Photo licenses

When you upload a photo you choose a license that determines what others can do with it. The license is displayed on your photo's detail page and in search results.

All Rights Reserved — No reuse is permitted without your explicit permission. Anyone who wants to use your photo must contact you directly. This is the default and most restrictive option.

CC BY — Others can use your photo in any context, including commercially, as long as they credit you as the photographer and link back to the original on SpotterSpace. This is the most permissive of the Creative Commons licenses we offer.

CC BY-NC — Similar to CC BY, but commercial use is prohibited. Non-commercial projects, blogs, and educational content can use your photo with attribution.

You can change the license on any of your photos at any time from your uploads page. Click the photo, then Edit, and select the new license. The change applies going forward and does not affect uses that were already happening under the previous license.

Photos listed in the Marketplaceoperate under a separate purchase agreement. Buyers pay for a license to use the photo in exchange for a high-resolution file. The license type (All Rights Reserved or Creative Commons) on a marketplace listing still governs what the seller permits, and the purchase price covers the transaction. If you're buying a photo through the marketplace, the listing page will show exactly what is included.