How to Sample Shutterstock's Inventory to Complete Your Projects
Brie Clayton March 24, 2025
0 Comments
Shutterstock is currently offering 20% off with the promo code STOCKUP ! This promotion lasts until April 1st, so don't delay!
You're editing a video, writing an article, or assembling some graphics on a tight deadline. Suddenly you realize what's missing; the perfect b-roll clip, that one image to capture the mood for your article, or a graphic layout that can neatly tie everything together. You could spend days with a camera finding the perfect light and subject to shoot your own material. You could set up interviews and select just the right photographer/videographer for $100-$400 per hour. You could go back to art school.
Or you could do a quick, smart search through Shutterstock s hundreds of thousands of pictures and videos at your fingertips to choose nuanced material that perfectly supports the story you're trying to tell.
When you navigate to Shutterstock.com, if you find that the selection is so vast it's overwhelming, you're not alone. The selection at Shutterstock boasts over 30 million video clips to choose from, and over 70,000 clips added every day. The image library has over 450 million images, with 200,000 more added daily!
Thanks to this incredible and varied library, Shutterstock stands out among other stock sites as being the place to go when you are looking for something very specific. Whether you search for something ambiguous like a moody landscape, or a very specific concept, you are bound to find something to fit the project that you need to complete.
The Shutterstock keyword search is very precise, with rewarding results
Shutterstock has one of, if not the largest collection of stock images to choose from. With such an evolving selection to choose from, your projects will never lack for material, and your workflow will be inspired.
So, where to begin?
Once you choose a category from the menu, you'll find the Shutterstock keyword search to be very responsive. Because the library is this large, you can find nearly anything you're looking for, and perhaps a few things that will surprise you.
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Vimeo framework uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
Shutterstock's Video Clips Once you've found the perfect asset, it's time to pay money, and this is where many folks may be surprised to find that a single video can run $79. There is a way to manage this sticker shock, however.
When just starting out on Shutterstock, the best way to dip your toe in the stock image/video waters is to start with a pack of creative assets. In fact, the ability to purchase these affordable non-subscription packs in such a sea of variety sets Shutterstock apart from other stock sites. You can subscribe to Shutterstock videos, images, and AI, but you don't necessarily have to. This flexibility can get you on your way in a hurry, and if you are ready to commit later on, you can return and save even more on assets with a subscription.
The image and video categories offer their own credit packs, while AI generation and off-set images are sold separately. So if you've bought an image pack, for example, you will not be able to use one of those credits to download a video or generate AI images. If you buy an image pack, the image credits can be applied to vectors and editorial assets, however. You will not be able to use credits to obtain an off-set image, but more on that later.
For a branding project here at Creative COW, we began by purchasing a pack of videos, and the run-down was thus:
Shutterstock allows users to purchase a couple of assets or many, depending upon their needs
We opted for the 10 clip package deal, used it to download a great vertical clip of a cow chewing her cud, with a standard video license, and were able to start our TikTok brand video for Creative COW.
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Vimeo framework uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
Shutterstock Images Next, we needed a collage frame for the Creative COW Newsletter social media posts. We were presented with an array of options, and settled on a set of designs that would give Creative COW a fresh look.
The packs for images come in either 2, 5, or 25 at once, with either a standard license or an enhanced license.
For our project, we simply chose to purchase a pack of 2, knowing that with the volume of graphic work done behind the scenes at Creative COW, it won't be long before that second image comes in handy.
The final product for Creative COW's latest newsletter social media posts using one of Shutterstock's many collage templates
Shutterstock's Off-Set Images You will not be able to purchase off-set images using Shutterstock image credits. Off-set images are part of a highly curated collection, and can only be purchased outright, one-by-one. These images also tend to be a bit pricier than the other images, but the individual photographers who supply the premium images also make a larger commission off of the sale.
Controlling Your Shutterstock Profile Plans When you purchase a pack of either videos or images, you'll see a certain notice on the bottom of the pack price list that says Your pack will automatically refill when all licenses are used. Do not be alarmed, however, as this can easi
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
How to Sample Shutterstock's Inventory to Complete Your Projects 
