How To Sample Shutterstock's Inventory to Complete Your Projects

How to Sample Shutterstock's Inventory to Complete Your Projects

Brie Clayton March 24, 2025

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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.

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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.

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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

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