iStock / Getty Images metadata rules
Tested on the live system We submitted real work to this agency's system and confirmed it passed.
The only agency with a controlled vocabulary — you cannot invent keywords
keyword
- Keywords must come from Getty's controlled vocabulary. One character off and ESP flags it in red.
- Up to 50 keywords per file.
- Getty disambiguates homonyms with a qualifier — Coffee - Drink, Landscape - Scenery — and you must enter the whole string exactly.
- Terms that are only Getty parent categories are not worth using on their own — they do not help buyers find the file.
title / description
- ESP actually uses the Description field, not Title.
- Editorial rules have been relaxed — no mandatory prefix — but the caption must still cover who, what, where and when, and must name the city.
- Date and country are separate fields in ESP and are required on every file.
Uploading
- There is no CSV upload. Embed IPTC/XMP into the file and drag it into ESP — every field fills itself.
- If the embedded keywords match the vocabulary exactly, every one shows green with nothing in red.
Watch out for
- Getty does not accept editorial images generated or altered with AI. Using AI to help write metadata is fine.
A tool that does it for you
KeywordStock produces the title, description, keywords and CSV in iStock / Getty Images's exact format automatically, reading your files on your own computer — no uploads.
Download the app