A note about the Note to the Reviewer
In the past, we allowed contributors to add a free form note to the reviewer in the Content Editor. We have replaced this with a drop down menu to improve review times and give customers access to information about the content that may otherwise only have been seen by the reviewer.
Our research has shown that notes are mainly used these types of situations, we ask you to now handle these as followed:
1. "Thank you notes" (i.e. friendly but not relevant to the content or reviewer)
Thank you notes are appreciated; however they can interrupt the review process, so there is no need to include thank you notes.
2. Notes that include a case number
If you disagree with a rejection and wish to explain why, contact us at submit@shutterstock.com for additional information. If we determine that the image requires a second evaluation, we will provide you with a case number which you can enter following the selection of the option:
"See the following case number for specific information about this image"
NOTE: use this option for any instance where you were given a case number by our support staff.
3. Information about the origin of the content (mostly illustrations)
If your illustration was created without a source image (usually on a tablet) use this option to explain why no source image is attached:
"Digital illustration created without reference image."
4. Explanation of artistic intent (like "vintage effect", or "soft focus")
Any information explaining an artistic intention is not just important to the reviewer to properly evaluate your content, but is also very useful for a customer to know, so from now on we ask you to put this information in the Title/description. The reviewer will take this into consideration during the review process and, if your image is approved, it will help the customer to better judge the image and your intention.
5. Resubmission of previously approved or rejected content
To resubmit both rejected and previously approved content with corrections you can contact us for a case number or you can choose to upload the content with this option: “Previously submitted content with corrections”
There is no obligation to contact us if you wish to resubmit unless you were instructed by us to do so.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: How do I submit On The Red Carpet content?
A: If you are participating in the On The Red Carpet, we will reach out to you with steps to submit.
Q: How do I resubmit content after correcting the issue that caused a rejection?
A: Use the new option: “Previously submitted content with corrections”
Q: Does this mean we cannot resubmit? Or that the number of warnings will increase?
A: warnings are very rare and only for consistent repeated resubmissions without addressing the rejection reasons.
Q: How to submit illustrative editorial?
A: Include “Illustrative Editorial” in the title & keywords.
Q: What about incorrect rejections, such as scientific names in the keywords or non-NASA images?
A: If the image was incorrectly rejected, it is very important for us to know, please contact us at submit@shutterstock.com so we can address it with the review team and prevent future instances.
Q: If we're supposed to add information about 'artistic intent' to the description, could Shutterstock please allow us more room to do so?
A: Artistic intent should be limited to a few words, like “soft-focus” or “vintage effect”. Information such as equipment used, camera settings, or more detailed descriptions of artistic intent are not necessary.
Q: There are also situations for editorial images where I explain that the event was public and non-ticketed, and therefore no credentials are required. The reviewer needs to know this, how can add this info?
A: You can use the term “public-event” in the title. However, at the discretion of our content team we may still require additional information to determine if credentials are required. You can also contact support in advance for guidance on specific content.
Q: What to do with illustrations that are made from scratch - no source files - but not made on a tablet?
A: We have changed the drop down option to include all types of illustrations. Please use the drop down option “Digital illustration created without reference image”
Q: I would like to specify the font name and the fact that it is free when I load my pictures on Shutterstock.
A: This information is not used as part of the review process, so it is not necessary to include.
Q: how about resubmitting previously approved content?
A: Use the new option: “Previously submitted content with corrections”
Q: How do I submit content that includes elements from NASA or looks like it does, but is all content I created?
A: Both scenarios are important to our customers and should be included in the title/description field.
If you have a submission that requires a note and it does not fall in any of the situations above send an email to us at submit@shutterstock.com and we will review this on a case-by-case basis.