Stock Photos for Fantasy Book Covers
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August 6, 2019
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August 21, 2019
This week, I point out a few good galleries of stock photos for fantasy book covers. Some of these photos may require a bit of Photoshop work, but many can stand alone.
I focus on Shutterstock because they allow stock photo contributors to create “sets,” separate galleries organized by subject. Find a photographer’s sets on Shutterstock by:
- First, find a stock photo you like
- Second, click on the contributor’s name
- Then look for a link titled “Sets” underneath the their name on their portfolio page
1. Sets by Faestock
Faestock started out posting stock photos on Deviantart, but has since moved to Shutterstock. She has a large number of character photo sets useful for all sorts of genres, including steampunk, urban fantasy, and science fiction. Some of her fantasy-oriented sets include:
- Medieval dress and cape – a woman in a red gown with a blue cloak
- Fairy – a blonde fairy with pointed ears
- Golden fabric drapery – a woman with long, blonde hair
- Fantasy medieval warrior armor – a woman adventurer with a breastplate and a sword
2. Art – Serhii Bobyk
This stock photo gallery contains pictures of:
- A female warrior elf with blonde hair and a variety of weapons,
- A female brunette elven sorceress or scholar
- Male gladiators or warriors
- A Spartan man and woman, together and separately
3. Portfolio – Boiko Olha
This photographer does not divide her portfolio into sets, but most of her photos are suitable for fantasy or fantasy romance book covers. A few examples of fantasy-related stock photos that you’ll find are:
- Women with long brown, blonde, and red hair, wearing romantic, long dresses
- A woman with long red hair wearing armor and posing with a sword
- Woman in a top hat, with a black skirt and corset, posing with a horse
- A woman in a long dress posing with an owl
4. Multiple sets from Evgeniia Litovchenko
Litovchenko has several galleries with just a few stock photos in each. She has a number that are suitable for fantasy book covers. A few of these sets are:
- Elf in wonderland: moody photos of a female elf in a long magenta dress
- Autumn goddess: warmly toned photos of a red-headed woman wearing a crown of roses, posing with a fox
- Magic cave: dark photos of a long-haired woman in a cave, wearing a long black dress and posing with a crystal ball
- Ginger queen: a woman with long red hair wearing a green dress and a crown, carrying a dagger (fake blood in a couple of pics)
5. Knight – FXQuadro
If you need stock photos of a knight in shining armor, FXQuadro has you covered. Poses include:
- A knight with a flaming sword
- A knight with a blue shield in fighting stances
- A warrior with a fur hat in scale mail
- A knight posing with an axe and sword, separately and together
There are many more stock photos suitable for fantasy covers out there to choose from. If none of these cut it for you, then check out my spreadsheet of suppliers of stock photos for book covers. You should be able to find what you need there.
Do you have any favorites? Leave a comment and let me know!
