Stock contributor guide

Adobe Stock vs Shutterstock Metadata Requirements

The same image can be submitted to multiple stock marketplaces, but the CSV fields are not interchangeable.

Published 2026-08-25Updated 2026-08-25By CSV Metadata

Titles versus descriptions

Adobe's CSV uses a Title field, while Shutterstock's CSV workflow uses Description for the required descriptive text.

Categories

Adobe documents Category as an optional CSV field using its category system. Shutterstock requires Categories in its CSV structure.

Optional submission flags

Shutterstock documents optional Illustration, Mature Content and Editorial fields. Adobe's CSV documentation instead includes optional Category and Releases fields.

Why separate presets matter

A contributor tool should map the same reviewed metadata into the right export format rather than pretending one universal header row will work everywhere.