Lightroom export settings for stock photography: files and metadata

1. Choose a collection and preserve your masters

Select a small group of distinct photographs with accessible originals and the necessary licensing permissions. Keep a backup and export working copies into a separate folder. Give each final export a stable name and carry that exact name into the submission records and metadata CSV.

Review the edits and final crops before copying metadata. A title or keyword describing something outside the crop needs changing. Use the archive assessment when ownership, releases, existing listings or capture details still need checking.

2. Check the destination before choosing export settings

In Lightroom Classic’s export controls, choose a working destination and the file settings required by the agency. A JPEG in sRGB is an appropriate format/profile starting point for the photo routes below; the finished file must also meet quality, size, content and permission requirements.

Check the resulting pixel dimensions after cropping or resizing. DPI/PPI metadata alone does not establish the image’s pixel count. Do not enlarge a small file merely to reach a numerical threshold; inspect the actual detail and follow the agency’s rules.

These settings are a checklist to apply and inspect in your own application version. The download is not a Lightroom preset or an automatic exporter. Lightroom desktop and mobile use different controls; follow their current Adobe instructions for the equivalent export.

3. Keep useful keywords and inspect the exported metadata

Review the caption and keyword fields in your collection. Lightroom Classic supports keyword hierarchies, synonyms and export controls, so a term visible in a catalogue is not by itself proof of the final exported metadata. Review which terms will export and compare the resulting JPEG with the file you intend to describe.

Choose metadata export options that retain the title, description and keywords you need, while deciding which personal and location details should accompany the file. Read the saved export in a metadata-aware viewer and check the fields before preparing the rest of the batch. StockAlpha’s checklist does not read or change your catalogue.

In Lightroom Classic, Copyright Only and Copyright & Contact Info Only leave out the descriptive metadata needed for keywording. Review the broader All or All Except Camera Raw & Camera Info options for a JPEG export. Remove Location Info lets you omit GPS information separately. Verify the actual output rather than assuming a saved export option did what you intended.

If a term is missing, follow one photograph from its applied tags to the saved JPEG and submission fields. The troubleshooting guide walks through that comparison. Exporting a keyword dictionary for another Lightroom catalogue is different from supplying one metadata row per photograph.

4. Prepare the right CSV template for the agency

The two downloads below contain only a header row. Add rows for the files in your current submission, following the agency’s linked specification. Match the complete export filename, including the extension and case. Keep commas inside a keyword field properly quoted by saving through a spreadsheet’s CSV export, then inspect the saved text.

Shutterstock uses Filename, Description, Keywords and Categories, with additional optional flags. Adobe uses Filename, Title and Keywords, with other supported fields. The templates include optional columns, so leave them empty only where the agency permits it. Use the current official template when its format changes.

For Shutterstock, select the appropriate agency category values and use Yes or No for applicable optional flags. For Adobe, check its current category/release instructions and field limits. Only include real metadata for the files you are submitting; keep this guide, the preparation checklist and unrelated archive rows out of the upload file.

If a Shutterstock CSV upload is not working

Start with one matching file and the current agency specification. Compare the full filename with the uploaded export, check the column names, required metadata and applicable category/flag values, and confirm that your spreadsheet saved a CSV rather than an Excel workbook. Check quotation marks around fields containing commas.

Remove rows for files outside the current submission and review any specific error shown by the agency. Do not assume the CSV has been applied just because its upload finished. Check the resulting title, keywords and tags in the contributor interface before submitting the photograph for review.

5. Check the files and metadata before submitting

Open each final export at full size, compare the caption and keywords with its crop, and resolve outstanding permissions. Read the populated metadata in the agency’s interface after upload. A successful export or CSV import is not an approval or a public listing.

Download the export checklist to record the application version, destination, file checks and metadata checks you performed. Use the ten-photo pilot tracker from the archive guide to record the later review and listing outcomes. This gives you a repeatable record before expanding to a larger collection.