Thanks to you, Shutterstock has one of the most diverse and international photography collections in the world. Our new People Search tool now makes it easier for customers to find your images when they have specific models in mind for their projects.

Image buyers can now search for models based on gender, age, ethnicity and the number of people in the image. We gather this information from the fields that you fill in when you upload model releases. Identifying certain characteristics of the models that appear in your images is critical in the success of a buyer finding your image. Here is an example of the new customer People Search feature:



Looking at the above example, the accuracy of model releases are clearly important to your potential sales. Good and accurate model releases reduce the risks of legal liability and ensure an image can be used for commercial use. (Read more about model releases here.)

Model Releases: Are They Really Necessary?

It is now more important than ever to have correct model releases attached to your images. If there is only one model clearly visible in an image, assign only one release, even if the image was part of a multi-person shoot. For example, out-of-focus, unidentifiable people - like the four figures in the background of this image - do not need model releases.

Taking the time to evaluate whether an image requires a model release will build up your overall portfolio sales in the future. Going forward, when uploading a release, please identify the age, ethnicity and gender of the model. This will help more buyers find your images and could increase your sales. We also encourage you to review older releases and add relevant information if you haven’t done so already.



As always, we encourage pictures of diverse models in authentic settings. For more information, please see our recent article, Six Tips for Diverse, Authentic Images.