Shutterstock Contributor Support (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take for Shutterstock to approve images? ›

Review timelines

Our team works promptly to assess your submissions, as it is in our mutual interests to bring your content to our marketplace as quickly as possible. Approved content is published on the customer marketplace within 24 hours of approval.

Feel free to use the “Was this Article Helpful” buttons at the bottom of each article, or send us an email at submit@shutterstock.com with “Contributor Support Center” in the subject line.

Yes, Shutterstock does pay. The company pays contributors for each image or video downloaded from the site. Contributors earn a base rate of $0.25 per download and can earn up to $120 per image depending on the image price, portfolio size, and performance level.

Your submitted content will appear in the "Pending" tab on the Portfolio page. Once your content has been reviewed, the results will display in the "Recently reviewed" tab on the Portfolio page for 21 days. It may take up to 72 hours for newly approved content to show up in your portfolio.

Content is underexposed, overexposed, or was shot in unfavorable lighting conditions.

The hardest part of Shutterstock is getting in. Don't try and wow them with anything fancy to begin with. For example, don't submit images of panning with cars. Leave that for when you are accepted.

Contact Customer Service

A custom plan can be set up to meet your company's exact needs, but you'll need some extra help creating your parameters. Simply contact customer service online or call 866-663-3954 and explain your problem to a member of Shutterstock's support staff.

You must be 18 years of age to create a Shutterstock account. You may not share an account with another individual, and/or share content with another Shutterstock contributor without prior consent from Shutterstock.

You can earn money by uploading to Shutterstock. It most likely won't replace the income you make from a day job. Your income will depend on a variety of things like how many images are in your portfolio, how usable they are, how new the content is and how often you are licensing.

What is the minimum payout on Shutterstock? ›

Minimum payout: Enter the amount of earnings that must accrue in your account before a payment can be made. The minimum payout amount is $25 and the maximum is $2000.

500px offers some of the highest royalty rates in stock photography. As a paid Awesome member, you earn 70% royalties on non-exclusive photos and up to 100% on exclusive photos licensed. Free members likewise earn 60% on exclusive photos.

Keywording is how customers find your images on Shutterstock. Without accurate and clear keywords, you will not be able to earn money from your submitted content. All keywords that you add to your image should be relevant to the image, and specific to the content that is showcased.

Using content without permission constitutes copyright infringement and can lead to lawsuits and fines. It also robs artists and creators of fair compensation. Shutterstock is here to make the licensing of content easy as all our content is royalty-free. Your focus should solely be on your projects.

You can submit content and generate sales right away, and we encourage you to do so! You will be eligible to receive a payment 90 days after your first image or clip is approved. Please note that to receive payouts you must reach your minimum payout threshold as outlined in this article.

Submitting photos to Shutterstock is simple. Just upload your files with descriptions and keywords. We'll evaluate your submissions and publish the approved content to your portfolio. You can learn more about our review process here.

Once your submission has successfully passed the review process, your approved content will be published on shutterstock.com and available for download. On occasion, it may take up to 72 hours for recently approved content to appear in the Catalog Manager and on the site.

The Marketplace Catalog page of your contributor account allows you to easily view, edit and organize all the content that has been approved in your Shutterstock portfolio and published on our customer website. You can access this page from the Portfolio menu in the left navigation bar in your contributor account.