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Why stocks reject photos and videos for metadata

Last verified: September 2026

Most rejections tied to metadata come down to four things: similar content, keyword or title spam, brand names, and metadata that does not match the photo or clip. Here is what Adobe Stock, Shutterstock and Getty say about each, and how to stay clear of them.

Similar content

  • Adobe: similar content is one of the top reasons files are refused. Many copies of the same or near-identical shot can be seen as spam, and reusing identical metadata for similar photos can lead to refusals.
  • Shutterstock: content "too visually similar" to what you already submitted or had approved is not accepted. Submit only the strongest, most distinct variations. It allows one colour, one black-and-white and one filtered version of the same image.
  • Getty and iStock: files too similar to others in the same series can be flagged as duplicates and rejected.

Give each photo or clip of a series its own title and description that says what is different in it.

Keyword and title spam

Shutterstock defines keyword spam as "overusing repeated or irrelevant terms". Its example of what not to do: "car ride, car road, car drive, car move, car adventure…". Titles with repeated words ("run, run, run") are refused too.

Shutterstock also refuses commercial titles that:

  • are not in English;
  • have fewer than five words;
  • do not describe what is in the image;
  • contain special characters;
  • read like a list of keywords.

Adobe lists "inappropriate or irrelevant keywords or titles" among its common refusal reasons.

Brand names and trademarks

  • Adobe: no logos, trademarks, company or brand names, or identifiable packaging; distinctive products must not be the main subject.
  • Shutterstock: no trademarks or logos in commercial content or in its metadata (descriptions and keywords).

Describe the object, not the brand: "smartphone", not the maker's name.

Metadata that does not match the photo or clip

Shutterstock rejects content whose metadata "does not relate to the depicted subject matter". Every keyword should name something that is in the photo or clip, or that it clearly expresses.

Generative AI (Adobe)

Adobe refuses generative-AI content that is not marked with its generative-AI checkbox at submission.

Sources

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