According to RC Conception over at Photoshop User in a guest post for Scott Kelby, this is what you should do to stop people from photoshopping out your watermark: stop using them.
Seriously. Bigger? Uglier? Not better. Despite the hullabaloo over Content aware fill in PS5, people have been able to remove things from photos since before there was Photoshop.
RC provides three good reasons for not including watermarks or bigass copyright symbols on your image. Here’s one of them:
As a photographer, my job is to share with you the best image that I have made, in the event to move you- to buy, to sell, to say that I’m awesome, and so forth. Considering that, the addition of the watermark in the center of the image takes all of that effort and throws it down the drain. The viewers eyes are now set to do the dance of ‘let me see what this picture COULD HAVE been provided this big symbol wasn’t in front of it” All of that work is now lost. Consider the fact that some in the community may even see this practice as amateurish, and any effort you’ve put into branding yourself is lost.
Better yet, he provides a handful of great alternatives to watermarking, which include using metadata to tag your images.
Of course, this wont stop your wedding clients from swiping your images and printing them, but does watermarking stop that in the first place? Are you sure? And is the money you’re getting from saving a dozen prints worth the money you’re losing because people look at your images and all they see is the watermark?
What following RC’s advice does is stop other photogs from pretending that your photos are theirs, or rather, give you an avenue to track them down and sue the pants off them. The discussion on the post is quite lively, and nearly as informative and informed as the article itself.
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7 Comments at "Your Watermark is Ugly, and Now it’s Gone."
I tend to disagree with this. Watermarks can also be an extension of your brand and, when done properly (i.e. NOT in the center, and done with an eye to style) can send your website/name out to people that would have not otherwise heard about your business.
I also think if someone (or company) were to use Content Aware fill and remove the watermark, that action can be construed as a deliberate act and legal implications will be stronger should you need to sue.
Scott
What Scott said…
The old “proof” mark is dead but WM that convey branding can be a plus rather than a minus.
It helps to have a good logo in the first place. A well designed and beautiful logo will make a beautiful watermark if used properly — not in the center, tasteful, and unobtrusive.
Scott:
I don’t think RC’s talking about not branding your images. His main argument is against the people who put the translucent copyright symbol or logo right in the middle of the photograph, not your logo in the bottom left hand corner.
And to quote Scott Bourne, (and RC) your first step in protecting your copyright is to register it. Yes, you own your copyright the moment you take your photograph, but it is far easier to prove it, legally, if you have it registered. The fact that they deliberately removed your copyright symbol doesn’t add any legal weight.
If you don’t have your copyright registered, and you choose to sue, here’s how it goes.
You go to court, you argue about it for a few hours. Was this photographed by you? Can you prove it? What date? Did you have a verbal agreement with the defendant that they could use it? Can you disprove that? And if you were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the person were using your photograph without your permission and without a valid contract, you might get lucky and win back almost enough to cover your court costs.
If you have your copyright registered, you walk up to the judge, and hand him the copyright documents.
He looks at the defendant. “Do you have a contract to use this image?” He asks.
When the defendant is unable to produce a valid contract, the *only* discussion that happens is how much they owe you.
So yeah, brand your images. Stylishly and in a way that helps further your brand. But don’t think that by putting your logo on there, you are going to be able to cover yourself, legally, if you need to sue.
I had seen a lot of people talking about registering the images . Does anyone have any good info on how to do this. Is it easy to do?
Aaron:
The latest episode of Photofocus talked about that. (Or maybe it was the previous episode? Quite recently, anyway). http://www.photofocus.com.
Basically you go here: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/
And just follow the (sometimes convoluted) steps.
Aaron. PPA has great content and paperwork to help with registering images. Also Photoshop User Mag has had an extensive report on it. Also http://www.copyright.gov
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