I just use the istock release for all companies haven't had any refused.

Quote from: ComfortEagle2095 on December 11, 2017, 23:38

Did Shutterstock change their criteria for accepting model releases?  Suddenly all new images I'm submitting with the release form I've used for years are getting rejected for not having a valid release.

I checked the contributor blog and saw this on the page where the listed the releases they would take (i.e., their release and releases from specific other agencies):

"All other model and property releases, English

We generally do not accept English releases that are not on this list; however, we may choose to accept these releases on a case-by-case basis."


I've never had any problem with my own release before and it has all the same information on it that the Shutterstock release has.  I don't really want to use one of the agency's releases -- I want to use the one I developed for my company -- and I don't want to make models fill out multiple releases.  Anybody know if this is a new restriction or maybe just an over-reactive and poorly trained reviewer?

I have the same problem. I used a release accepted by all agencies for about 8 years. Now I cannot sumbit model released images to shutterstock for months. I tried various releases, and they reject them all.
When I write an email to support they send a standard reply with all the criteria. I think my release form complies with that.
I also tried downloading the official shutterstock release form, removing the company name, and submitting that... rejected.

If anyone has success uploading model released shots to SS, what kind of release do you use?
If i'd try the SS realase without removing the company information would all other sites accept it?

A release where all the signatures are dated, AND THE SAME DATE. Also include a thumbnail of the model on the release. That's a start. Worked for me on a set from 2010 which would have been impossible to get the model to sign again.

Look at the release this way. This tells the agency that you have done your due diligence and provide (agency) with proof that they will not be legally responsible for handling your work. A release is to protect them and guide them in deciding if they should license your work or not. Without a release that meets their standards, they won't handle your work. It's that simple. CYA policy

Keep in mind that for every Editorial image that I upload from an event I have to have proof that I was allowed to shoot that event. Then I get a case number, if the information satisfies ShutterStock legal requirements.

A model release is in a way the same... proof that you were allowed to photograph the model and the model knew the work was going to be for sale.

Quote from: ComfortEagle2095 on December 11, 2017, 23:38

Did Shutterstock change their criteria for accepting model releases?  Suddenly all new images I'm submitting with the release form I've used for years are getting rejected for not having a valid release.

I checked the contributor blog and saw this on the page where the listed the releases they would take (i.e., their release and releases from specific other agencies):

"All other model and property releases, English

We generally do not accept English releases that are not on this list; however, we may choose to accept these releases on a case-by-case basis."


I've never had any problem with my own release before and it has all the same information on it that the Shutterstock release has.  I don't really want to use one of the agency's releases -- I want to use the one I developed for my company -- and I don't want to make models fill out multiple releases.  Anybody know if this is a new restriction or maybe just an over-reactive and poorly trained reviewer?

I have the same problem. I used a release accepted by all agencies for about 8 years. Now I cannot sumbit model released images to shutterstock for months. I tried various releases, and they reject them all.
When I write an email to support they send a standard reply with all the criteria. I think my release form complies with that.
I also tried downloading the official shutterstock release form, removing the company name, and submitting that... rejected.

If anyone has success uploading model released shots to SS, what kind of release do you use?
If i'd try the SS realase without removing the company information would all other sites accept it?

I had the same problem, Going Back 12 years. last year I had to update to SS new MR. with embedding each  pic into it. Just took Off SS name, just for them Im with 9 sites SS is the Only one that has to be done. such a waste of time. now the Issue is. "MR is not legible" Because some fool can't read.just amazing I just wish once they would hire ADMINS and others that Know what we do.

I ran into the exact same problem 2 months ago and actually posted it to this forum. No one (at that time) had the problem. So I was thinking it was just me - but looks not.
And, my experiences was exactly the same. I have been using my own MR (based on SS) for 5 years, and suddenly all images rejected.

The ONLY difference was that, looking at their release, they now needed the witness to fill out an additional line with the date they signed it. Huh? Wouldn't that be the same date as the model's signature? Otherwise, how could they witness?

Oh well. Fortunately, the I had excellent relationship with the model who lives nearby, so I re-did my form, this time adding the date signed by the witness so everything was EXACTLY the same as the SS release; but with my company name at the top.
Rejected a second time!
I had another agency's release (with the agency's name at the top ) which also asked for the witness date, AND a photo of the subject. So, fine! I used that (with photo attached) brought it back to the model and witness had them both sign it again.

Aaaannnnnd......you guessed it. Rejected again!

I'm pretty pissed now (because this does NOT reflect the information SS has on their site) so I downloaded their OFFICIAL SHUTTERSTOCK MODEL RELEASE FORM, had them sign it, and submitted it a 4th time.
With success, all images accepted.

So, I'm still puzzled (and pissed, because there is no excuse for this), but at least glad to see that I'm no longer alone.
I'll continue to check this thread in case someone comes up with an explanation of what's going on. Happily, Fotolia/Adobe accepts my releases and has pulled past SS over the past few months in sales.

Does Easy Release currently work on SS?

I would contact them. In the last batch of clips I had a bunch of rejections for model release problems and intellectual property. They got back to me within a week and ended up taking all of the clips without me having to change anything.

I think some reviewers err on the side of caution.

I had one with an old release accepted and another with a new release recently (it was basically just the text of the SS release with all mention of SS removed). Both were photos of me which you would think they would be a little more lenient on the release, but no. They have rejected a bunch of images with old previously accepted releases in the last 3 or 4 months but also accepted some - it seems almost random. I think the dates were in US form but numbers eg month/date/year eg 1/2/18 would be Jan 2nd 2018

I've had this problem as well for the past 6 months.  It seems sometimes the release is accepted and sometimes not.  I'd really like to know what their requirements are.