(Post Master Supreme)

11/06/13 12:16 PM

watermarking / copyrighting your images

what are your choices on this matter?

(Post Master Supreme)

11/06/13 12:21 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

well, i pretty much only post up small images online watermark free. i've tried a couple watermark methods, but unless you cover the whole image in them, a small one in the corner is easy to clone out. i've played around with some sort of script "copyright" or "proof" placed all over the image and then made almost completely transparent, but it still takes away from the image. so i'll continue to only post small sizes. sure you could copy it and print a 5x7 or something, but it'll look like shit at 20x30 or larger.

(Post Master)

11/06/13 12:39 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I add a "(c) Trenchard Photography" to all my images just so I can say it was there. I think that if someone wants to steal your image bad enough, they will regardless, and you'll probably never know it...

Senor Eduardo_82

(Post Master Supreme)

11/06/13 01:14 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I always get paid before I shoot so watermarks are not required.

Otherwise, I'll put my email address on them if there's potential for a sale or future work.

Personal images are never watermarked as it looks incredibly tacky.

(Post Master Supreme)

11/06/13 02:55 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I have been guilty of leaving a simple grey "20XX mjkjr" on images that get a lot of traffic. More of a way of leaving a calling card / at least give me credit if you share type of thing.

**DONOTDELETE**

()

11/06/13 04:00 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I'm just a hobbyist, so I will just leave appropriate exif data in the image when it's appropriate. If I cared more, maybe I'd "watermark" it or something. dunno

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 10:16 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

It sucks either way. I've uploaded some smaller images without that have made the rounds on tumblr. When I got Ironmom's bike posted on Bike Exif and Silodrome, it had to be without watermark. I recently asked Silodrome to do a gallery to announce the show I was having and get some traffic to my store front, but they wouldn't use watermarked images then either. So, then I would have my portfolio images spreading around the web with no indication that I produced them. Is that worth the exposure from the places that maintain the written info along with it? If I post to my tumblr and the description says it's a this and a that by me, then someone with a shitload more followers than myself reblogs it and deletes that info, well now it's just another random photo. So...it sucks. I've got a little logo that I had made up that I try to put on stuff. My Society6 prints, I link the page to pinterest but it uses an image from the page, so there's no watermark there. If someone removes the link and text, again, I'm assed out.

Ideally I'd be registering each published image with the copyright office, and I need to get on that...

Senor Eduardo_82

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 11:13 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

You could always find creative ways to include you logo in the photo rather than adding it digitally afterwards, if you were so inclined.

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 11:19 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

Originally Posted By: eddie _82

You could always find creative ways to include you logo in the photo rather than adding it digitally afterwards, if you were so inclined.

that's what i do. it's not only for prevention of theft (which as mentioned is easily removed if people are so inclined). it's also b/c image hosting services tend to strip metadata. if someone likes it enough to share it on some other random site, your name/url is right there.

**DONOTDELETE**

()

11/07/13 11:24 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I don't always do it, but I should. I have no problem cleverly adding it in or worrying about people photoshopping it out because if it comes down to it, i'll just show my original photo w/ copyright & watermark if it ever came down to it.

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 11:46 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

Originally Posted By: GSParker

I don't always do it, but I should. I have no problem cleverly adding it in or worrying about people photoshopping it out because if it comes down to it, i'll just show my original photo w/ copyright & watermark if it ever came down to it.

How does that work?

Guy takes your pic and photoshops out your logo, either leaves it blank or adds his own.

A dispute arises as to who's pic it is, you show yours with your logo, he shows the altered one with his, now it's his word against yours.

At least with a small size you can say, "sure, I've got the full size image right here, do you?"

That doesn't really help with using the image without permission/credit, but at least you have a way of proving ownership.

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 12:10 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

you should register it first w/ the copyright office. (on my to do list)

second, you can show other unpublished outtake shots, which the other guy wouldn't have.

**DONOTDELETE**

()

11/07/13 04:11 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

Originally Posted By: salty

Originally Posted By: GSParker

I don't always do it, but I should. I have no problem cleverly adding it in or worrying about people photoshopping it out because if it comes down to it, i'll just show my original photo w/ copyright & watermark if it ever came down to it.

How does that work?

Guy takes your pic and photoshops out your logo, either leaves it blank or adds his own.

A dispute arises as to who's pic it is, you show yours with your logo, he shows the altered one with his, now it's his word against yours.

At least with a small size you can say, "sure, I've got the full size image right here, do you?"

That doesn't really help with using the image without permission/credit, but at least you have a way of proving ownership.

It works exactly how you outlined it. I always keep the full size image with EXIF data intact. I set the copyright text in my camera that gets written in the EXIF. Any image I put online would have my watermark on it and I typically put it in a place that would be difficult to photoshop out (think textures, lines, etc).

Any image pulled, edited and re-saved would have an original data + edited date attached to it and if they edited out my copyright, I have an original with the correct data. They would only have an 800px image whereas I have the original 6000x4000 image.

(Post Master Supreme)

11/07/13 04:16 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

i've heard from a copyright lawyer that it's actually a criminal act to strip/change metadata intentionally. not sure how it applies to photo hosting services, but for individuals to steal images and put their own credit into the metadata...they can be criminally charged #srsbzniss

(Post Master Supreme)

11/08/13 09:35 AM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

lol @ spammer

(Post Master Supreme)

11/08/13 12:54 PM

Re: watermarking / copyrighting your images

I don't watermark my shit, but I probably should on Flickr and Facebook. People are going to steal images regardless, and unfortunately the people who do steal images rarely have enough money to *really* be worth going after. It's not like any company of size, who has actual money, would be stupid enough to knowingly infringe on a copyright.

That being said, Robb Report magazine published an image of mine without consent, although granted, it was due to an oversight/miscommunication. They thought the image had been licensed to someone who supplied the magazine with the image, when in reality that individual never had the rights to do something like that. I emailed the publisher and the writer, didn't go in with pitchforks and burning effigies, but rather with a "just wanted you to be aware of what happened" approach, and they paid me a few hundred bucks as a peace offering. Not bad, considering I didn't expect anything aside from a "sorry dude" from them.

Also, even if you don't literally have your image filed with the copyright office, you have "implied ownership" as the creator, unless you have specifically licensed ownership and/or usage to another person or entity in a contract.

Nate