Go into any bookstore and you’ll see photos on covers everywhere. I’m not sure whether publishers think photography sells books better or they’re just too cheap to pay an artist, but it seems to be a growing trend in cover design.

Two photo-cover examples

New Moon

The Road

Cover Repeats

Long Night Dance and The Custodian of Paradise

Little, Big and Madame Zee

Black Out, The World at Night, and Maquis

Here are not two but three covers with the same image. I haven’t been able to locate the original photo it came from.