Appropriate use of stock image

[qveda]

I'm designing a book cover for a 'print on demand' book. It is my first 'commercial' project, and I want to do the 'right thing'.

I grabbed an image off the web (via Google) to use with other elements in my concept. It looks like a stock image. I cropped, increased contrast to make it more of a silhoutte, tweaked and used the image in a semi-transparent layer of the image I'm making for the cover.
I imagine this happens all the time - like re-mixing and mashing up music.

My question is .. when you incorporate part of an image that someone else created and in someway integrate it into your own work, at what point does it become "your own"? It feels like we should find a way to identify the original creator of the image that I used part of, so that I can compensate him/her. But I'd like to know the "rules" or "conventions" for doing this.

 

[Kwill]

when you incorporate part of an image that someone else created and in someway integrate it into your own work, at what point does it become "your own"?.

It never becomes "your own." Purchasing usage rights grants you non-exclusive usage within specified distribution thresholds (number of impressions, geographic regions, etc). Rather than indiscriminately grabbing images, it is best to purchase rights from online royalty-free stock image sites. Your rights will be specifically spelled out before you download. It isn't too expensive and you'll rest easier at night.

 

[qveda]

thanks. I'll be sure to do that. I certainly respect the rights of the orig artists.

however, is it not the case that pieces of 'pre-existing' images are recombined all the time into new pieces ? just curious about how that works.