iStock & Getty Metadata Guidelines & Limits
iStock and Getty Images share one contributor pipeline (ESP) with the strictest metadata rules in the business: a required title and description, mandatory Creation Date and Country, and 5 to 50 keywords matched against Getty’s Controlled Vocabulary. AI-generated content isn’t accepted; editorial is. The full guidelines are below. Lemika helps with the heavy part: it writes a clear English title and a factual description into each file, plus a keyword starting set for the Controlled Vocabulary step.
- Keywords
- 5–50 · controlled vocab
- Main field
- Title + description
- AI content
- No
- Editorial
- Yes
How iStock / Getty metadata actually works
- Keywords – 5 to 50, against the Controlled Vocabulary. The defining difference from other agencies: every keyword has to be disambiguated against the Getty Controlled Vocabulary inside ESP, not typed as free text. Other agencies take a free keyword list; Getty doesn’t.
- Description – required, with Creation Date and Country mandatory too. Getty wants a factual description of the scene, and every photo submission also requires the Creation Date and Country fields.
- Title – required, English. A clear English title sits alongside the description in ESP.
- Metadata Getty reads on upload. The title and description Lemika auto-generates are embedded in your files (IPTC/XMP), so Getty reads them on ingest. ESP also accepts a CSV import for bulk metadata – one template works for both Getty and iStock.
- No AI-generated content from contributors. Getty Images and iStock do not accept files created or modified with generative AI. Conventional photo editing is still fine.
- Editorial is accepted. Both Getty and iStock take editorial submissions, with stricter caption rules (factual wording, date and place). Lemika has an Editorial mode that captures the date, country, and city alongside the description.
Researched against Getty’s public contributor help (mid-2026). Getty and iStock update these from time to time – confirm the current requirements in ESP before relying on them.
How Lemika helps with iStock / Getty
- Add a folder. Point Lemika at a folder of photos or video.
- It describes each file. The AI reads the actual scene and writes a clear English title and a factual description – a strong starting draft for ESP’s required Description field. No “image of”, no filler.
- It builds a keyword starting set. Relevant, distinct English terms ordered by relevance. The Controlled Vocabulary step lives inside ESP; Lemika prepares the starting list for it.
- It respects your settings. Set your target title length and keyword count once, and Lemika applies them to every file.
- Ready to upload. The title and description are already inside each file as IPTC/XMP – Getty reads them on ingest. Prefer a CSV? Export one in a click – the same template works for Getty and iStock.
What you get
Title (for ESP’s Title field)
Young woman working remotely on a laptop in a sunlit home office
Description (for ESP’s Description field)
A young woman concentrates on a laptop at a tidy wooden desk in a sunlit home office, working remotely on a calm weekday morning
Keyword starting set (for the Controlled Vocabulary step in ESP)
laptop, freelancer, home, office, desk, productivity, focus, remote, work, computer, concentration, lifestyle, indoors, modern
Frequently asked questions
No. Getty Images and iStock do not accept files created or modified with generative AI from contributors. Conventional photo editing is still fine.
On ESP you add a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 50 keywords per file, each disambiguated against the Getty Controlled Vocabulary inside ESP, not entered as free text. The title and description are both required English fields; ESP doesn’t publish a fixed character cap, so keep them clear and factual. Lemika writes the title and description, and prepares a 5–50 keyword starting set for the Controlled Vocabulary step in ESP.
The Description field is required on every photo – a factual description of the scene. Getty also requires Creation Date and Country on every submission. Lemika writes the description, which flows into ESP through the embedded metadata.
Yes – both take editorial submissions, with stricter caption rules (factual wording, date and place). Lemika’s Editorial mode captures the date, country, and city alongside the description.
Not for commercial submissions. Getty and iStock don’t allow trademarks, brand or company names, logos, or identifiable vehicle makes and models in commercial metadata – describe things generically instead. Editorial is the exception, where factual naming is expected. Lemika writes generic, descriptive metadata by default, and its Editorial mode keeps the wording factual.
Yes, two ways. Getty reads IPTC metadata embedded in your files on ingest – the title and description Lemika writes come through automatically. Or use ESP’s CSV import: one template works for both Getty and iStock.
Yes – Lemika gives you 20 free generations once you confirm your email, no card required. And the manual EXIF editor stays free forever, with no account at all.