Stock Metadata Templates, Formulas & CSV Formats
Reference formats for writing stock titles, descriptions and keywords, and for building the CSV files Adobe Stock and Shutterstock expect. These are patterns you can follow by hand — Metadata Studio is not a template library.
Title formulas (max 70 characters)
A stock title is a plain, descriptive sentence that names the main subject plus its most useful attributes. Adobe Stock allows up to 70 characters; shorter titles that lead with the subject tend to read better. Use this pattern:
{Subject} {action/pose} {setting or context}
- Good: "Golden retriever puppy sitting on green grass"
- Good: "Barista pouring latte art in a modern cafe"
- Avoid: leading articles ("A", "The"), hype ("amazing", "best"), and file names or camera settings.
Metadata Studio applies the same rule automatically: it cleans smart quotes, removes leading articles and hype, and trims the result to your chosen length without splitting a word. See the Adobe Stock metadata generator guide for the full behaviour.
Description patterns (max 150 characters)
The description expands on the title: what is happening, where, and any mood or use context. Aim for one or two sentences.
{Detail sentence}. {Optional context or mood}.
- "Golden retriever puppy sitting on green grass on a sunny day."
- "A barista pours milk into a cup to create latte art in a bright cafe."
Avoid "perfect for…" and "can be used for…" filler. The generator strips those phrases during normalization so your description stays descriptive.
Keyword frameworks (20–40 keywords)
Adobe Stock accepts up to 49 keywords, and 20–40 is the useful editorial range. Rank from the most specific subject terms to broader concepts. A reliable mix is:
- Subjects — the literal things in the frame.
- Attributes — colours, materials, actions, moods.
- Setting — indoor/outdoor, location type, season.
- Concepts — the commercial idea a buyer might search for.
The generator lowercases keywords, strips punctuation, removes banned/hype words, and merges singular/plural duplicates so you do not waste slots. See the stock keyword generator page for ordering and pruning tips.
Adobe Stock CSV column reference
Exported as Adobe_Stock_CSV_<DD-MM-YYYY>.csv, with this exact header order:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| Filename | The uploaded file name, unchanged. |
| Title | Cleaned title, capped at 70 characters. |
| Keywords | Deduped keywords joined by ", " (up to 50). |
| Category | Adobe's numeric category id (1–21) when known, otherwise blank. |
| Releases | Optional release reference, capped at 30 characters. |
Shutterstock CSV column reference
Exported as Shutterstock_CSV_<DD-MM-YYYY>.csv, with this exact header order:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| Filename | The uploaded file name, unchanged. |
| Description | Cleaned description, falling back to the title, capped at 2048 characters. |
| Keywords | Deduped keywords joined by ", " (up to 50). |
| Categories | 1–2 canonical category names joined by ", ". |
| Editorial | Yes or No. |
| Mature Content | Yes or No. |
| Illustration | Yes or No. |
A Shutterstock row needs at least one valid category. If it has none, the export stops and names the offending files instead of writing a CSV Shutterstock will reject.
The 26 canonical Shutterstock categories
Categories are auto-classified from the image and stay editable. These are the only accepted values, in official order:
Abstract, Animals/Wildlife, Arts, Backgrounds/Textures, Beauty/Fashion, Buildings/Landmarks, Business/Finance, Celebrities, Education, Food and Drink, Healthcare/Medical, Holidays, Industrial, Interiors, Miscellaneous, Nature, Objects, Parks/Outdoor, People, Religion, Science, Signs/Symbols, Sports/Recreation, Technology, Transportation, Vintage.
Read more on the Shutterstock metadata generator page, or in the resources hub.
Do and don't examples
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Describe what is visible in the image. | Invent locations, people or events that are not in the frame. |
| Keep the title under 70 and the description under 150 characters. | Stuff keywords into the title or repeat the same word. |
| Rank keywords from specific to broad. | Use hype words like "best", "amazing" or "viral". |
| Pick 20–40 relevant keywords. | Copy a generic block of unrelated keywords. |
Let the generator fill these formats for you
Upload your images, review the editable results, and export the CSV in one batch.