Stock photos & licensing
How image licenses work, what the common types mean, and how to stay on the right side of copyright law.
A license is permission. When you buy or download a stock image, you're not buying the image — you're buying a license to use it in specific ways. Understanding licenses protects you from unexpected copyright claims and legal fees.
Quick summary
Every image has a license that says what you can and can't do with it. Royalty-free does not mean free. Always read the license before using an image. Creative Commons licenses are common on free sites — CC0 is the most permissive.
The most common types of license
Royalty-free (RF)
Confusingly, "royalty-free" does not mean you pay nothing. It means you pay once (or use one subscription credit) and can then use the image without paying again each time you use it.
Royalty-free licenses usually allow:
- Use on your website
- Use in marketing materials
- Use across multiple projects
Royalty-free licenses usually do not allow:
- Reselling the image itself
- Using it on print-on-demand merchandise (mugs, t-shirts) without a special license
- Using it in a way that implies a person in the photo endorses your product or service
Rights-managed (RM)
You pay based on specific uses: which publication, how many copies, which countries, for how long. More expensive, more restrictive, but gives you exclusive use for the period. This is mainly relevant for editorial and advertising work.
Creative Commons (CC)
Creative Commons licenses are a set of standardized, free licenses used by creators who want to share their work openly. There are several types:
| License | What it means |
|---|---|
| CC0 | No rights reserved — free to use for anything, no attribution needed |
| CC BY | Free to use if you credit the creator |
| CC BY-SA | Free to use if you credit the creator and share under the same license |
| CC BY-NC | Free for non-commercial use only |
| CC BY-ND | Free to use but you cannot make changes to the image |
For most business website uses, CC0 is the safest and easiest. Unsplash and Pexels use licenses similar to CC0 — you can use their images commercially without attribution.
Editorial use only
Some images — particularly news photos and celebrity images — are licensed for editorial use only. This means you can use them in news articles and commentary, but not in advertising or on a commercial website to promote your business.
Key rules to follow
- Always check the license before downloading. Don't assume.
- Save a record. When you download a stock image, note where it came from and the license type. A simple spreadsheet works fine.
- Don't modify images beyond what the license allows. Some licenses prohibit significant changes or require you to note that changes were made.
- Check if attribution is required. If it is, add a caption or footer note crediting the creator.
- Extended licenses. If you plan to use an image on merchandise, in a logo, or in a very high-circulation publication, check whether a standard or extended license applies.
What happens if you use an image without a license?
Image owners — including stock agencies — use automated tools to scan the web for unauthorized uses of their images. If they find your site using one of their images without a license, you may receive a demand letter with fees ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
This is not rare. It happens to small businesses regularly. The safest approach is always to check the license before use.
Common questions
Related guides
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