  I'm trying to be open minded and some of my cards are a bit outdated.  But some of these cards are returned  for reasons that don't make much sense to me.  It seems like perhaps and I am speculating here that we just might have some "hot shot reviewers" that are fellow artists which makes them our "direct competition" so of course some of them might be quick to point out what they don't care for.   This is my opinion just like they have one...so do I.   I'm going to delete some older non-selling cards without a fight.  I will however submit new more current designs and we will see where it goes.  But yes I can definitely understand the frustration as I have felt quite a bit of that lately too.  Hopefully it all works out in the end.  Peace.

HI Monica,  
 
I am a fellow photographer.  I like the pug card, expecially how well blended the pug and pansies are, so it truly looks as if the pug is sitting amongst the pansies.  I know Mindy posted a response that the cards will be approved, but since you asked I thought I might throw out a consideration.  The center of the pansy that the pug is sitting on is a bright yellow.  The yellow is a direct compliment to the purple pansies that delicately circle the pug. Because of this compliment, the two colors accentuate each other. You have 2 other yellow "spots" in the photograph bottom left and bottom right. The eye is naturally drawn to these two other spots because of the dominant compliment purple color in an effort to try to balance what is being seen in the photograph.  If you had the time and inclination, re-color the bottom two yellow spots (flowers, right?) to green as in the leafs and foliage to blend the background and continue your great deliberately blurred effect.
 
Lynn

I can totally sympathize with everyone here as well as agree that I love GCU, always have.  I was let down I suppose, because I have been "out of the loop" with health issues and if I recieved a "heads up" this purge was going to happen, I missed it.  I have to blame that on myself for now, not being able to keep up as I use to.  I also realize that, as with any business they will have to "be out with the old" and "in with the new" at some point, to stay current.  So, even if I get a little frustrated with the "goings on"  its best for me to just accept the declines gratefully....you know bottom line I'm just grateful to have my shop.  We all work very hard on our art and our shops and it's never easy to say goodbye to some of the artwork that took us hours to do.  We all have our hearts in our work for sure but GCU has to think of it as a business and we would be doing the same if we ran GCU...so all of that being said I choose to roll with it.  My art may be mediocre at best, but its still the art in my heart and will always be

Mindy, in my dealings with you, you have always been kind & fair.  If I have seemed negative towards the reviewers I apologize.  I know they have a difficult job, and one that I couldn't even begin to do, so for that I applaud them.  I guess it's tough for them too.  I might seem like I have it out for the reviewers but really I don't.  I was only trying to make sense of all of the madness and venting.  Like you said, hopefully when all is said and done GCU will be a better place.  I just hope when all is said and done that I will still be able to be an artist at GCU & still have my GCU shop, which I appreciate very much!  My GCU shop is a very nice calm in this sometimes stormy place called life.

Mindy you are so sweet!  Thank you!  And I will hang in there