Hello all...just a general question regarding watermarks.
I know a lot of people on here put watermarks on their photos and I was wondering what people's thoughts were on this?
Should I consider it?
I suppose I should ask myself why I might consider it...I think I just hope my photos aren't being used (without ever assuming they were good to be used in the first place... :) and the watermark might prevent unwanted distribution.
Saying I assume if I publish my shots on here...they public public property in a sense?? Or have I got that wrong.
I'd to know why some of you do watermark your pictures?
I have no idea why people watermark their shots, given that anyone with any photoshop knowhow can easily eliminate the watermark anyway. I just resize mine to minimal and then anyone who cares to steal them (I wish they were good enough for that to be a problem) can steal a very low res version...they certainly won't be papering walls with them.
Personally, I don't use them and I don't like them. Most of us are here just to have fun and improve our skills. Like Sue said, anyone can just erase them anyway if they want to steal your photo. Just my humble opinion! ;)
@stevecameras you are right on all counts. A watermark can be removed, photos can and are being stolen, so the best way to protect your work is not to post it. Sad, but true! I resize all my posted pics, so if stolen, they won't be of much use to anyone. Also, I've been signing my name to my work since Kindergarten, so I watermark my photos. Not to protect them, but because I'm proud of my work. So, it all boils down to personal taste.
I agree with @timandelke. I used to put one for a few months - rather to try out the function than because I was thinking about someone stealing them! :D But I saw I didn't really like it and left it away again ^^ So I think it's up to taste too.
Some marks I love, they are very much part of the personality of the poster. I don't use one but I'm not really sure why (perhaps I am not sure how to do it) It is the old "your project, your rules"
Yep, I don't watermark mine either because I think they can be distracting and unattractive. I have seen some that are like a nice signature on a painting, like @cimes1 says, but mostly I don't like them.
I liked Thomas Leuthard's attitude about it when I read his ebooks for the artist challenge: "At the end of the day you should be sure if you either want to share your work or protect it from some bad guy copying it. If someone is copying it, you can see it as recognition of your work... Be sure you work hard on the photography part, not on the watermark part... It's all about sharing; Sharing knowledge, photos, and information."
For me, this is so true... I'm uploading my photos to the internet because I want to share them. I do photography for me and I love it when others enjoy my images too! I randomly came across one of my photos shared on Pinterest the other day and I thought it was the coolest thing.
I must admit I don't like them. Would I feel differently if my pictures were good enough to steal? I don't know. I suppose it's personal preference. Good question though!!
Yeah, I'm with @timandelke. It's personal choice. I know some can take away from the photos if not placed well but if you want to watermark your then by all means. Sharing things online is risky. Always will be. resizing is the safest bet if you're trying to protect your work. Folk on 365 won't pinch your stuff but I've had my images used in online magazines and websites without permission a few times thanks to shares via Twitter and other social media sites and I'm not half the photographer of the majority of folk on here!
A good friend recently asked me if I were worried about my work on 365 lacking a watermark and I said just about the same thing. Members of the community are here to share and learn. Her response was to ask about those to surf the site who are not members. Intellectual property law says copyright falls back to the original owner of the work. I keep all my raws of photos I post. I figure that should be proof enough if push comes to shove.
@soseema I like the idea of having my name in the exif data. That would be a good thing to know.
I'd rather attempt to try and keep my photos from being stolen, although sometimes to pretty tiresome putting my simple mark on.. I've had way too many shots stolen re-watermarked and or sold under someone else's name.. Not fun!
Majority of my photos have a watermark that is not easy to find, in fact I've won two fights so far with it.. hehehe
I have to say that I find watermarks, especially some used on 365, quite intrusive and have actually more than once not faved a photo i would otherwise have faved because for me the watermark spoiled it, I'm interested in the idea put forward to post photos at a minimal size and might do that in future so thank you for that suggestion.
@hippiechick13 Funniest comment on this thread - made me laugh out loud! As for me, I don't watermark my work. I find it distracting. I'm here to share, learn and enjoy photography. Every time someone asks to buy one of my images, I give it to them for free.
I believe that watermarks completely go against the whole concept of photography where you should tell the story and guide ones view towards the point of interest in the photo. It's just unnecessary distraction and more often just shows immaturity of the photographer where more value is tried to be added to mediocre photos putting on the watermark. But it's just my humble opinion. Although as it was mentioned before in this thread watermark can easily be removed by someone with a basic photoshop skills so it's unlikely going to protect photos from being stole. The best way to protect is to post relatively small size images.
Perhaps a stupid question; but how do you resize your photos. Not really worried about having anything taken, but it is great info to know and I'll pass it on to friends.
@tomservo It's not resizing dimension so much as it is changing the resolution. I always save my images 5x7 at 300dpi; but if you save for screen resolution (72dpi), chances are it will only look good on your screen.
I use them sometimes, not because I'm worried someone will steal them, but because it's like signing your work. Like a painting. I'm proud of some of my pictures and I like to show it by adding a watermark.
The signature should be ones distinctive style not the watermark... Does anyone think that Ansel Adams or Yousuf Karsh would really need watermark on their pictures?
I used to watermark mine but then realised that it could be removed in photoshop so stopped doing it. I do think it gets in the way of photos so I'm glad \I don't do it now
Hm, I do add a watermark to my images, because I think that's what I need to do. Of course I scale my pictures before I upload them and of course i know that the watermark can easily be removed with photoshop, but if I don't put a watermark onto my pictures, I feel like there is something missing. I will think about removing the watermark from now on, though...
I don't use watermarks here on 365 because it is a personal project but I do use them on my FB business page, not to protect them from being stolen as such (because yes we all know they can be removed or cropped out) but so people who may be interested in my photography can find me, my watermark is small and says my business name and web address and I am mindful of aesthetics when I place it.
I have seen many watermarks that are large and ugly but that is the artists choice.
All images I share on the net are size to 960 on the longest night...no good for printing large :)
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I liked Thomas Leuthard's attitude about it when I read his ebooks for the artist challenge: "At the end of the day you should be sure if you either want to share your work or protect it from some bad guy copying it. If someone is copying it, you can see it as recognition of your work... Be sure you work hard on the photography part, not on the watermark part... It's all about sharing; Sharing knowledge, photos, and information."
For me, this is so true... I'm uploading my photos to the internet because I want to share them. I do photography for me and I love it when others enjoy my images too! I randomly came across one of my photos shared on Pinterest the other day and I thought it was the coolest thing.
A good friend recently asked me if I were worried about my work on 365 lacking a watermark and I said just about the same thing. Members of the community are here to share and learn. Her response was to ask about those to surf the site who are not members. Intellectual property law says copyright falls back to the original owner of the work. I keep all my raws of photos I post. I figure that should be proof enough if push comes to shove.
@soseema I like the idea of having my name in the exif data. That would be a good thing to know.
Majority of my photos have a watermark that is not easy to find, in fact I've won two fights so far with it.. hehehe
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@juliedduncan @polarvrtx @stevecameras
I have seen many watermarks that are large and ugly but that is the artists choice.
All images I share on the net are size to 960 on the longest night...no good for printing large :)
Thank you all for replying...been an interesting response from you all.
I have thought about it for a few days and I think I am going to continue without putting a watermark on my shots, partly so as not to detract from the picture content itself but also because I am not convinced my shots would be taken by anyone. And if they are...well maybe I can just take it as a compliment :)