copywriting?

JaimeMC · Aug 7, 2006

Hi everyone :lol:

,

I'm new here, and I'm just wondering if anyone could help me out with a question I have. I'm planning to give away/sell some of my photographs. I am wondering how I should mark them in terms of copywrite so that no one can copy them. I work in a 1hr lab, and I get so many customers who try to copy professional photographs, and I turn them down. I would not want this to happen to my photographs, because I want to have control over print quality. What I see mostly are stamps that say who the photographer is and when the photograph was taken, and sometimes a print number. I also see stickers. It appears that these are custom made stams/stickers. Does anyone have any ideas where I can get some of these made, or does anyone have any suggestions for different methods of marking the photos?

boostdacr · Aug 7, 2006

JaimeMC said:
Hi everyone ,

I'm new here, and I'm just wondering if anyone could help me out with a question I have. I'm planning to give away/sell some of my photographs. I am wondering how I should mark them in terms of copywrite so that no one can copy them. I work in a 1hr lab, and I get so many customers who try to copy professional photographs, and I turn them down. I would not want this to happen to my photographs, because I want to have control over print quality. What I see mostly are stamps that say who the photographer is and when the photograph was taken, and sometimes a print number. I also see stickers. It appears that these are custom made stams/stickers. Does anyone have any ideas where I can get some of these made, or does anyone have any suggestions for different methods of marking the photos?

You can open the image in photoshop and add the logo or whatnot onto the image that way

rmh159 · Aug 7, 2006

You could also use photoshop to add in the copyright logo with your name or whatever you'd want displayed. Not sure if that would impact your pic or not but you should be able to see if it works or not.

I had run into this before too... when sending out prints to friends do you identify your prints with any type of copyright or signature? It's a friend so I know they won't end up being mass-produced but at the same extent it's nice to get credit for your work.

Unimaxium · Aug 7, 2006

How many prints are you going to make? You could just write your name on the back or something. Or you can add a logo in using photoshop. You don't have to make a specific logo or anything for your photo to be copyrighted. According to US law at least, you automatically own the copyright to any photo you make, regardless of whether you mark an image with a logo or not.

JaimeMC · Aug 7, 2006

Thanks everyone. I have gimp, which is similar to photoshop, but basicly an open source version. I'm sure I can do it with this program also. I never even thought of that. The only concern I have is that my photos are from film, so I'm worried about losing quality when I scan it and reproduce it from digital media. Do you think this would be a problem?

Unimaxium · Aug 8, 2006

It depends on how good your scanner and printer are. I'd be reluctant to scan an image just so I could put a watermark on it in GIMP, especially if I didn't have a dedicated film scanner. But if you have a scanner that can make good scans, or if you're using the lab to scan it for you, then you might still get a good image. You're the only one who can really tell if the image quality is acceptable to you or not.

JaimeMC · Aug 9, 2006

thanks. My scanner at home isn't very good. I can use the one at my lab, it comes out o.k. But I'll have to explore other options.

seopenkey · Aug 20, 2010

Hi,

Well, i suppose that you are confusing with the two terms that are very much similar in pronunciation. Copywriting and copyrighting are different profession.

~Thanks~

ChristinaW · Aug 20, 2010

You can get ink stamps from www.vistaprint.com and put down whatever you want. Most the time they are on sale/cheap... if you want you can email me, I always have free coupons for this. This way if you want to stamp the back of your pictures you can. But I was told by someone if they wanted to they can take the stamps off by a magic eraser.. never tried it though..not sure if it works?

robyn_fresh · Aug 20, 2010

if you open the photo up in photoshop:

1) add a text box
2) if you type alt 0169 you'll get the © symbol then type your name or whatever after it
3) change the opacity to about 60 to 65%

PenguinPhotoWrx · Aug 20, 2010

I wouldn't digitize an image just to add a copyright.

Get a sheet of small Avery labels and print out your copyright on a sheet or 10 of labels, stick them on the back of the prints.

Labs will always honor the label on the back- they notice it. I've had one hour photo stores call me YEARS later when someone tried to copy my prints that I had sold them. Funny- they couldn't remember my phone number to call me and get copies made, yet the photo lab found it on the back of the print, right under the copyright and my name!

If you're afraid of the labels coming off (never seen it happen), then go to Office Max or Staples and get a rubber ink stamp made (you can even order them on-line). They'll cost you anywhere from $30-$50 depending on size and how much print you have on them.

KmH · Aug 20, 2010

Putting a copyright notice on your photos won't keep people from copying them.

If the photos are online, assume they will get stolen. There is no way to protect them online. People print copies at home or work or just upload them to their computers.