Watermark question

jowensphoto · Dec 19, 2011

I have a lot of family asking for photos of the new baby. I'm afraid that certain people will take the photos to some cheap printing facility (cough cough) and thus cheapening the appearance of the photo.

If I add a small water mark to the photo, will they still be able to have it copied? Or will most places (i.e, walmart, target, cost-co) destroy the copies once the tech realizes there is a water mark?

tirediron · Dec 19, 2011

Varies by store... some places won't even notice, others will refuse to print, or hand them over until the customer provides proof of entitlement to print, others will ask and accept any storey you give them. Why not have the images printed to your standard and send them out with Christmas cards/gifts? A couple of dozen 5x7s from a decent lab shouldn't be too pricey.

jowensphoto · Dec 19, 2011

That's about what I figured. If I'd made the mark small enough to be hidden (or barely noticeable) once framed, chances are the store would have overlooked it.

Already did on the Christmas gifts

I ordered about 30 prints AND framed them. I didn't think to put any sort of watermark/copyright info before I had them printed.

For some people, it's never enough, ya know? Ugh, family dram-dram lol I've already been ordered to send out photo announcements and to whom they should be sent. Can't wait until the Christmas photos are unveiled.

MLeeK · Dec 19, 2011

It's family, send a note with them that they are sized for web display and if they'd like copies in print please ask you because these won't print very nicely at all.

Josh66 · Dec 19, 2011

If it's family, I would give them copies large enough to make a good print, and a release authorizing them to make prints if they need that too. Maybe even crop them to different print sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, etc) if you don't think they are tech-savvy enough to do that on their own.

rexbobcat · Dec 19, 2011

Yeah, I don't usually watermark photos. I just make them small enough online (I hope) to discourage illegal printing.

Partly because I can not (CAN NOT) figure out how to do batch watermarking in PS. I've tried all of the methods using actions, but it still messes up because when I crop images, or depending on which camera I use, the images are different sizes anyways. And even if I resize them to the same size the action messes up. I also would have to create a seperate action depending on the orientation. It's just too much of a hassle in my opnion especially when I have to retouch and edit the photos as well.

I've heard from several people that watermarks are kind of a way of telling the client "I don't trust you" online. I don't know if this is true or not, but I'm going to just go with it.

I just don't like watermarking.

ahijada · Dec 20, 2011

From my previous experience working for Fedex (Kinkos) Office a few years back, taking in and copying/altering a copyrighted photo was a HUGE no no by company policy. And turning them down was difficult. Either you are followed up by a lie from the customer (the common one: the photographer moved and cannot be contacted) and have them turn in false documentation several days later or they just ignore what we say and copy or alter them themselves.

Josh66 · Dec 20, 2011

rexbobcat said:
Partly because I can not (CAN NOT) figure out how to do batch watermarking in PS. I've tried all of the methods using actions, but it still messes up because when I crop images, or depending on which camera I use, the images are different sizes anyways. And even if I resize them to the same size the action messes up. I also would have to create a seperate action depending on the orientation. It's just too much of a hassle in my opnion especially when I have to retouch and edit the photos as well.

I don't really like watermarks either, and almost never use them...

When I do use them though, I just made a custom brush with my watermark. Not as quick as a batch process, but it is much more flexible. Just select your watermark brush, then you can put it anywhere on the image with one click. Any size you want, any color you want, and any opacity you want.

GooniesNeverSayDie11 · Dec 20, 2011

Just put a note in the Metadata with your copyright credit line and put "DO NOT REPRODUCE". I am pretty sure the metadata comes up on the printers computers before the tech prints the photos.

MissCream · Dec 20, 2011

I don't really think that anything is going to stop someone from printing a photo.. I walked into my grandmothers house the other day to find a picture of my son taken from Facebook (it was sized for the web..) printed on COMPUTER PAPER as an 8x10 framed on her wall that my aunt did for her. If someone really wants to print the pictures, they will find a way