I'd really like to be able to go to this website one day and not be left with the feeling that I want to smash my computer, I know I have images on there I'm pretty sure I sold some before, clicking on "profile" does nothing I even tried going to the iStock site and searching for my user name to see if it would bring up a list of my existing photos, still no. What exactly is wrong with this interface?
I have 1M+ stock photos and 500K+ stock video clips, around 15TB in total, that I've been storing for years but barely use anymore.
I'm thinking about deleting them to free up storage, but before I do, I’d like to see if there’s any practical way to monetize or repurpose them.
Any ideas? What would you do with a collection this large?
I'm a software developer and just started uploading travel photos to Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. Keywording tools already exist, but for me the real pain came before that: going through every shot to check for recognizable people, fingers in the frame, tilted horizons, blur, low resolution, and deciding commercial vs editorial.
I'm considering building a tool that:
- flags rejection risks before you submit (people, logos, fingers, horizon, blur, resolution)
- suggests commercial vs editorial
- applies only safe, non-generative fixes (crop, horizon, exposure), no generative AI edits since Shutterstock doesn't accept them
- then generates metadata
Honest questions for those who upload regularly:
Would this save you meaningful time, or is culling quick for you in Lightroom?
What's your typical rejection rate, and the most common reasons?
Would you pay for something like this? Per image or monthly? If not, why not?
No links, nothing to sign up for. Just trying to figure out if this is worth building at all. Brutal answers welcome.
My Shutterstock contributor account was suddenly terminated due to an alleged "AI-generated content" violation. The problem is: I have never submitted any AI content.
I’ve been an active Shutterstock contributor for over 12 years with zero policy strikes. I work professionally as an independent timelapse and hyperlapse filmmaker. Every single file across my massive portfolio (over 70K photos and video clips) was shot on location using digital cameras and processed through standard manual post-production workflows.
Recently, I noticed an alarming trend: a few of my genuine, real-world camera photos were rejected by their automated review system with the reason "AI-generated content." I knew they were 100% authentic captures, and from reading various creator forums, I realized many stock contributors have recently been suffering from false-positive AI detections.
Then the worst happened: my entire contributor account was suddenly terminated for alleged "AI violations" (Sections 13d and 13f).
Over a decade of dedicated work and my entire catalog are now at risk of vanishing overnight because of a faulty automated scanner.
When I reached out to support asking for a manual human review and offering to provide original camera files, sequences, and project files, they simply closed the ticket with an automated, copy-paste macro stating that the decision is final and that no earnings will be paid.
Does anyone have a direct contact of a real human at Shutterstock — a manager, supervisor, or someone in the Compliance/Content Operations team who can actually review this manually? Any help or escalation contact would be greatly appreciated.
Any insight or advice would mean a lot right now.
I have sold this photo a bunch of times.
But if the people that did buy it, are they allowed to sell it as print like on this website that i rid a reverse image search on?
https://www.abposters.com/australian-ducks-resting-beside-calm-reflective-wetland-f2024124503
