In using photos as references for your art, how do you determine if your art is significantly different...?

Question

from the photo? For example: imagine I want to paint a cougar and look at photos (taken by others) to help me depict that animal in a realistic way. Let's say I draw a cougar in the same pose as in a photo, but change the landscape...would this be a copyright infringement? What other changes would be necessary to make sure that I would not infringe ( for example, change the animal's pose, add another animal or change the lighting, etc.)? I totally respect wildlife photographers and appreciate what they have to do to get those photos, and I do not want to take advantage of them.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. (Links to websites as well)

Answer 1

I agree with anubis, but if you needed to use the reference you could perhaps get a few difference reference photos and take elements of the cat from each, then add your own background.

Whenever I need to use use a photographic reference, I change it enough to make it my own..

Answer 2

It is a painting. That already makes is significantly different.

You'd have to worry more if you were to 'copy' an art photo. You don't 'transpose' it to another realm. Painting a cougar is taking the beast from wildlife photography into the art world. That in itself is enough.