KenElevenShadows Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 The most overlooked reason to watermark photos https://photofocus.com/opinion/the-most-overlooked-reason-to-watermark-photos/ Quote Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 I have a story about watermarking photos. I created a watermark that used my logo and business name in the correct font. It used it for the reasons we all know. I went to a concert a local musician I knew had at his studio, and asked him in advance if I could take pictures. He answered affirmatively. I took a bunch of pictures and published the good ones on a page on my web site. Some time later, weeks, maybe a month or two, I was poking around on his MySpace page (that shows you how long ago this was), and he has several of my photos on there uncredited and with the watermark removed. I contacted him, and he made some comment about having to remove the ugly watermark (excuse me??? I thought, but maybe he meant watermarks overall, not the quality of mine. Who knows), but agreed to at least give me credit. And this guy was also an artist. When I said above it was at his studio, it was an art studio with pictures on the walls, paint splatter on surfaces, etc. I didn't throw all that crap at him, you know, "what if someone used your work without crediting you" etc. I was just like whatever. It was his concert and at his place so I would have had no problem with him using the photos if he had asked and/or credited me somehow. I quickly realized this was a losing battle overall, combined with the "democratization" of digital photography. I decided photography would remain nothing more than a hobby for me. Quote "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 I have to say Ken, your watermark is unobtrusive and very much like a signature. The kind of water mark that I don"t mind. I think that photographers can learn from painters. No one removes a signature from a painting. Why? How do you give your watermark the same status and function? Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 I've seen a few people who use enormous watermarks, right in the center of the photo.... I guess they REALLY don't want someone stealing their photos! I don't use watermarks. But I've also had plenty of my photos stolen. Other photographers, bloggers, businesses, Youtube creators, some TV station in Ohio... Probably more that I have forgotten. Some lady here locally used a photo in her blog, that I took of a restaurant and she even copied and pasted my caption. I left her a blunt comment and she apologized but never took the photo down that i know of. Maybe now that I think of it I should check. All they'd have to do is ask first; I would almost always say Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 I have to say Ken, your watermark is unobtrusive and very much like a signature. The kind of water mark that I don"t mind. I think that photographers can learn from painters. No one removes a signature from a painting. Why? How do you give your watermark the same status and function? Thanks. I try. I feel like once in a while, it gets away from me and I make them too large. I agree, I do think we can learn from painters. And indeed, there are some photographers who use their signature (or a company that actually makes beautiful and sometimes ornate looking signatures), and sometimes I think that they are on to the right idea. For now, I am using the same font that my book uses for the cover, thinking that this would tie on. I happened to stumble across their font by accident. I was going to ask them what they were using and then somehow just got lucky and figured it out. Quote Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 I've seen a few people who use enormous watermarks, right in the center of the photo.... I guess they REALLY don't want someone stealing their photos! I don't use watermarks. But I've also had plenty of my photos stolen. Other photographers, bloggers, businesses, Youtube creators, some TV station in Ohio... Probably more that I have forgotten. Some lady here locally used a photo in her blog, that I took of a restaurant and she even copied and pasted my caption. I left her a blunt comment and she apologized but never took the photo down that i know of. Maybe now that I think of it I should check. All they'd have to do is ask first; I would almost always say Yes. Yeah, unless you're shutterstock photo or something, I just don't see the point of that. Those are so obtrusive that I usually just move on. I didn't used to put watermarks but began seeing my photos all over the place. And that was largely before I even got into night photography. I figured I'd do it but try to make it so it wasn't too obnoxious. I dunno. There's not really any right answer to this, just personal preference. But I did want my article to state one overlooked reason. Quote Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 I'm no pro. I make my living playing music. But I posted what I thought was a nice picture of a woodstork on a forum to show off, and later in a google search for other pictures to gather inspiration, I saw my picture. I haven't posted them since. I joined AdobeStock and the put small size images out with their watermark. I don't know if I'll sell any, but for a rank amateur photographer, it's nice to get the approval that they are 'good enough' to buy. http://www.nortonmusic.com/stock_images.html Notes Quote Bob "Notes" Norton Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 I hope it works out well for you. Small unobtrusive watermarks seem to work out really well, I think. Some people do it so well that it looks like part of the art. Quote Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Depends on the circumstance, what it is. I posted some photos of Formula 1 cars on a message board a long time ago, and they "magically" ended up on a couple of F1 news websites. Watermarking would have prevented that, but it's not like I'm making money from it so I suppose there is no point? Quote Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 I suppose it depends on how much you care about whether people use your photos or not, whether you ever think you will need to prove intent, and whether you want people to be able to circle back to your site. It's certainly not for everyone. Quote Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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