Print on demand publishing enables a high quality product if it is well designed, edited, produced. Part of the trend in higher quality covers is the use of stock photography, the prices for which have come down considerably. The only problem is you get the same images showing up in multiple covers, even from major publishers.
Check out a few examples below.
You see this one on a lot of covers:
And last but not least:
Blasted lunacy, it is. I’m not a professional but I can take shots of the quality displayed there with ease – and I’d do it for the pleasure of it, for the involvement. Stock photography offends me somehow.. I refuse to work on photomanips that aren’t entirely my own work, if at all possible.
Craig! What are you doing copying Mr Magnum?
Also, I noticed the Maberry – Lindqvist thing. It makes them look really retarded and can damage sales; I saw the Lindqvist cover and thought “Nope. I’ve already got that. I saw the cover at home.”