Becoming a contributor at Shutterstock is simple! Anyone over the legal age of 18 can register in a few easy steps. You’ll be ready to start submitting content quickly.

To sign up for a Shutterstock contributor account, register at submit.shutterstock.com. This site is specifically tailored for our contributors. Our customers should use shutterstock.com.

To register, you’ll need to provide some basic personal information and verify your email.  You are welcome to create a free browse account on our customer site as well, but you can only submit content through your contributor account on submit.shutterstock.com.

STEP 1: Provide Basic Information

On the first page, enter your full name, display name, and email address. Your full name should match your legal or business name if you register as a business. Your display name is what will be displayed publicly. We will contact you through the email address associated with your account.
 

When you press “Next,” we will send you a message to verify that the email address you provided is valid.  Follow the instructions in the email.

Check out this article if you encounter problems verifying your email.

STEP 2: Add your address

Now you’re ready to explore your account dashboard and start uploading your content!

You’ll still need to enter your residential address and your mailing address if they are different. Address information should be entered in English only (accented letters or special characters are not accepted).
 

Submit your work

To become an active Shutterstock contributor, you need to submit several photos, jpegs, eps illustrations, or a few video clips for your first submission that meet our submission criteria.  The content you submit will be reviewed by our expert team of reviewers. When your first piece of content is approved, your account becomes fully active, and you can submit any file without limitation. Please keep in mind that you may only upload your own work or content to which you hold the copyright.

You can learn more about submitting different content types here:

How do I submit photos for review?
How do I submit illustrations for review?
How do I submit vector illustrations for review?
How do I submit video for review?

If your content is not approved initially, don't get discouraged, and try again! Check out this article for tips and suggestions that may help you succeed as a Shutterstock contributor: You can also get a better understanding of the reasons your content was not approved here. 

Helpful links:

Get to know our Submission Guidelines

Read our contributor blog for updates and inspiration.