Shutterstock Search Guide: Tips to Find the Perfect Photos (2024)

Shutterstock is a leading stock photo site renowned for its vast image repository, boasting over 475 million images, with more added periodically. It's a great site to find images for your projects.

Selecting the perfect image is pivotal if you want to create effective designs that drive results and leave a lasting impact. Efficient search on such a vast library is essential, saving time and enhancing user experience.

Our Shutterstock search guide equips you with the tools to master the search process swiftly. From refining queries to utilizing advanced filters, we streamline your journey to finding the ideal photo.
You can try out the Shutterstock search here right away!

Say goodbye to endless scrolling and back-and-forths; with our guide, you'll navigate Shutterstock's immense library effortlessly, ensuring perfect selections for your projects every time!

Shutterstock's Search Bar Breakdown

To search for specific assets within Shutterstock's millions of files, you can use the agency's search bar, which is prominently displayed on the homepage of its website and can be found on other pages in a smaller format at the top of the screen.

It's important to note that Shutterstock's search features are powered by the latest AI technology to deliver the best possible results in the fastest and user-friendliest way possible. More details are in our complete Shutterstock review.

If you want to buy Shutterstock assets at the best possible price, our Shutterstock Credit Coupon saves you 25% off the 25-image pack, and our standard Shutterstock coupon code gives you a 15% discount on all subscription plans and on-demand packs!

Moreover, a Shutterstock search bar is available right here in this article. You can search for images (photos, vectors, illustrations, graphics) and view the results without leaving the page. Give it a try:

The search bar has several functions that are simple and effective for customers:

• The keyword field is where you can enter terms and words that best describe your search. When you hit enter (or click on the magnifying glass button on the right), the search engine will show you images, videos, and music related to your query.
• The bar's camera button on the right corner accesses the reverse image search field. Here, you can drag and drop any image or select it from your computer storage, and the image recognition engine will find the closest visual matches available on the Shutterstock library.
• The different media type buttons on top of the search bar or in the drop-down button on the left corner let you refine your query to specific media formats ( image, video, music, templates) instead of a mix of all.

Overall, the search feature is user-friendly, complete, and delivers. Now, let's take a closer look at each of these search options.

Note: This guide's focus is image search, but these features and tips work for video searches too!

Mastering Search with Keywords

Shutterstock's keyword search functionality is designed to provide highly relevant search results that are tailored to your specific queries. The system uses advanced AI algorithms to analyze metadata and tags associated with each piece of content in its vast library. This ensures the search results accurately reflect the intended subject matter, providing an enhanced user experience.

To allow for greater control and precision over the search results, the system incorporates Boolean operators such as “AND,” “OR,” “NOT”, etc. This allows you to combine or exclude keywords as needed easily.

The keyword search field also includes an autocomplete function, similar to Google's, which predicts search terms as you type. This speeds up the search process and reduces potential typos or misspellings. Additionally, the options for keywords that appear are relevant keyword suggestions that provide alternatives and related terms, giving users more control over their search criteria.

Furthermore, the system discloses trending keywords below the search field, which highlight popular topics and help you discover fresh and trending content quickly.

Overall, searching images by keywords on Shutterstock is a seamless process created to deliver great results.

Taking Advantage of Reverse Image Search

Shutterstock's reverse image search employs advanced AI image recognition technology to simplify content discovery. You can upload an image, and the system swiftly matches the visual data to show you similar images from its extensive database.

This innovative approach eliminates the need to describe images in writing, streamlining the search process and overcoming frustrated searches due to inexact keyword combinations.

Two practical applications of this feature stand out. Firstly, it allows you to find licensable images similar to ones you admire but are unavailable. This is invaluable for maintaining consistency in visual branding or finding concept variations.

Secondly, you can snap a quick photo of a scene or object you like, and the system finds professional-quality images that match that snapshot. This feature is particularly useful for non-creative professionals needing instant access to high-quality visuals for their projects, saving time and putting focus in the creative process without developing new skills.

Utilizing Advanced Search Filters

Shutterstock's advanced search filters give you precise control over your content discovery experience. With options to refine results based on basic parameters such as orientation or image type and more specific ones like people characteristics or usage rights, you can tailor your searches to meet specific needs every time.

Filtering by orientation ensures that only landscape or portrait images are displayed, maintaining consistency with project requirements. Moreover, refining results by color lets you match visuals to your brand palette effortlessly.

Advanced filter options can be very useful in refining search results to find the most relevant content. For example, the People filter enables you to search for images with or without people in them, and if you prefer images with people, you can further specify the age, gender, ethnicity, and other characteristics of the individuals depicted. The Usage filter lets you search for images only for commercial or editorial purposes. The pixels filter lets you set the width and length dimensions your images must have. The Safe Search feature, which can be turned on and off, prevents you from seeing sensitive and NSFW content during your search. There are many other precise filters available for more refined searches.

Combining various filters is a practical way to save time finding suitable images for your project and improving the overall quality of your content selection. Experimenting with filters offers a dynamic approach to content exploration, enabling you to explore various combinations to achieve optimal outcomes.

Sorting and Arranging Results

As we wrap up our coverage of the search feature, sorting and arranging search results on Shutterstock can significantly enhance your browsing efficiency. You can easily organize the results by relevance, newest, or random by using the drop-down button on the top right corner of the results page. This allows you to customize your browsing experience to suit your needs.

Sorting by relevance ensures that the most relevant content appears first, which saves you time by prioritizing the most appropriate matches. Opting for the newest option keeps you up-to-date with the latest trends and fresh content, making it ideal for projects that require up-to-date visuals—additionally, sorting search results by random offers a serendipitous browsing experience, allowing you to discover unexpected gems and spark creative inspiration.

Utilizing these sorting options allows you to streamline the search process, discover high-quality content efficiently, and stay ahead of the curve in your creative pursuits.

Browsing Curated Collections and Categories

There are other ways to search for content on Shutterstock besides the search engine. Shutterstock's categories and curated collections –available on the website's main menu– offer a treasure trove of diverse, high-quality content meticulously selected to cover popular themes, topics, and trending concepts.

The staff handpicks images for these galleries –categories are evergreen while collections are constantly evolving–, ensuring they resonate with current trends, styles, and cultural phenomena. Whether seasonal festivities, emerging design trends, or timeless concepts, these selections inspire creativity and streamline the search process.

Browsing through these categories and collections provides a source of inspiration and saves valuable time in finding the ideal image for any project. You can explore curated galleries dedicated to your interest, whether for marketing campaigns, editorial projects, or personal creative endeavors.

BONUS: Search by…

Lastly, let us tell you about two not-so-known ways of finding pictures on Shutterstock.

• Search by Artist – If there is a photographer you love, you can find their work directly. There is an Artists search filter where you can type the artist's name or Shutterstock Contributor username to see that person's portfolio and narrow down results to artists from a specific region in the world.Additionally, you can see contributor names and portfolio links on image preview pages.
• Search by Image ID – If you already licensed an image from Shutterstock but lost or can't access the download history in your user account, or if by other means you have the image file's ID but not the actual photo, you don't have to struggle to describe it with keywords or even have the image file to use as reverse image search; you can enter the image ID number into the search field, the system will match it to the correspondent file and summon it for you.

These extra searching methods can save time in specific cases and ensure you access the content required for your projects.

Shutterstock Search FAQ

Before we go, let’s address these common questions about searching images on Shutterstock.

Find Images Faster with our Shutterstock Search Guide

Mastering Shutterstock's search feature can enhance your creative workflow and user experience by enabling faster and easier discovery of high-quality images.

With the help of keywords and reverse image search, applying search filters, and browsing curated collections, you can streamline the process of finding exactly what you need in no time.

We would love to hear your own Shutterstock search tips! Share your image search hacks in our comment section below!