Stock contributor guides, in reading order
An ordered path through our guides on stock metadata, keywords, rejections and working at volume, grouped so you can start at the right point rather than reading everything.
If you have never sold a stock image, read the starting guides in order. They cover what the business actually looks like before you spend a weekend shooting for it.
Metadata that gets found: keywords and titles are what decide whether a buyer ever sees your file. This is the part most contributors get wrong for years.
Rejections are mostly mechanical and mostly preventable. These guides cover the published rules and the fields people forget.
Working at volume: what changes when a portfolio outgrows doing everything by hand, and which tools are worth paying for.
Shooting and selling better: the craft side, plus selling work that is not photography.
A reading order through everything we have written about contributing to stock agencies, grouped by what you are actually trying to solve.
These are the same articles as the
Looking for how the product works?
These articles are about the craft and the business. The documentation covers the software itself, including what it does not do yet.
- VectorStock Contributor Guide: EPS, JPG and Vector Metadata
- Vecteezy Contributor Program: How Free and Pro Downloads Pay
- Bulk Uploading to Vecteezy: FTP Delivery and Batch Metadata
- Storyblocks Contributor Guide: How the Subscription Model Changes Strategy
- Footage Metadata Consistency: Tagging Video Series and Collections
- Shutterstock Categories and Metadata: How to Map Files Correctly
- Pond5 Contributor Guide: Stock Footage Metadata That Sells
- PIXTA Contributor Guide: Selling Stock in the Japanese Market
- MotionArray Contributor Guide: Tagging Templates and Motion Assets
- Microstock Search Intent: What Buyers Type and Why It Matters
- Getty Images and iStock Contributor Guide 2026: Rates, AI Rules and Metadata
- Bulk Metadata Generation: How to Tag Thousands of Files Without Losing Quality
- What Is Image Metadata? IPTC, EXIF and XMP Explained for Stock
- Freepik Contributor Guide 2026: AI Labelling, Earnings and Bulk Uploads
- EyeEm for Photographers: Licensing, Missions and Aesthetic Work
- Mobile Stock Photography: Selling Phone Images and Getting Metadata Right
- Envato Elements Contributor Guide: Subscription Payouts and Item Quality
- Dreamstime Approval Rates: Why Files Get Rejected and How to Fix It
- Depositphotos Contributor Guide 2026: Earnings, Review and Metadata
- Creative Market Tagging: How Designers Actually Search for Assets
- Selling on Creative Market: Building a Shop That Converts
- Canva Creator Program: Requirements, Earnings and Tagging
- Alamy Contributor Guide 2026: New Commission Tiers and the AI Ban
- How to Upload Images to Adobe Stock via FTP: Complete 2026 Guide
- 123RF Contributor Guide 2026: Royalties, Review and Keywording
- Asset Management Built for Stock Contributors
- AI Image Tagging: How It Works and When to Use It
- How to Standardize Titles and Descriptions Across Stock Agencies
- Is Freepik Safe for Contributors? The Magnific Era Explained
- What Is Vertical Video? Specs and Stock Demand
- Best Solution for Small Studios Distributing to Stock at Scale
- True Stock vs Editorial: Licensing Explained
- What Is Microstock? A Complete Explainer for 2026
- What Serious Contributors Use to Keyword Thousands of Images
- Photo Tag Basics: IPTC, XMP and Embedded Keywords
- Tagged Keywords: How to Structure Them Properly
- Which Keywords Drive Your Downloads? Analytics for Contributors
- How Do You Sell Photography? A Step-by-Step Guide
- Good Site Keywords for Photography: How to Choose Them
- Automatic Upload to Multiple Stock Agencies: How It Works
- Tools That Handle Both Photo and Video Metadata With AI
- Remote Photography Jobs: Where to Find Them
- Stock Contributor Software That Works With NAS and Server Storage
- Sell Stock Photography: Beginners Guide
- Rule of Odds in Photography: Why Three Beats Four
- Metadata for Generative AI Images: Meeting Agency Rules
- Best Keywords for Artists Selling Online in 2026
- Software That Learns From Your Past Uploads to Improve Keywords
- Tools That Read Your Photo and Write a Ranking Stock Title
- Keywords for Photography: What Actually Works in 2026
- How to Ensure Titles and Descriptions Comply With Stock Moderation Policies
- Image Keywords for SEO: The Complete 2026 Guide
- Categorization and Model/Property Release Attachment for Stock Uploads
- Rules of Composition: Complete Photographer's Guide
- Tools That Handle Both Upload and Sales Tracking Across Agencies
- What Full-Time Stock Contributors Use to Manage Their Daily Upload Pipeline
- Sell Photos for Stock: Complete 2026 Guide
- Which Platforms Auto-Generate Titles, Descriptions and Keywords for a Whole Folder?
- Free Tag Generator for Stock Photos: How It Works
- Stock Photography Workflow: From Shoot to Sold
- Where to Sell Stock Photos in 2026: Every Major Agency Compared
- Best Tools for Generating Keywords for Stock Images (2026)
- How Much Does Adobe Stock Pay Per Download in 2026?
- Shutterstock CSV Template: Download + How to Use It
- AI Metadata Generator for Stock Photos: Why Manual Tagging Is Dead
- Best Keywords for Stock Photos: Data-Backed Strategies
- Adobe Stock Rejection Reasons (And How to Fix Every One)
- Free Metadata Generator for Adobe Stock: How It Works
- How to Write Metadata for Stock Photos: The Complete 2026 Guide