I use royalty free, Commercial Use stock photos and vectors from DepositPhotos, YAYImages, Scop.io, and occasionally 123RF. To read the licenses, click on the hyperlinks below.
DepositPhotos – Standard License – unlimited use for digital – 500,000 use print run
YAYImages – Standard License – unlimited use for digital – 500,000 use print run
123RF – Standard License – unlimited use for digital – 500,000 use print run
Scop.io – Standard/Extended License – unlimited use for digital – 100,000 use print run
If you want an image from another stock site, such as Getty, Alamy, and/or Shutterstock to name a few, it will be your responsibility to purchase the image and send it to me for the cover creation. I will delete the image from my computer once your project is finalized. If you’re against buying it yourself and want me to purchase it, I’ll have to charge you the cost of the image file (or the plan I’ll have to get) and an additional fee for my time. It will be more affordable for you to purchase it yourself.
A brief overview for DepositPhotos, YAYImages, and 123RF:
You’re free to share your cover as a digital file wherever you like, and you can sell as many ebooks with that cover as you want. If you purchase a paperback cover or wish to use your ebook cover in printed media, then you can do so with the Standard License (the most commonly used license) up to 500,000 usages.
For example, let’s say you sell 400,000 copies of your print book and you print off 100,000 business cards and/or bookmarks that feature your cover, then you’ve reached the 500,000 limit on the Standard License. (This is just an example. You can reach the 500,000 limit through any combination of printed uses.)
The Standard License DOES NOT cover physical products like t-shirts, mugs, candles, bags, stickers, etc. You will need to purchase an Extended License for this type of usage.
A brief overview for Scop.io:
Scop.io is a little different from the other sites. Their Standard and Extended Licenses are purchased together for one price, but the Standard only permits unlimited digital use. Their Extended License permits up to 100,000 copies of print use.
For another example, let’s say you sell 90,000 copies of your print book and print off 10,000 bookmarks. You’ve reached the 100,000 threshold and would have to contact Scop.io customer support for additional licenses. (Again, just an example. You can reach the 100,000 limit through different ways.)
This Extended License DOES NOT cover physical products like t-shirts, mugs, candles, bags, stickers, etc. The client will need to contact customer support to inquire about what’s needed for this type of usage.
It’s your responsibility to know when you’re getting close to hitting the 500k or the 100k marker, and you—the author/client—will have to buy additional licenses for each photo/vector used in the cover that falls under the maxed-out license.
With the purchase of each cover, I’ll send a “Read Me” file that says where your images came from along with the image ID and what kind of license they have. But please know it’s not my responsibility to track your usage or buy any additional licenses for you.
I also use royalty free, unlimited Commercial Use vectors, textures, and overlays for digital and print media from sites like DealFuel. These may or may not be listed in your “Read Me” file.