New Watermark c+c

ok so the whole point of this watermark is to use it as a signature. I am well aware that they can be easily removed. I think its a good advertising technique for online networking that is all. I wanted feedback on how it looks. So far I have only one comment on how it looks so thanks goes out to Schwettylens. It actually is my multiplayer gaming clan logo! Haha just kidding. I dont have time nor the interest in gaming. On another note it would be nice to get some more opinions on how it looks thank you.
While your graphic may be cool looking and have personal meaning to you, I had no idea who the photographer was when I saw it.

Once upon a time Nike always put the word "NIKE" above the swoosh. Once they became an internationally recognized company, they dropped the word and went only with the swoosh. Your signature is a lot like that....and I'm not sure you're work is recognizable enough to just go with a symbol. If you are wanting people to know you took the picture based on the signature, then you might want to consider at least putting above and below the graphic what the letters "h" and "s" represent.
 
I know you wont print it with that. People still dont want the pic of their kids with that logo floating online. Just my 2 cents.

Why not just use your name? Really, that signature doesnt give any info. Plus, who would want that logo on their photo? It will probably only work if you are an automotive photographer or something.

Well I actually do a lot of automotive photography. Also I would never print a photo with my watermark or signature on it. That would be super cheesy. It's just for online networking purposes!

Here's a sample

redchevy2.jpg

Oh I get it! Well it's a good thing I don't take pictures for other people. This camera is not for hire!

Thanks for your 2 cents though :sexywink:
 
Watermarks are pretentious.

well I disagree I think they are an excellent way to be recognized online.

This is the interesting thing I have seen over the years here. There is this desire to be "recognized" and "get thier name out there", by people who are still learning photography. This is the romantic side of being an artist and playing into being famous, or well known. The idea it seems, starts with logos and branding as being all important, rather than developing work that is head and shoulders above the average person with a camera. It is more about branding, than developing a style, a view, or work that is memorable.

I know, you just posted this in the beginner forum because you were "bored", so I will take that to mean you aren't being totally serious about this and doing it for "fun".

While many will feel Mishele was being Oh SO RUde, but, she is right.
 
I'd suggest if you're going to use a logo... add some color or something to it so it doesn't look at a failed attempt to place a watermark. This last one looks like a watermark again, which is pointless where it is, since it's easily removed or even cropped out of the frame entirely. Pretentious as some may think it, I don't see why you should be judged for wanting to take some pride in your work.
 
ok so the whole point of this watermark is to use it as a signature. I am well aware that they can be easily removed. I think its a good advertising technique for online networking that is all. I wanted feedback on how it looks. So far I have only one comment on how it looks so thanks goes out to Schwettylens. It actually is my multiplayer gaming clan logo! Haha just kidding. I dont have time nor the interest in gaming. On another note it would be nice to get some more opinions on how it looks thank you.
While your graphic may be cool looking and have personal meaning to you, I had no idea who the photographer was when I saw it.

Once upon a time Nike always put the word "NIKE" above the swoosh. Once they became an internationally recognized company, they dropped the word and went only with the swoosh. Your signature is a lot like that....and I'm not sure you're work is recognizable enough to just go with a symbol. If you are wanting people to know you took the picture based on the signature, then you might want to consider at least putting above and below the graphic what the letters "h" and "s" represent.

Not a bad idea I might try that later!
 
Watermarks are pretentious.

well I disagree I think they are an excellent way to be recognized online.

This is the interesting thing I have seen over the years here. There is this desire to be "recognized" and "get thier name out there", by people who are still learning photography. This is the romantic side of being an artist and playing into being famous, or well known. The idea it seems, starts with logos and branding as being all important, rather than developing work that is head and shoulders above the average person with a camera. It is more about branding, than developing a style, a view, or work that is memorable.

I know, you just posted this in the beginner forum because you were "bored", so I will take that to mean you aren't being totally serious about this and doing it for "fun".

While many will feel Mishele was being Oh SO RUde, but, she is right.


I dont see why I cant work on improving my work and have a signature at the same time. After all, arent we all getting better at photography all the time. The second we stop learning is the second we become ignorant!
 
I know you wont print it with that. People still dont want the pic of their kids with that logo floating online. Just my 2 cents.

Why not just use your name? Really, that signature doesnt give any info. Plus, who would want that logo on their photo? It will probably only work if you are an automotive photographer or something.

Well I actually do a lot of automotive photography. Also I would never print a photo with my watermark or signature on it. That would be super cheesy. It's just for online networking purposes!

Here's a sample

redchevy2.jpg

I have photos of kids, families, weddings and other stuff "floating around" on the internet with a signature. When they tag their photos at facebook or my blog, I want to make sure my branding goes with it, so when other's see it, and hopefully love it, they will know who to google for their very own session. Naturally, when they actually buy a print, they get a photo without the siggy. (The other photos online are made to "screw up" when they are lifted, as far as printing. :)
 
Watermarks are pretentious.

well I disagree I think they are an excellent way to be recognized online.

This is the interesting thing I have seen over the years here. There is this desire to be "recognized" and "get thier name out there", by people who are still learning photography. This is the romantic side of being an artist and playing into being famous, or well known. The idea it seems, starts with logos and branding as being all important, rather than developing work that is head and shoulders above the average person with a camera. It is more about branding, than developing a style, a view, or work that is memorable.
I think you hit it spot on in terms of the romantic side of things, but what is wrong with that? I mean if you really want to dig deep, are you ever NOT learning photography? Even people like Joe McNally learn things constantly, especially in this ever changing digital age. So ( just as in the amatuer or professional arguments ) at what point are you able to take pride and credit for your work? There is ALWAYS someone better than you, so are you to just be a coward your whole life and wait for that magical day that may never come? Sure you may make things harder on yourself in the long run, but again, what does it matter? If you end up with stellar work, noone gives a sh!t how much you used to suck. Those crap shots fade into oblivion and your great work outshines it. Go listen to an old Demo from pretty much any top level musician and you will see how crappy and unrefined they sounded. That didn't stop them from making a demo. It also certainly does not sway anyone to dislike them now.
 
I think you are missing my point cindy. Your logo doesnt have thunderbolt on it. Let me just give you an extreme example. What if someone use a skull as the logo. Would you want picture of your kids floating around the internet with THAT signature.
 
Hey Bitter, you know I love ya right? But I will disagree with you here. My MOST stolen photo is one I took in the first year of photography. (It was a close up of a pretty bride with big eyes). I put it on a few photography forums, and then BAM, it's all over the place on other people's portfolios. (The folks on another forum keep finding them, and we shut down the sites, but as soon as one goes down, another pops up with the same blasted photo). At this point I just don't care anymore, but I learned my lesson. I also learned that I have to metadata my work to hell and back.

However, I agree with you on one point. If I were just taking random photos for crit, because I wasn't sure I was in love with them, or wanted feedback to do better, I probably wouldn't siggy them. I mean I do now, but when I was first starting out, I probably wouldn't have.
 
I think you are missing my point cindy. Your logo doesnt have thunderbolt on it. Let me just give you an extreme example. What if someone use a skull as the logo. Would you want picture of your kids floating around the internet with THAT signature.

No perhaps not, but there is a big difference between a thunderbolt and a skull. At any rate, I've already stated that it's way too busy and prominent.

And BTW, I find this a really interesting discussion. Lots of good points being made here. For both sides.
 
FWIW...

I experimented with signatures/watermarks several years ago. The biggest issue I found was that it's nearly impossible to have a signature on your photo that's recognizable without it being distracting to the image. I experimented with different sizes, fonts, graphics, locations, brightness, color (or lack of color) and each time I found the same problem. If I made it so that it wasn't distracting, it was difficult to see and basically defeated the purpose of the signature. If I made it recognizable enough to be seen, it distracted from the image. If its the first thing a viewer looks at is your signature when viewing your image, that's a bad thing. In the end, I decided that a signature wasn't worth it. But that's just my opinion, of course. Sometimes, however, when I print photos, I'll add a small signature to the bottom righthand corner of an image, under where the mat will be, just to personalize it a bit, especially when it's a gift for someone. You won't see it normally, but it's there.

In both of the pics the OP has posted here, the logo is where my eye went to first. A lightning bolt, and a cross that says 'Mother' just don't go together very well. I will say, even though it distracted me in the car photo, it at least fir better with the theme of the shot. OP, I'd recommend a name, or website, or something like that instead of a logo, if you're looking for recognition. However, that's just my 2 cents on the matter.
 
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well I disagree I think they are an excellent way to be recognized online.

This is the interesting thing I have seen over the years here. There is this desire to be "recognized" and "get thier name out there", by people who are still learning photography. This is the romantic side of being an artist and playing into being famous, or well known. The idea it seems, starts with logos and branding as being all important, rather than developing work that is head and shoulders above the average person with a camera. It is more about branding, than developing a style, a view, or work that is memorable.
I think you hit it spot on in terms of the romantic side of things, but what is wrong with that? I mean if you really want to dig deep, are you ever NOT learning photography? Even people like Joe McNally learn things constantly, especially in this ever changing digital age. So ( just as in the amatuer or professional arguments ) at what point are you able to take pride and credit for your work? There is ALWAYS someone better than you, so are you to just be a coward your whole life and wait for that magical day that may never come? Sure you may make things harder on yourself in the long run, but again, what does it matter? If you end up with stellar work, noone gives a sh!t how much you used to suck. Those crap shots fade into oblivion and your great work outshines it. Go listen to an old Demo from pretty much any top level musician and you will see how crappy and unrefined they sounded. That didn't stop them from making a demo. It also certainly does not sway anyone to dislike them now.

First of all, I love your name. :) Secondly, I think I'm madly in love with you.
 
well I disagree I think they are an excellent way to be recognized online.

This is the interesting thing I have seen over the years here. There is this desire to be "recognized" and "get thier name out there", by people who are still learning photography. This is the romantic side of being an artist and playing into being famous, or well known. The idea it seems, starts with logos and branding as being all important, rather than developing work that is head and shoulders above the average person with a camera. It is more about branding, than developing a style, a view, or work that is memorable.
I think you hit it spot on in terms of the romantic side of things, but what is wrong with that? I mean if you really want to dig deep, are you ever NOT learning photography? Even people like Joe McNally learn things constantly, especially in this ever changing digital age. So ( just as in the amatuer or professional arguments ) at what point are you able to take pride and credit for your work? There is ALWAYS someone better than you, so are you to just be a coward your whole life and wait for that magical day that may never come? Sure you may make things harder on yourself in the long run, but again, what does it matter? If you end up with stellar work, noone gives a sh!t how much you used to suck. Those crap shots fade into oblivion and your great work outshines it. Go listen to an old Demo from pretty much any top level musician and you will see how crappy and unrefined they sounded. That didn't stop them from making a demo. It also certainly does not sway anyone to dislike them now.


I can agree with you. Totally. I don't have an issue with putting your name in the bottom corner of everything you do. I am speaking to meaningless logos, such as his, that isn't searchable. Logos are for brand recognition. That's what I have seen here again and again, laboring over a logo, when that energy can be put towards becoming fantastic!
 
I am speaking to meaningless logos, such as his, that isn't searchable. That's what I have seen here again and again, laboring over a logo, when that energy can be put towards becoming fantastic!
Putting it that way, I can agree as well.
 

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