Stock contributor guide

Shutterstock CSV Metadata Format Guide

Shutterstock accepts CSV metadata for contributor submissions, but its required column names and optional tags are different from Adobe Stock.

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

Required columns

Shutterstock's current contributor guide requires Filename, Description, Keywords and Categories.

Keywords and categories

Keywords are comma-separated. Categories can contain one or two Shutterstock category names separated by commas.

Optional columns

Illustration, Mature Content and Editorial can be included when needed and can be omitted otherwise.

Match filenames exactly

Each row is connected to the uploaded image or video by filename, so extensions and spelling must match.