Working with Shutterstock's AI Editor to Create Unique Images

Working with Shutterstock's AI Editor to Create Unique Images

Brie Clayton April 25, 2025

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What's better than a stock image source? An individualized stock image source, offering selections that will be unique to you and to your project specifically.

Most images in Shutterstock's 450 million strong inventory can be adjusted to give you an image that you won't see anywhere else on the web or in print, using Shutterstock's powerful AI Editor.

Accessing the AI Editor Step 1: Choose an image that has the potential to fit your project's needs

Step 2: On that image's page, at the bottom right hand side of the image itself, you will see a Remove Background button. Hitting this button will reveal all of the AI tools that can transform the stock asset into a distinct image that expresses the precise aim of your article, website, or ad campaign.

Step 3: Once you've clicked Remove Background , a series of 6 buttons will line up on the right hand side of your new editing screen, including Magic Brush, Expand, Variations, Background Remover, Filter, and Crop. Use these tools to tweak and fine-tune the image to your needs!

Step 4: Once you've perfected the image to your individual wishes, you can license and download it. Hitting the download button gives you a zip file which will include both the original image and your adjusted creation.

The Magic Brush Tool This might be the most genius tool to come out of Shutterstock's AI to date. If the image of choice has a person or object in it that doesn't fit the bill, by simply highlighting the area with the Magic Brush, the item can either be magically erased, or replaced with something completely different! Employing AI powers Shutterstock to seamlessly replace the unwanted portion with literally anything in seconds, blending in the background around your replaced item.

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The Expand Tool The Expand selection will allow a user to enlarge any image, relying upon AI to supply what might be in the new space.

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In our example, we've chosen a good representation of a woman speaking to an audience. However fitting this image may be for our story, the chosen image is a little too zoomed in on the woman, and we'd like to see more of the auditorium and audience around her. A simple click upon Expand instantly produces several selections that include more audience and more auditorium around the edges. If we like, we can choose an AI generation that includes more of the woman's body and podium beneath, with added details in the ceiling, creating a completely different feel to the picture.

As with any AI, at times the added material will be a little off. By clicking the Redo button, we can give the Expand function another pass until we find a generation that satisfies our project.

The Variations Tool The Variation tool in Shutterstock's AI Edit toolbox allows for multiple creative takes on the same basic image.

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AI takes a look at your chosen image and imagines several similar but different arrangements of the same scenario. If you don't like what you see, you can hit the Redo button on the bottom right to get a whole new set of variations to choose from.

Background Remover The Background Remover tool will accurately and cleanly remove the background to the stock image of your choice, and present you with your main subject on an alpha background.

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The Filter Tool Shutterstock's Filter tool in the AI Editor gives the option to adjust the overall tone of each image. With the options of black & white, sequoia, warm, tranquil, and vintage, users can explore how changing the color tone of stock imagery will add to its value before pulling the trigger on a download

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The Crop Tool The Crop tool is exactly what you'd expect, allowing you to focus on only the area of the image that you need before download.

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