Understanding How Adobe Stock Photo Licensing Works

Types of Licenses Offered by Adobe Stock

Standard License: Ideal for most personal and small business uses, including blogs, social media, and websites. You get to use the images forever, but there are limits on things like the number of impressions or copies.
Extended License: This one’s for when you need more flexibility—like if you’re printing a million brochures or selling merchandise featuring the image.
Editorial Use Only: These are for images that can’t be used commercially. Think news articles or educational pieces. They’re meant for real-world, non-promotional contexts.

Use Case	Covered by Standard License
Blog Post Images	Yes
Social Media Posts	Yes
Print Materials under 500,000 copies	Yes
Product Merchandising	No

Merchandise: If you’re creating products like T-shirts, mugs, or posters, and you want to sell them, you’ll need an extended license.
Unlimited Print Runs: While the standard license limits you to 500,000 copies, the extended license allows you to go beyond that, making it ideal for large-scale marketing campaigns.
Digital Templates: Planning to sell website or graphic templates that feature stock images? The extended license lets you do that legally.

News Articles: Images related to current events, public figures, or specific locations are often marked for editorial use only.
Educational Content: If you’re writing about a social issue, history, or any factual topic, these images can help bring your content to life.
Non-Promotional Blogs: Sometimes, you need an image to enhance a story, but you aren’t promoting a product or service. That’s where editorial-use images come in handy.

Not Understanding License Restrictions: I once used a standard license image on a flyer for a client’s event. Turns out, they printed more than 500,000 copies, which violated the standard license terms. Always check the fine print!
Using Editorial-Use Images Commercially: This is a big no-no. Editorial-use images can’t be used in ads, product packaging, or any promotional material. I’ve seen people get into legal trouble for this one.
Forgetting to Credit Where Required: Some licenses require attribution. It’s easy to forget, especially if you’re in a rush, but failing to provide credit can come back to haunt you.
Thinking Licenses Are Transferable: If you’ve bought a license, it’s for you—not for your friends, clients, or anyone else. I once had a client ask if they could “borrow” an image I licensed. Unfortunately, that’s not allowed.

1. Can I use Adobe Stock images for free?

2. Do I need to credit Adobe Stock when I use their images?

3. Can I modify Adobe Stock images?

4. What happens if I exceed the limitations of my license?

5. Can I share my licensed images with others?