CEW... Watermark on pictures

[Magician]

Yow sah, or anyone who can help.

I see some people have their initials on the pictures they post. That way it makes the pictures less likely to be stolen and used for alterior motives.

Is how you do that there? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img]

[Bandana]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

I found this info on About.com [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

Watermark your Photos for Copy Protection
Placing an overlay watermark on images that you plan to post on the Web will identify them as your own work and discourage people from copying them or claiming them as their own. You can add a semi-transparent overlay to many images automatically when you use the Web Photo Gallery Creator feature in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Just look under the "Security" section of the setup dialog.

The choices available include custom text, copyright notice, the filename, a caption, credits, or title. Note that some of these options will only exisit if you have added them to the IPTC data through the "File Info" command in Photoshop, or through another image manager that supports IPTC data. You can also control the color, font, size, and position of the watermark text.

Source

[Diplomat]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

Photoshop and Photo Elements are fairly expensive software if someone just wants to watermark. I'l look around to see if I find any freeware [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

ETA: Here's a few:

Picture Shark (relatively easy to use)

http://www.picture-shark.com

Watermark

http://www.photo-freeware.net/watermark-v2.php

Photo Watermark

http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_3_36_24416.html

Watermark Me

http://www.schoeppl.info/en/software/free-software/watermark-me/watermark-me.aspx

Magic: You may have to try them all to find one you're really comfortable with. Some can be fairly easy, others a bit more complex.

[Magician]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

Thanks guys.

My camera came with the photoshop. I don't use it cause it's too complicated and I don't like manuals.

I'll try to figure this out this week.

Got a whole heapa pictures fi di non-Ja board.

[Sinco01]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Magic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks guys.

My camera came with the photoshop. I don't use it cause it's too complicated and I don't like manuals.

I'll try to figure this out this week.

Got a whole heapa pictures fi di non-Ja board. </div></div>


we still waiting ...

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Magic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yow sah, or anyone who can help.

I see some people have their initials on the pictures they post. That way it makes the pictures less likely to be stolen and used for alterior motives.

Is how you do that there? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img] </div></div>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Watermark your Photos for Copy Protection
Placing an overlay watermark on images that you plan to post on the Web will identify them as your own work and discourage people from copying them or claiming them as their own. You can add a semi-transparent overlay to many images automatically when you use the Web Photo Gallery Creator feature in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Just look under the "Security" section of the setup dialog. </div></div>
My two cents about this watermark thing is that it is silly. I just don't believe that there are people out there shopping for nice amateur photos to claim as their own. Plus, if you reduce your photo to 750 pixels wide, and make your jpeg not the highest quality, but around 350-400kbs , it will not be printable except for a postage stamp. Plus, the watermark, to be effective, must make the photo look ridiculous... and gives off the message that this is a valuable piece of art, and most of you who are looking are thieves, and would steal this art treasure in a heartbeat, and then go out and sell this masterpiece as your own, and then live happily on a beach somewhere in the tropics for the rest of your life!

[Diplomat]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

I see you point, but I do not think of it that way at all. I think of it simply as putting a "signature" on one's pictures, which is why my watermarks are placed where they are (lower right hand corner instead of, as you say, making the picture ugly by placing it somewhere else). Nothing more, nothing less. If someone wants to use them for desktop wallpaper or whatever, I'm fine with that.

[Nanook]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

I slap my name on my photographs because many of them are of jewelry I design. I find them on the www all the time, tracing them to sites where they sometimes get posted. The same goes for photos of my area which is mostly a tourist venu. If people are going to post photos from my website at least they will know where they originated. I agree that by compressing the images it makes it impossible for someone to create and sell prints, etc...

I never mind when people want to use my photos to post on the internet at all as long as I get credit for them. The signature accomplishes that. I don't much care for the blended in watermarks, I think they detract more from the photo than simply putting a signature in a corner somewhere. My 3 cents!

[Compry]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Nanook</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I never mind when people want to use my photos to post on the internet at all as long as I get credit for them. The signature accomplishes that. I don't much care for the blended in watermarks, I think they detract more from the photo than simply putting a signature in a corner somewhere. My 3 cents!

</div></div>

Are you sure that having a signature ensures that you get credit, Nanook?

Do you like my picture below?



or is it mine? Here's the original:



My apologies CEW...this was the only thread I could think of in this forum with a watermark.

If people want to be dishonest and claim a picture as their own, they will, unless you distort your entire picture with watermarks.

[Bandana]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

How'd you do that Compry? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img]

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

Exactly Compry... many people at http://www.deviantart.com use a big watermark that goes from one end of the photo to the other, negril.com was doing that too.

I made a living by making desserts for restaurants in a big metro area. Everyone thinks the recipes are really valuable, but they aren't to me. Ive published them on the internet and gone on tv showing folks how they are made. It's not the recipe that is valuable, it is the workers, who follow the recipe, and do it day in and day out, keeping all the ingredients clean and fresh. It is the doing of it in other words. Same is true I think with photos.

[Nanook]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are you sure that having a signature ensures that you get credit, Nanook?

</div></div>

Compry, you see in the photo below I put my signature there? Although it is not impossible for someone to remove the signature, it is highly unlikely. In this case it isn't about getting credit for the photo as it is making sure I do get credit for the work that is in the photogtraph.



And then in the case where I post photos on my website such as the Blue ice, I have my website name there, which is more of a tool for promoting my website than it is to protect the photo as my own because as mentioned the photo is compressed and would be prety hard to duplicate to any degree.




I find my photos posted all over the web and I think it's great. In other forums I have read where people's Jamaica photos were found posted on travel tourism sites, posted as though the owenr of the site had been granted permission when in fact, they were not. I think that the marks discourage this.

Forty's example of the watermark all the way across the photo to me is just so distracting, while CEW in the corner...not so much. I dunno.

I am still grappling whith how to actually protect my blue ice photos as there is some interest for a photo CD. My original thinking was that photos on the CD would be high resolution and unmarked but my btrother advised me not to do that. I guess that is something I have to look into if I decide to make a few CD's though!

This is an interesting topic and I was go glad to come and see Forty's viewpoints here this morning! I have been a fan of your work for a long time Forty!
[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif[/img]

[Compry]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bandanna</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How'd you do that Compry? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img] </div></div>

Photo editing tool.

[Diplomat]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Compry</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If people want to be dishonest and claim a picture as their own, they will, unless you distort your entire picture with watermarks.</div></div>

Agreed, but if someone want's to be dishonest to claim something that is definitely not theirs, then that person has issues. Sort of like stealing, isn't it? I've been in many photography forums and some pics are so "distorted" it detracts from being able to really appreciate them. I could do the same, but what's the point?

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: CEW... Watermark on pictures

I enoyed seeing your bead work. (I suggest that you put BeadedHeron.com as your sig) Very impressive. Do you know Alphonso in Negril?

I googled blue ice images and saw some beautiful photographs. I googled stolen photographs and found plenty of youngsters gripeing about it on Flickr http://www.flickr.mud.yahoo.com/help/forum/42398/

After half an hour reading, I still believe that if any of us who are concerned that our photos may be stolen, should experiment making the smallest file that still allows a nice computer image when viewed online.



I didn't find any articles of anyone being sued for "stealing" images. I believe that professionals use the Digimarc watermark system. But when I search "caught by Digimarc", the first url is, "I see no cases ever, even at Digimarc's site, in which anyone benefited from it. If anyone ever had caught an image thief I'm sure Digimarc would tell us. ..." [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]