Watermarks

JayClark79

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Where do you guys like to put your watermarks???

Do you like them jus straight centered in the photo? Or do you like them off to the side top or bottom where they are obstructing the view of the pic??

Im thinking centered, because the ones off to the side can easily be cropped out of a photo if they are stolen...

If you dont like watermarks you do not need to reply to this thread.
 
Watermarks are protection by screwing your art. If someone wants to steal your photos they will. But I for one skip over any image I look at with a watermark through the middle because even the subtle ones are distracting.

Watermarks in my opinion should say I made this and nothing more. Sign it in small print somewhere in the corner or off the picture in the border.

If you want to protect your images then don't post high res ones that may look good printed. Or you know... ruin an otherwise good photo, but then why even bother posting it.
 
Open up your favourite image manipulation/creation program. Create a new image – I’d suggest a canvas size of 200 (width) x 20 (height) as a good starting point, but you can use whatever you like, just bear in mind how it will look and fit on the screen. Use your image software to paint the background black. Now create the text you wish to appear in the watermark, and place it on the black background, making sure that the text colour is white. Once finished creating your watermark image, save it, but make sure that you save it as either a .BMP or a .TGA file.
 
If you want to protect your images then don't post high res ones that may look good printed. Or you know... ruin an otherwise good photo, but then why even bother posting it.

Images aren't always posted for your pleasure. The problem is the compromise between showing the overall quality and content of the image against security. Low-res images show content but don't always convey completely the detail and sharpness of an image which may be of significance to someone making a large print.
 
I like the bottom of the picture but I know people can crop them out. I find that most people who steal them for on-line use just hot link them and they actually leave the watermark.

minuteman-park-2wtmk.jpg
 
Where do you guys like to put your watermarks???

Do you like them jus straight centered in the photo? Or do you like them off to the side top or bottom where they are obstructing the view of the pic??


Both, depending. I sort of agree with Garbz, put something along the edges and use relatively low res images when you can. A lot depends on the subject, what you're posting them for (snapshots for viewing versus money-shots customers might lift and use).


Im thinking centered, because the ones off to the side can easily be cropped out of a photo if they are stolen...
You're right, but then there's that compromise between your security and obstructing the image too much. I think a lot depends on what you're shooting and who you're doing it for though too.

My solution is to use a deeply faded watermark that goes across the image and and edge one. The edge one makes it clear that the image is copyrighted and not a freebee, and if someone ignores that and starts posting it anyway then my website address is on it. The faded one can't easily be edited out, doesn't detract that much from the image, and if it gets posted or printed it'll still be there.

Here's an example of my normal edge watermark I use for posting:
707945617_5LuXo-L.jpg


...and this adds the faded "copyrighted image" watermark slanted from the lower-left up through the center - hardly there, but it's there:
707953020_guuwL-L.jpg


...a slight variation with a different copyright warning and my website embedded - hardly there, but it is there. It's more or less visible depending on the image:
707960694_keAz4-L.jpg


...and more in-your-face but still faded. This is the kind that Garbz probably was complaining about. I have a variation of this that's a little more faded.
707965493_g2a76-L.jpg



Finally... this is still another variation. I made this a little more "in your face" and I really don't care who doesn't like it, especially after having this kind of thing stolen and passed around the 'net. I wanted high-res versions of this available to check for sharpness and detail, which would have been big enough to edit, resize, manipulate, print, you name it.

194008191_YMdRV-M.jpg


Click here for the higher-res version
 
↑

WOW

anyway ... i put mine @ the lower right corner .. just so they know that its my shot
i dont think theyr good enough yet for anyone to use them commercially without my consent :p
 
There was a fellow, who combined the best of both worlds - he watermarked, but he did so on such a minute level that it was a game of Where's Waldo to find out where the watermark was; such a method I think is more insidious and delicious as it almost begs would be thieves to steal the work, safe and secure only to be blasted with the truth at some later date.
 
Watermarks are protection by screwing your art. If someone wants to steal your photos they will. But I for one skip over any image I look at with a watermark through the middle because even the subtle ones are distracting.

Watermarks in my opinion should say I made this and nothing more. Sign it in small print somewhere in the corner or off the picture in the border.

If you want to protect your images then don't post high res ones that may look good printed. Or you know... ruin an otherwise good photo, but then why even bother posting it.



And, if someone wants to break into your house.. They will... But.. are you just going to leave the door wide open for them?
 
And, if someone wants to break into your house.. They will... But.. are you just going to leave the door wide open for them?

Actually if you try to turn what I said into an analogy it would be similar to say living in a small house that looks so worthless that no one would break into it.

After all I said post small images that aren't worth stealing. If you want to turn water marking into an analogy then how about spraypainting all the possessions in your house fluro green so no one would steal them.

You can't lock the front door to your flickr page and at the same time expect people to be able to come in and have a look.

Images aren't always posted for your pleasure.

You're right. They are often posted for the client's pleasure (if they aren't pleased you don't make a sale). They are also often posted asking for critique (usually with the hope that the viewer enjoys the picture).
So if they aren't posted for other people's enjoyment, or posted to make money in which case they need to create enjoyment first, then why post them at all?
 
So if they aren't posted for other people's enjoyment, or posted to make money in which case they need to create enjoyment first, then why post them at all?

You misunderstand. I don't post anything for your enjoyment.
 
What about Digimarc?
It works but is expensive as hell unless you are using it commercially. But if you are that worried that someone is using your photos, then it maybe worth it because it also tracks your photos.
 
What about Digimarc?
It works but is expensive as hell unless you are using it commercially. But if you are that worried that someone is using your photos, then it maybe worth it because it also tracks your photos.

Even then the tracking isn't foolproof and covert watermarks are more useful in proving ownership after the image has been stolen than a deterrent to theft in the first place.
 

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