Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 12 October 2026. Checked that day against the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the IPO’s exceptions to copyright and orphan works pages, and Amazon’s KDP intellectual property FAQ. General information, not legal advice.
Quick Answer: Only use a photo or image in your book if you took or made it yourself, have written permission from whoever owns it, have a licence that allows commercial use, or are genuinely quoting it to criticise or review it, with a credit. “I found it online”, “I credited it” and “I own a print of it” are not permission. Photos of buildings and public sculpture are a special case: UK law lets you photograph and publish them.
Table of Contents
- Who owns a photo in the UK
- The five safe ways to use an image
- Fair dealing: when you can use a photo without asking
- Creative Commons and stock photos
- Family photos, old photos and orphan works
- Permission request template
- Credit line templates
- What Amazon KDP expects
- Frequently asked questions
Who owns a photo in the UK
- A photograph is an “artistic work”, “irrespective of artistic quality” (CDPA s.4). A snapshot is protected just as much as a gallery print.
- The author is “the person who creates it” (s.9), and “the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it” (s.11). For a photo, that is the photographer. The exception is work made by an employee in the course of their job, which belongs to the employer unless they agreed otherwise.
- It lasts 70 years from the end of the year the photographer dies (s.12).
Two things follow that surprise authors:
- Owning the print is not owning the copyright. The family photo in your drawer belongs, in copyright terms, to whoever took it.
- Paying a photographer is not owning the copyright either, unless the contract assigns it to you in writing. Get a licence that covers book use, or an assignment.
The five safe ways to use an image
| Route | When it works | What to keep on file |
|---|---|---|
| You made it | Your own photos, drawings, maps, diagrams | Nothing, but keep the originals |
| Written permission | Any image whose owner agrees | The signed email or letter |
| A licence that allows commercial use | Stock libraries, CC BY, CC0 | The licence page saved as a PDF on the day |
| Out of copyright | Photographer died more than 70 years before the end of this year | Your evidence of who took it and when they died |
| Fair dealing | Criticism, review or quotation, with an acknowledgement | A note of why your use is fair |
Fair dealing: when you can use a photo without asking
The UK has no general “fair use”. It has specific fair-dealing exceptions. The one that matters for books is section 30:
- Criticism or review: fair dealing for criticism or review is not infringement if the work has been made available to the public and there is a sufficient acknowledgement.
- Quotation: allowed “whether for criticism or review or otherwise”, if the use is fair dealing, “the extent of the quotation is no more than is required by the specific purpose”, and it carries a sufficient acknowledgement.
The IPO confirms these apply to photos: “Fair dealing for criticism, review or quotation is allowed for any type of copyright work” (IPO, exceptions to copyright).
But note what is excluded. Reporting current events is allowed for any work “other than a photograph” (s.30(2)). And there is no fixed safe amount: the IPO says fair dealing “will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case”, asking “how would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work?”
A photo used as decoration, a chapter opener or a cover is not criticism, review or quotation. It needs permission. For text, see our guide to quoting books, poems and the Bible and the wider fair dealing guide.
Buildings and public sculpture
Section 62 says copyright in buildings, and in sculptures and works of artistic craftsmanship “permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public”, is not infringed by “making a photograph or film of it”, or by publishing that photo (s.62). Your own photo of a city skyline or a statue in a square is fine. Someone else’s photo of the same statue is still their copyright.
Commissioned private photos
If someone commissioned a photo “for private and domestic purposes”, such as wedding photos, they have a right not to have copies “issued to the public” (s.85). Using a friend’s wedding photo in a memoir needs their agreement as well as the photographer’s.
Creative Commons and stock photos
| Licence | Can you use it in a book you sell? |
|---|---|
| CC0 / public domain dedication | Yes |
| CC BY | Yes: “for any purpose, even commercially”, with credit, a link to the licence, and a note if you changed it (CC BY 4.0) |
| CC BY-SA | Usually, with credit, but ShareAlike adds conditions on adapted versions. Read the deed before you use it. |
| CC BY-NC (any NC) | Our reading: no. NonCommercial means “not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation” (CC BY-NC 4.0 legal code), and a book on sale is |
| Paid stock | Read the licence before you buy: check it covers print runs of your size, covers if you need one, and items for sale |
Save the licence page as a PDF on the day you download the image. Licences change and images get re-uploaded by people who never owned them.
Family photos, old photos and orphan works
Old family photos. Work out who took it. If it was a relative who died more than 70 years before the end of this year, copyright has expired. If they died more recently, copyright passed under their will or to their heirs, who can give permission.
Orphan works. If you cannot trace the owner, the UK has an orphan works licence. The IPO describes orphan works as works “for which one or more of the right holders is either unknown or cannot be found”, including photographs. The licence “is non-exclusive”, “can last up to 7 years” and “applies only for use in the UK”, and you must show “an adequate diligent search” (IPO, orphan works). The application fee was £20 for one work on the day we checked, plus a licence fee if you go ahead. Because it covers the UK only, it does not fit a book sold worldwide on Amazon.
Permission request template
Send it by email so you have a dated record. Ask for a reply that says “I agree”.
Subject: Permission to use your photograph in my book
Dear [Name],
I am writing a book called "[Title]", to be published by [imprint or your name] in [month, year] in paperback and ebook, sold worldwide, including on Amazon.
I would like to include your photograph [describe it, or attach a copy / give the URL] on page [x] / in chapter [x], at about [quarter / half / full] page size, [in black and white / in colour]. [It will / will not appear on the cover.]
I am asking for non-exclusive permission to reproduce it in all print and electronic editions of the book, in all territories, and in marketing for the book. I will credit it as: "[Photo © Name, year. Used with permission.]" [I can offer a fee of £[amount] / a free copy of the book.]
Please confirm that you own the copyright in this photograph and that you agree, by replying to this email.
With thanks,
[Your name]
[Contact details]The UK Author Legal Pack has a fuller permission-to-quote letter you can adapt for images.
Credit line templates
Photograph © [Photographer], [year]. Used with permission.
Photograph by [Photographer], licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). [Cropped from the original.]
Image: [Library or agency name] / [Photographer]. Licensed for this edition.
Author's own photograph.Put credits next to the image or in a picture credits list in the back matter (see the order of the parts of a book).
What Amazon KDP expects
Amazon puts the burden on you. You must “hold the publishing rights to any content you upload for sale on Amazon”, and “the copyright page included in the book content is not sufficient to prove that you hold the necessary publishing rights” (KDP IP rights FAQ). Without the rights, Amazon says this “can result in the rejection or removal of your book, negative impact to your account status, and/or loss of royalties”. Its content guidelines add that it will not accept content under copyright “that is freely available on the web unless it’s provided by the owner” (KDP content guidelines).
Keep your permissions folder. If Amazon asks, you can answer in minutes.
Separately from rights: print images need enough resolution to print sharply. See blurry or low-resolution images on KDP.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a photo if I credit the photographer?
Not on its own. A credit is required when you have permission or a fair-dealing use, but it is not a substitute for permission.
Can I use images from Google in my book?
Only if you find the owner and they agree, or the image carries a licence that allows commercial use. Google shows images, it does not license them.
Can I use a screenshot of a website or film?
A screenshot copies someone else’s work. If you are criticising or reviewing it, with an acknowledgement and no more than you need, fair dealing may cover it. As decoration, no.
Can I photograph a famous building and use it on my cover?
Your own photograph of a building is allowed by section 62. Watch for trade marks and logos in the shot, and see brand names and trade marks in books.
How old does a photo have to be to be out of copyright?
It depends on when the photographer died, not when the photo was taken: 70 years from the end of the year of their death.
Final thoughts
Use your own images where you can, get written permission for the rest, keep every licence on file, and credit everything. That is the whole system, and it protects the book for as long as it is on sale.
Related guides
- Fair dealing for UK authors
- Can I quote another book, a poem or the Bible?
- Memoir formatting for KDP
- Copyright page template UK
— Robert publishing.co.uk
