Shutterstock Contributor Review (2024)

Are you curious about becoming a Shutterstock Contributor? With the growing demand for stock photos, joining a stock photo agency can be an excellent way to earn extra income, and Shutterstock is one of the leading stock photo sites.

In this Shutterstock contributor review, we'll explore the benefits of joining the Shutterstock Contributor Program and discuss how to get approved, as well as best practices for making money on Shutterstock. We will also consider both the pros and cons associated with being a contributor so that you can make an informed decision before committing to it.

Join us in exploring what it takes to sell photos successfully on Shutterstock!

Shutterstock Contributor Program Overview

The Contributor Program here on the Shutterstock platform allows photographers, illustrators, and videographers to make money by selling their work. Through the program, contributors can upload photos, illustrations, or videos to the Shutterstock library and receive royalties whenever those items are purchased by customers.

Shutterstock’s global customer base includes businesses of all sizes and individuals from around the world who use content from its library for websites, marketing materials, advertisem*nts, books, magazines, and more.

The company also offers tools and resources designed to help stock photographers go through the approval process and maximize their Shutterstock earnings, such as lists of which type of images sell the most, tutorials on how to take better photos or videos, and an intelligent tool to simplify and improve image keywording, among others.

Once approved by Shutterstock staff members after reviewing an initial batch of images (or videos), applicants become official contributors whose works can now be sold in the stock photo library.

Most stock photographers who turned Shutterstock into a successful side hustle follow several best practices when uploading content onto Shutterstock and other agencies, such as using keywords effectively so customers can easily find them, taking high-quality photographs or recording high-definition video footage, ensuring all submitted material is unique; creating multiple versions/angles of each image/video clip; and creating content on high demand based on photography trends.

It’s worth mentioning that many contributors recommend having patience while waiting for your first sale since it takes time before people start buying your work. Since the earnings per sale are usually small, it can also take time to make the minimum payout amount and even longer to make a somewhat steady monthly income.

Also important to highlight that here you can sell images under a royalty-free license for commercial use and also under an editorial-only license. Now Shutterstock also has editorial subscription plans.

Benefits of Joining the Shutterstock Contributor Program

Joining the Shutterstock Contributor Program is a great way to make money from your photography skills and artwork without investing much money or time.

Becoming a contributor gives you access to an international marketplace with millions of potential buyers for your work. You have complete control over what you submit. And you get paid every time someone downloads one of your images or videos, even if it’s years later, so your submissions can pay off for a long time.

Plus, no one can download your content without paying first; when they do, they get a license to use your work in certain established ways. Still, you retain copyright ownership and can continue selling the same image over and over, earning each time.

As a contributor, you’ll have access to exclusive tools and resources that can help you maximize your earnings potential, too. Let’s go by parts:

1. Huge Customer Base and Global Exposure:

Becoming a contributor gives you access to an international marketplace with millions of potential buyers for your work. More exposure to this large pool of people potentially means more downloads. It also means your work can be used and seen all over the world.

2. Solid Legal Business:

At Shutterstock, you have complete control over what you submit –though the company decides what to approve into its library–; and you get paid every time someone downloads one of your images or videos – even if it’s years later.

Plus, no one can download your content without paying first. When they do, they get a license that authorizes them to use your work in certain ways –there are standard and enhanced license options available; an enhanced license has a higher selling price– but forbids them from uses that could affect you or your work negatively.

Finally, the agency protects your images from unauthorized downloads and handles all the licensing processes on your behalf.

3. Earnings Potential and Easy Cash-Out:

Shutterstock’s royalty rates (the percentage of the sale price they pay you for each sale) are admittedly not the most generous out there (between 15% and 40% of the sale price); however, the company is very successful, has a large customer base, and is very active and serious on their marketing strategies, which results in more sales. There’s potential to earn more here than at other stock photo sites.

Contributors get paid monthly via PayPal and other online money transfer methods when they reach a minimum of $35 in earnings. It’s that simple.

4. Straightforward Review System:

All content submitted must meet strict quality assurance standards before being accepted into the program. The review process includes technical quality and commercial value, ensuring only the best photos are available for purchase by customers worldwide.

5. Easy Uploading Process:

The contributor portal and contributor app are very user-friendly. With just a few clicks in the Shutterstock Contributor portal’s dashboard interface, it's easy to submit images quickly without any hassle or technical know-how required.

6. Access to Exclusive Tools & Resources:

As a contributor, you’ll gain access to helpful tools like automatic and intelligent keywording, tips, workshops, and tutorials on different creative and commercial topics for selling images, lists of the type of content that customers are mostly after, annual creative trends, and more —all designed to help increase sales and boost earnings potential even further.

7. Creative Community Support:

Shutterstock represents a global community that comprises thousands of creative professionals who share their knowledge through forums, blog posts, and other resources—so you can always find support when needed.

Joining the Shutterstock Contributor Program can provide a great opportunity to monetize your creative work and gain exposure for your portfolio. Now let's look at how to get approved as a Shutterstock contributor.

How to Get Approved as a Shutterstock Contributor

Getting approved as a Shutterstock contributor is the first step for anyone looking to make money from their photography or illustrations on this website. To be accepted, you must meet certain criteria and submit samples of your work for their review.

Submitting Samples

The first step in becoming a Shutterstock contributor is submitting samples of your work. You’ll need to upload 10-15 images demonstrating the quality and range of what you can offer on the platform. Make sure they are high resolution, sharply defined, well composed, and free from imperfections such as noise. The images should also represent different topics, so buyers have more options when searching for stock photos or illustrations.

A Shutterstock staff member will review your samples and either approve or reject them –including feedback in case of rejection. If you are approved, your images will go online and be available to sell, and you can start submitting more content to grow your portfolio and increase your chances for sales. If you’re rejected, you are welcome to work on the rejection points and try again.

Meeting Criteria

In addition to submitting sample images that fulfill certain requirements, other criteria you and your images must meet to be accepted as a Shutterstock contributor.

• You must be 18 years old or older and create a Shutterstock account in your name.
• You must be the copyright owner of all the content you submit and understand the licensing terms that will govern them if sold on the platform.
• You must submit original content that doesn’t replicate or is heavily influenced by someone else’s work.
• If you wish to sell the images for commercial use, they should not contain any copyrighted material, such as trademarks or logos, unless you have written permission from the owner.
• For commercial use photos, all recognizable people featured in the image must sign model releases; the same goes for private property such as buildings or trademarks – they must include a property release.

These and some other requirements related to the type of content you can upload, the minimum and maximum file size for a photograph, standards for EPS files, and more, are detailed in Shutterstock's Content Submission Guidelines and include no offensive material such as nudity or violence, for example.

Once these requirements are met, it typically takes 1-2 weeks for your application to be reviewed by Shutterstock staff, who will determine if you meet their standards for acceptance into the program.

If approved, congratulations. You can now start uploading content onto their platform, where customers worldwide can purchase them directly.

With the right knowledge and preparation, anyone can get approved as a Shutterstock Contributor. Now let's take a look at some best practices for making money on Shutterstock.

Best Practices for Making Money on Shutterstock

Making money on Shutterstock is harder today than it was a decade or more ago. The competition is fierce, with hundreds of thousands of contributors and millions of images available.

To ensure you have a real chance at monetizing your photos and maximizing your earnings, it’s important to understand the best practices for making money on Shutterstock.

Creating Quality Content

Quality content is key when it comes to making money on Shutterstock. Customers want high-quality images and videos to help them create professional projects. When creating content, focus on producing commercial quality: images that are beautiful and technically professional but also have strong commercial appeal – this will ensure that customers are more likely to purchase your work to use in their projects for things like marketing and advertising. Additionally, research popular topics and trends to create content that meets customer needs and wants.

In terms of quantity, how many photos you upload and how often can affect your earning potential. Even today, when a huge number of images are uploaded every minute, the stock photo business is one based on volume: the more pictures you have online, the higher the chance to sell your photos.

Finding Content Gaps

Another way of maximizing earnings as a Shutterstock contributor is by finding gaps in existing content offerings and filling them with new images or videos of your own creation. This could include taking pictures of unique locations or events or creating custom illustrations or animations based on customer requests. Doing so helps you stand out from other contributors who may be offering similar products – giving you an edge when it comes time for customers to make their purchasing decisions.

Optimizing Keywords

Finally, optimizing keywords helps increase the visibility of your work within search results pages (SERPs). Add keywords with relevant terms related to the subject matter of each image/video, so customers can find the images they need quickly and easily – increasing the chances they’ll select one of yours. It’s also important not to stuff too many keywords into descriptions as this could negatively impact SERP rankings; instead, focus on selecting only those words that accurately describe the product offered for sale.

By following these best practices for making money on Shutterstock, you can maximize your earnings and ensure that your content is attractive to buyers. Now let's look at the pros and cons of being a Shutterstock contributor.

Pros & Cons of Being a Shutterstock Contributor

FAQs concerning Shutterstock Contributor Review

Shutterstock Contributor Review Conclusion

The Shutterstock Contributor Program offers an easy-to-use portal with plenty of helpful resources and tools to help contributors succeed. The program has great benefits, such as intelligent workflow tools and professional, creative assistance.

However, it’s important to remember that success on Shutterstock requires putting in the work consistently and being patient until results begin to show.

In today’s time, Shutterstock is a good option to make some extra money or test the waters with a photography business, but it’s unrealistic to expect to earn a living solely from it.

We hope this Shutterstock contributor review was useful in helping you decide if joining the Shutterstock Contributor Program is right for you!