Hello :) I just became really interested in photography a few months ago....I get on this site a lot and browse through a ton of photos. I have noticed that many people have signatures. (they are signatures right?).... like on each picture they have "Bob Photography" or "Photography by Bob" or their intitials or something like that. (yes I just made up those sigs...Bob..so original right? ;)
So how do you know when your photos are good enough to put a signature on it? How do you make one...or come up with one?? Are their sites to do it for you? or do you come up with the design completely on your own?
I was thinking about making a signature for my future photos...just don't know how to do it. Or if I should even? Any suggestions, advice, or information about the topic? :) thanks!
I do that but I don't do it because my pictures are good or anything like it. I do it as a copyright. There's people out there who save others photos and claim it as their own. I've seen this so much, therefore I like putting my name on my photos. I do it myself with a program. You don have to find a website or anything where you have to pay. Your pictures are amazing if you would like you can do it too. The decision is really on you. Excuse me if I have typos but i'm using my iPod touch right now. If you have a question let me know :)
Edit: maybe there is an oficial way to do I where you can claim your photo and get money in case anyone steal it from you.
hi, lauren. it doesn't have anything to do with how good your photos are - mine are not but i still put copyright watermarks one them for security purposes. just so nobody would take credit for something i've done. some use it to promote their business. some of the signatures are obnoxious and some you can barely see. you can do it through photoshop.
hi lauren, i don't put logos on 365 but i do for my blog and i do it through a company called blogstomp. if any other photographers out there are looking for a way to resize, web sharpen, and brand your photos with one click, check them out. http://www.blogstomponline.com - it really cuts down on the time it takes to get your photos blog ready.
lauren, if you're trying to come up with a logo or a brand just play around until you find something that you feel like fits your style. maybe an image, maybe your name in different fonts, whatever you feel. whatever is you :) if you do choose to do it, i'd love to see!
I have seen the watermarks on a lot of pictures on this site, and didn't know much about them. thanks Lauren for starting this discussion. This was something i was curious about too.
I "Watermark" my images here as some of you reading this know by visiting my images. I only mark mine here to know which of my images I have used in my collection for this project.
The topic of to watermark or "not to" is a very debatable topic, like Nikon vs Canon, PP is altering or part of creative license.
1) Some use the watermark to give identity so others don't steal images
There is a false hope on this as those that want the image will take them and either clone out the easier image or alter the watermark to make it look like their own or not care and still use the image as their own since most people don't pay attention to the watermarks in an article or where ever it is used.
2) some use it to identify images in their collection (me)
same rules apply above, only this is for personal reasons to help the user looking at their personal collection to know where/what the intended purpose was for the image.
3) others use it for advertising.
Same rules apply to the stealing of the images, however in this scenario people may put as their watermark the website of the photographer, some make these smaller so not to distract from the image. The idea behind this is if it is small enough, the would be stealer wouldn't bother but the image gets out to a broader public and it is free advertising for them.
Bottom line until a full Digital Rights Management is in place an available, think of your images like the music industry. Do you OWN a legal copy of every MP3 on your listening device. Chances are you have at least one that you don't. People will take the images that they like. Even those image that have been crafted so you can't click and do a "Save As" can be taken with special tools or the fancy Screen capture.
To date there is no way of stopping it, so put a watermark on if you want your name on it. But please don't think it will hinder a would be thief from taking it.
Lastly, just putting a Copyright symbol doesn't make it complete, more on this at this link PHOTO COPYRIGHT
Just my .02
to answer your question:
you want to look for watermark in google, if you have photoshop find one with an action so you can do this at a click of a button. Video to create Watermark Action I did not spend a lot of time looking for a great example but thought a video might be easier then text explaination.
Personally, I'm not concerned about the imaginary ghouls lurking on 365 just waiting to steal pictures for their own evil ends, and I think adding signatures / logos onto photos detracts greatly from people's pictures.
Life's too short - we should all be out taking photos instead!
Rainee - thanks for the link...I explored it a little bit...but I really need to get better at photoshop! as of right now it is all just a little confusing...maybe I'll take a class?
ali - thanks so much for the link! I checked it out...maybe it's because I just don't know what I'm doing lol, but its still confusing. I really need to take a photoshop class to learn all of the tools and effects you can used to make photos even better!
Amber - aw thank you! I'll definitely think about it.
Ashley - I use picnik a lot too....but how do you get all of your signatures to look exactly the same on every photo? are they always the same size?
Jeff - THANKS so much! that was really helpful. I checked out the video...but it confuses me because I pretty much know nothing about photoshop lol I want to learn more tho! Maybe I'll take a class...read about it in books....
Simon - haha I am not too concerned about it either...but they are out there...and if I ever do want to become "Pro" I don't want people stealing my images :) I still don't know if I'll make a watermark or not...we'll see!
I marked a few at the beginning and then stopped. Hey, the beauty is out there for you to enjoy! If you want to take my photo and say it's yours, well, that is something you will need to deal with in your conscience. Take my photos and use them as you want as desktops, on your website, etc. You may respectfully give me credit for taking it if you like. Enjoy!
i actually juat added mine i messed around for a long time on power point and photoshop but wound up just drwing my own with good ol' paint and everypick i upload i just open in paint and do a transparent backround copy and paste of my copyright tag or signature and then save the file the upload to the site
I use Photoshop and I have a watermark action, so I just use that. I just haven't decided the best place to put it yet. My photos are on various sites so I watermark them.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Edit: maybe there is an oficial way to do I where you can claim your photo and get money in case anyone steal it from you.
http://www.creativepro.com/article/create-gradient-watermarks-photoshop
lauren, if you're trying to come up with a logo or a brand just play around until you find something that you feel like fits your style. maybe an image, maybe your name in different fonts, whatever you feel. whatever is you :) if you do choose to do it, i'd love to see!
I "Watermark" my images here as some of you reading this know by visiting my images. I only mark mine here to know which of my images I have used in my collection for this project.
The topic of to watermark or "not to" is a very debatable topic, like Nikon vs Canon, PP is altering or part of creative license.
1) Some use the watermark to give identity so others don't steal images
There is a false hope on this as those that want the image will take them and either clone out the easier image or alter the watermark to make it look like their own or not care and still use the image as their own since most people don't pay attention to the watermarks in an article or where ever it is used.
2) some use it to identify images in their collection (me)
same rules apply above, only this is for personal reasons to help the user looking at their personal collection to know where/what the intended purpose was for the image.
3) others use it for advertising.
Same rules apply to the stealing of the images, however in this scenario people may put as their watermark the website of the photographer, some make these smaller so not to distract from the image. The idea behind this is if it is small enough, the would be stealer wouldn't bother but the image gets out to a broader public and it is free advertising for them.
Bottom line until a full Digital Rights Management is in place an available, think of your images like the music industry. Do you OWN a legal copy of every MP3 on your listening device. Chances are you have at least one that you don't. People will take the images that they like. Even those image that have been crafted so you can't click and do a "Save As" can be taken with special tools or the fancy Screen capture.
To date there is no way of stopping it, so put a watermark on if you want your name on it. But please don't think it will hinder a would be thief from taking it.
Lastly, just putting a Copyright symbol doesn't make it complete, more on this at this link PHOTO COPYRIGHT
Just my .02
to answer your question:
you want to look for watermark in google, if you have photoshop find one with an action so you can do this at a click of a button. Video to create Watermark Action I did not spend a lot of time looking for a great example but thought a video might be easier then text explaination.
Life's too short - we should all be out taking photos instead!
:)
Rainee - thanks for the link...I explored it a little bit...but I really need to get better at photoshop! as of right now it is all just a little confusing...maybe I'll take a class?
ali - thanks so much for the link! I checked it out...maybe it's because I just don't know what I'm doing lol, but its still confusing. I really need to take a photoshop class to learn all of the tools and effects you can used to make photos even better!
Amber - aw thank you! I'll definitely think about it.
Ashley - I use picnik a lot too....but how do you get all of your signatures to look exactly the same on every photo? are they always the same size?
Jeff - THANKS so much! that was really helpful. I checked out the video...but it confuses me because I pretty much know nothing about photoshop lol I want to learn more tho! Maybe I'll take a class...read about it in books....
Simon - haha I am not too concerned about it either...but they are out there...and if I ever do want to become "Pro" I don't want people stealing my images :) I still don't know if I'll make a watermark or not...we'll see!