Watermark Help

[linds0390]

I'm not sure if this is the correct area of the forum for this question but it seemed the most fitting.

I want to put a watermark on my photos. I am just a hobbyist with no intention of starting a business but I still want credit for my work, especially when I post them on Facebook and other sites to share with my family and friends. I just want it simple with my first and last name and then "Photography". I also want to put an image of a flower (preferably a peony) in the corner of my name. However, I am not sure how this works. Does anyone know where I can find an image to use on my watermark? I tried Google but I do not want to accidentally take anyone's image, even if it is just clip art.

 

[CA_]

What you'll need is a vector illustration, (scale-able). There are many sites that you can use an image from for free for personal use (ie. free personal use of fonts, like fontspace.com and such, but for images). If you want to use it for any sort of business, the best thing you can do is simply buy one from a stock art/photography site. iStock for example, but it's really expensive. There are cheaper alternatives. Make sure it's an .eps or .ai format (vector) and not a .png or .psd file (raster non-scalable images).

Good luck!

 

[KmH]

Raster graphics images can be scaled, but not as much as vector graphics can.
Particularly when wanting to scale a raster graphic smaller.

Raster graphics are made from bit-mapped pixels. Vector graphics are made from mathematical equations.

For a personal watermark that won't be scaled down much, raster graphics should work just fine.

Here is a sample raster graphic, 4.13" x 1.24" PNG file type because PNG supports transparent backgrounds (JPEG doesn't):

The same scaled down to 1" x .03".