Upwards of 1.8 billion images are shared online every day. With images being shared and re-shared all over the web, it’s easy to lose track of the original author.
To ensure proper acknowledgement of your work and make it harder to misappropriate your photos, you can use a watermark — a difficult-to-remove name or logo placed over your images. This technique is inessential for protecting your copyright but it makes it easier to put a name to your work.
Overzealous use of watermarking can ruin your imagery, but these four watermarking methods should provide good protection, without diminishing the quality of your work.
The “Subtle Signature”
One of the most commonly used watermarks is a digital replica of the artist’s signature, placed in the bottom left or right corner of the composition. This is always less obtrusive than plastering your logo across the middle of your image, but it still needs to be used with care, in order to avoid distracting the viewer.
The simplest way to tone down your watermark is to keep your logo compact, and set the opacity to below 50% — look under the Layers palette in Photoshop for the relevant slider. This allows some of the underlying image to seep through, while maintaining a clear mark. To retain a traditional look, use a handwriting-style font for your watermark.
The corner signature is great if you need to watermark images in batches, because it rarely covers the subject of the image. On the down side, it can be cropped out by determined image thieves, and against complex backgrounds it might not easily be legible.
The “Integrated Logo”
If you have a little more time to spend on your watermarking, a more surefire (and fun) option is to integrate your logo into the image. The idea is to hide it somewhere within the composition, so that it appears to be a part of the captured scene. In my example above, I have given the boat on the left a very familiar name!
To get this right takes practice. In Photoshop, you will need to use the tools found under the Image > Transform menu in order to make your logo fit in, and as before, a reduced opacity is recommended. Where possible, try to use a color for your logo or text which complements the rest of the photo.
To speed this up for future photos, it is a good idea to create a Photoshop brush for your watermark. To do so, open your logo or name on a transparent background. Then visit Edit > Define Brush Preset. Give the brush a name, then press OK. You can then select your watermark brush from the usual brush palette, and use it like any other brush.
When this technique works well, it is possibly the best form of watermarking. That said, some images do not have an appropriate space to place a logo, and the process is time-consuming.
The “Elegant Border”
Another watermarking style, inspired by the presentation of physical art, is the use of frames. A simple white border with your name inset, placed around the edge of your picture, serves as good protection and decorative ornamentation. It works particularly well on images with a subject sited somewhere near the center of the composition.
Photoshop has a number of frames and corners you can use via the Custom Shapes tool — make sure to choose one with a gap for your name or logo.
Alternatively, you can also make your own simple border. Create a blank layer on top of your original photo, and then use Select > Select All followed by Select > Modify > Contract to draw a rectangle of “marching ants” around the edge of your photo. Then use choosing a Stroke Width under 5px, and Outside as the Location. Finally, use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to cut out a gap for your text.
If you save your frame, this watermarking technique can be used for batch processing, and it provides good attribution without compromising aesthetics. While thieves could crop out your border, it would probably make your image too altered and small to bother with.
The “Branded Polaroid”
If you would prefer to have nothing at all on top of your image, you might like to try a Polaroid-style frame. This adds a white border around your image, much like the instant photographs of yesteryear, thus allowing you to add your name, website, or logo.
To do this in Photoshop, go to Image > Resize > Canvas Size, and add the required white space. Then use the Text tool to add your details, or simply paste in your logo. Try to use small or muted writing to avoid a distracting burst of contrast at the fringe of your photo. The Polaroid frame does not offer quite the same level of protection as the other watermarks mentioned above. With so many other images to choose from, however, this frame will be enough to deter most image thieves. It should also ensure you always get attribution.
In many cases, reverse image search tools like Pixsy can track down reuse of your images online, but there are still strong arguments for subtle attribution. Anyone who removes your watermark is clearly breaching your copyright willfully, and it makes your images difficult to reuse in print. You also ensure that your name does not get separated from your work on social media and other sites. Using the techniques mentioned above, you will retain the aesthetics of your photography, too.
This post is written by Mark Myerson from Pixsy, reverse image search platform that helps photographers fight image theft online.
Featured Image by Shutterstock.
