Watermarks

[Admiral Huddy]

What method do you guys use for adding watermarks and copyright notices.

I take it that it's a transparent text layer but do you have to bring this in to each image? Is there a quicker way?

Thanks

 

[a1ex2001]

What method do you guys use for adding watermarks and copyright notices.

I take it that it's a transparent text layer but do you have to bring this in to each image? Is there a quicker way?

Thanks

If you using lightroom I believe you can do it automatically when you convert to jpg. I've never bothered as I don't think I've ever taken a shot worth stealing and please please don't put Huddy Photography or anything photography in the corner unless you are actually looking to make money it's so cringe worthy when people stick xxx photography in the corner of their holiday snaps!

 

[Columbo]

I put mine on when I export from Lightroom and although I make no money the only reason I put one on is that I allow some of my friends to share them of Facebook / Google+ and like them to know who's taken it.

If you do go with one and are not really worried about them being stolen just keep it simple, out of the way and small. Here's mine below.


Worms Eye View by m.ww, on Flickr

 

[Steeps]

I usually have a macro that I use in photoshop for resize+watermark. It's just my name but the main reason I have it is to stop people using my shots as their own as 1/6th of the image would have to be cropped to remove it...

...And this has happened to me. I took shots at an event for my own enjoyment and a manufacturer that had nothing to do with organizing the event took my shots for advertising purposes. Every photo that I publish gets some form of watermark depending on the risk of it being used elsewhere.

 

[robj20]

I dont see the point its not like its difficult to crop the bottom off.

 

[mr tommo]

Create a transparent PNG, add watermark and then use Lightroom to export the image with said watermark.

 

[Columbo]

I dont see the point its not like its difficult to crop the bottom off.

As I said previously mine is not about theft, if someone is sad enough use any of my images for their own purposes then fine.

 

[Steeps]

It might not be hard to crop, but if someone wants to use your image it means they have to go to the effort of saving it, cropping it then re-hosting it, compared to just hotlinking it. My cropped de-watermarked images got re-posted on 3 blogs and 2 popular forums, luckily it wasn't my bandwidth being used.

 

[D.P.]

I just put by copyright and contact details in th Exif data, it is what it's for.
Professionals will always check the Exif first, and common thieves will bypass a watermark anyway unless you it is particularly obnoxious which ruins the photo.

Best policy is to upload only small photos and don't post them willy nilly.

 

[robj20]

That's what i do, max of 800 pixels on the long side.

 

[D.P.]

That's what i do, max of 800 pixels on the long side.

Limits most commercial exploitation.

If you are also worried then you can use the image search tools out there to track where you images are.

 

[Sh4rkie]

PNG image file created in Photoshop and then is applied to an image when exported from Lightroom. Painless

 

[PhotoPixels]

Quick & easy tut for creating a watermark brush in PSE- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZB2NBwEHWE which might be useful for some.

btw, the copyright symbol © is created on Windows by pressing the `alt` key and hold it down while typing 0169 on the keyboard to create the symbol.

For Mac users you can add the copyright symbol anywhere text can be added with two keystrokes. Press the `alt` key (or`option`) and hold it down while typing `g` to get the symbol.

 

[Hyburnate]

I just use the text tool and G3 on my G510

 

[D.P.]

If you do add a watermark be careful what text is there. For example, if you add " (C) John Smith Photography" then you have assigned copyright to the entity 'John Smith Photography'. If you don't own a business with that registered name then in theory someone else could simply register that business name and thus you have assigned copyright to them.

If you do own a business called "John Smith Photography" then putting that as the watermark might contravene OCUKs advertising rules.

Just put "John Smith" as the watermark, then it is clearly and legally just a name. Or put "John Smith Photography" without the copyright symbol if you have a website named that.
Also note that copyright is automatically assigned, adding a (C) symbol doesn't change anything. You can avoid confusion and potential legal issues by omitting it.

 

[Raymond Lin]

copyright issues aside (which should automatically yours the moment you press the shutter).

watermark for the forum re business

Watermarking
Watermarks are encouraged so as to protect the high quality images being posted. You must refrain from using any web addresses/URLs in the watermarks.

So John smith Photography is fine. www.johnsmith.com isn't

 

[Hyburnate]

copyright issues aside (which should automatically yours the moment you press the shutter).

watermark for the forum re business



So John smith Photography is fine. www.johnsmith.com isn't

Yes just as "flickr.com/hyburnate" is fine but "http://flickr.com/hyburnate.com/" isn't.

e; Well, aside from the fact that link doesn't give me any business but the same format.

 

[Sh4rkie]

If you do add a watermark be careful what text is there. For example, if you add " (C) John Smith Photography" then you have assigned copyright to the entity 'John Smith Photography'. If you don't own a business with that registered name then in theory someone else could simply register that business name and thus you have assigned copyright to them.

Have you got a link or document which supports this or is it hear say?

To assign rights away i would expect (and everything i've read supports this) that you need to sign away the rights based upon a contract. The contract would detail the copyright works it relates to and the scope of the assignment (a license and it's conditions or full copyright assignment).

Putting ©overclockers.co.uk on an image would not give OC your copyright for an original work.

 

[D.P.]

Have you got a link or document which supports this or is it hear say?

To assign rights away i would expect (and everything i've read supports this) that you need to sign away the rights based upon a contract. The contract would detail the copyright works it relates to and the scope of the assignment (a license and it's conditions or full copyright assignment).

Putting ©overclockers.co.uk on an image would not give OC your copyright for an original work.

This is information gained from other forums. You certainly don't need a signed contract, a verbal contract is legally just as binding as a signed contract for example. At the very least it will make your life harder as you will have given a written (text in any form counts as writing) conformation that copyright is assigned to an entity that is not yourself. You would have to defend that that is an error and you a yourself are indeed the true copyright holder.

Loosing copyright is quite easy sadly. When I started working for my company they had a large general clause about IP ownership. Turns out the company had legal IP over works of art produced by employees until we got the contracts changed to be more specific. So funnily a few months worth of photos of mine actually belong to my employer but I have been given approval to do what I want with them of course.

 

[Sh4rkie]

This is information gained from other forums. You certainly don't need a signed contract, a verbal contract is legally just as binding as a signed contract for example. At the very least it will make your life harder as you will have given a written (text in any form counts as writing) conformation that copyright is assigned to an entity that is not yourself. You would have to defend that that is an error and you a yourself are indeed the true copyright holder.

Yeah sorry by sign away i didn't mean in the literal sense of pen on paper. Just that a contact whether written or otherwise would need setting out between two parties, the author of the work and the recipient.

My point is there is a difference between assigning someone copyright automatically based upon adding "© text" as per your original post and having to defend that you haven't assigned copyright which rests with burden of proof. Either way yeah it might not be a great idea.

Loosing copyright is quite easy sadly. When I started working for my company they had a large general clause about IP ownership. Turns out the company had legal IP over works of art produced by employees until we got the contracts changed to be more specific. So funnily a few months worth of photos of mine actually belong to my employer but I have been given approval to do what I want with them of course.

This is actual the default legal position, it's covered under "Employee created works". It doesn't need to be in an employees contract but is usually added as good practice to make things water tight. So in the course of your employment if you create works then the company holds the copyright not the author. Images, code, video etc. where ever copyright applies. So something like a software coder creating a website in the course of their job role the IP would rest with the company automatically, as would an image taken by a tog. That is unless there is provision within the employment contract that says the IP / copyright is assigned to the original author usually with the proviso the company is granted a license to the works free of costs or restrictions.