Stock footage keyword examples by subject

The rules every list follows

The method behind these lists, from subject to concepts, is explained in how to keyword stock footage, and the limits per agency in keyword limits by agency.

Drone footage: a road through an autumn forest

The invented clip: 20 seconds, 3840x2160, 25 fps, no audio. A drone looks straight down and drifts along a winding mountain road through orange and yellow trees. One red car drives through the frame. The location is unknown.

Keywords, in order (31): top down, aerial view, winding road, autumn, forest, car, driving, drone footage, fall foliage, mountains, overhead, curves, trees, orange, yellow, red, colorful, season, nature, outdoors, scenic, countryside, rural, transportation, vehicle, journey, travel, adventure, freedom, motion, asphalt

• Left out: a country or region. The location is unknown, so no place name. If you know it, put it in the first 10.
• Left out: the drone model and “4K”. Camera details, and a drone model is a brand.
• Left out: “nobody”. Someone is driving the car, even if the driver cannot be seen.
• Left out: “road trip”. It would repeat “road”. “Journey” carries the idea.

More on aerial clips in how to sell drone footage.

City at night: a traffic time lapse

The invented clip: 12 seconds, 3840x2160, 24 fps, rendered from stills. A static, high camera looks down on a busy downtown intersection in Chicago at night; car lights leave long trails between lit towers. No sign or logo is readable.

Keywords, in order (30): time lapse, light trails, traffic, intersection, Chicago, night, downtown, skyscrapers, urban, Illinois, high angle, illuminated, cars, busy, street, architecture, buildings, metropolis, modern, USA, America, Midwest, movement, speed, commute, transportation, infrastructure, energy, glowing, evening

• Left out: “cityscape” next to “city”. One stem, two keywords. “Urban” and “metropolis” cover the idea without repeating it.
• Left out: “nightlife”. It repeats “night”, and the clip shows traffic, not people out at night.
• Left out: the names of towers or stores. A building name can be a trademark, and Adobe lists modern architecture under its intellectual property refusals.
• Left out: “rush hour”. The clip does not show what time it is beyond “night”.

Shooting and rendering rules for this kind of clip are in how to sell time-lapse footage.

Nature close-up: a forest stream

The invented clip: 15 seconds, 1920x1080, 25 fps, audio removed. A static close-up of clear water running over mossy rocks in a shaded creek, with ferns on the bank. No people, no animals.

Keywords, in order (29): stream, flowing water, moss, rocks, forest, close up, creek, ferns, green, clear, nature, wilderness, shade, wet, stones, cascade, fresh, pure, calm, peaceful, relaxation, tranquil, environment, ecology, outdoors, background, nobody, woodland, motion

• Left out: “spring”. The season is not visible, and the word could also mean a water source. A keyword with two meanings brings buyers looking for the other one.
• Left out: “natural” next to “nature”. Same stem.
• Left out: “waterfall”. The water runs over rocks; it does not fall. “Cascade” is as far as the image goes.
• Left out: “sound”, “ASMR”. The audio was removed before export.

People and lifestyle: friends cooking at home

The invented clip: 18 seconds, 3840x2160, 25 fps, no audio. Two women in their sixties laugh while chopping vegetables at a wooden counter in a bright home kitchen. The camera pushes in slowly. Both women signed model releases.

Keywords, in order (29): two women, seniors, cooking, kitchen, laughing, friendship, home, chopping vegetables, indoors, medium shot, mature, sixties, joy, happiness, togetherness, preparing food, counter, wooden, bright, daylight, lifestyle, healthy eating, domestic, smiling, fun, real people, authentic, active aging, push in

• Left out: their names. Adobe bans real people’s names in titles, and Shutterstock bans personally identifiable information.
• Left out: “retired”, “grandmothers”, “sisters”. The clip shows none of these. Describe what is visible: age range, number of people, what they do.
• Left out: “friends” next to “friendship”. Same stem; keep one.
• Ethnicity: add it only if it is visible and useful to a buyer, described accurately and respectfully, as Shutterstock’s metadata standards ask.

A clip like this one is commercial only with a release from each person; see model releases for stock video.

Business and office: a laptop with charts

The invented clip: 14 seconds, 1920x1080, 25 fps, no audio. Over the shoulder of a person typing on a laptop at a desk in a bright office. The screen shows a spreadsheet with charts the shooter made; the laptop logo is covered. The face is not visible.

Keywords, in order (29): laptop, typing, spreadsheet, financial, office, business, charts, data, over-the-shoulder, desk, analysis, report, accounting, keyboard, hands, screen, workplace, corporate, technology, computer, productivity, numbers, planning, budget, professional, modern, indoors, daytime, shallow focus

• Left out: the laptop brand and the spreadsheet software. Both are trademarks. Shutterstock notes that some everyday words are brands too.
• Left out: “finance” next to “financial”. Same stem.
• Left out: “remote work”, “freelancer”. The clip shows an office and says nothing about the person’s job.
• Left out: “success”, “growth”. Only if the charts clearly show it; a generic chart does not.

A template for your own clips

Each list above follows the same order. Fill the slots for your clip, stop when the words stop being true, and check for repeated stems at the end.

• Shutterstock: paste the whole list; it fits 7 to 50.
• Adobe Stock: keep the order; the first 10 matter most. For a vertical clip, add “vertical” and “video”.
• Pond5: the full list fits its limit of 50; the first 20 match its 10 to 20 recommendation.

To check a list for length, count and repeated words before upload, paste it into the free title and keyword checker. For more on titles, see stock footage titles and descriptions.