Vic. Loc: Ohio

Does anybody know of a good program to water mark your pictures. Or how to do it I don't know to much about this I would like some suggestions. I just recently had one stolen.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

There is no software that can't be defeated. There are several programs for watermaking photos (I use Picasa since it's free), but it's best to put reduced resolution copies out on the web (800 pixels on the long side max)

Range_Rider

First....You want to be seen, stop worrying about your work being copied.

Second...The more people who see your work, will recognize a "copy" and tell you you what they saw.

Third....Place on the "surface" in the lower right hand corner (and don't make it to conspicuous the words "copyrighted" and "your NAME." Yes, you can use just the symbol. You do want to add your name (free advertising.)

Fourth....Discovering a copyrighted image that has been copied, investigate, challenge, get a lawyer, sue.

Fifth....Take great pictures and keep posting them.

Please note as pictures are basically for viewing and not printing, ALWAYS post at 96 dpi and where permitted post a thumbnail and the ability to view a larger image.

Vic. Loc: Ohio

It just kind of threw me when I saw my picture on someone post. My wife saw it and said isn't this one of your pictures. I do this for enjoyment and so that people can enjoy them also.

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

Where did you see your picture posted? Was it on this forum?

Vic. Loc: Ohio

No it was on facebook I suppose this guy thought he would put it on there thinking somebody would think it was his picture my wife ask him where he got it but he didn't answer her back.

koolbreez Loc: Bangkok, Thailand

There is no time that it is ok for someoneelse to use your work without asking, and getting permission.

There is the creative commons law, but if you take the time to properly tag your photos with EXIF data showing your copyright, and contact details (it can simply be an email address), then creative commons don't apply.

To help people identify your work use a transparent layer with your copyright information in semi-transparent lettering over the picture, not in the corner where it can be cropped off.

Most editing programs now allow the use of layers. Make a layer with you copyright information in big letters across the middle of the frame, then set this to about 20% transparency. Save it so you can use it later. Open your picture in your editing program, and put this layer over it, then flatten the layers. This will permanantly embed your watermark over the picture, and it can not be removed without ruining the shot. At 20% visibility it will be noticable, but wont ruin the picture for others to look at.

This is the best way to watermark.

When talking about the legal issues with someone using your pictures, one thing to remember, if you have not registered your pictures with the copyright office in the USA, all you can recover is lost wages basically. There is no punitive damages if you haven't registered your images, and an attorney will not handle the case. That will be the first thing they ask.

It is cheap to do, and can be done on-line. You can upload thousands of low resolution images with the application, then pay the $60, and at that point you have full legal protection. You get your copyright letter in about 9 months, but you are registered from the time you pay the fee. Just something to keep in mind if you are considering stopping others from making money with your images, and posting them everywhere trying to get sales. You do have a legal copyright from the time you take the picture, you just are restricted on how much you can recover from their illegal use if you don't register your work with the copyright office.

Vic. Loc: Ohio

Thanks for the info.

BBNC

Facebook...I get so much email junk that originates with Facebook and the people who use it, people asking me to be a friend when I never heard of them. Makes me wonder how they got my email. I'm scared to death of signing up, even though some real friends run a chatroom through there.

Does anyone know about any watermarking programs that use encrypted data to create the watermark so it can't be removed without destroying the image?

wildman Loc: Bluffton, SC

I echo Scott's answer. Only post lower rez pics that look great on the web but when printed will show jpg artifacts. Also, if you use Lightroom galleries, the pic cannot be drag-and-dropped but only cut-and-pasted. A theft by that method would only yield a lower rez copy!

wildman

Bob.J Loc: On The Move

Picasa does it very easily, and if you use Picasa's web to post your pictures it will automatically put the copyright on it.

Bob Curtis Loc: Bay City, TX

Here is one method that no one has mentioned yet. There are photo inks and stamps that can be used by which you and stamp the word "PROOF" on a photo but can be easily removed using a special ink remover and it will not hurt the original photo. I used them all the time to mark my portrait prints with so they could be taken home and studied before they made a choice. When they had made their choice I took the prints back to the sink area of my studio and cleaned the word "PROOF" from the prints and added my gold stamp name to the prints for their copy. This is a cheap but very effective method of being sure that your photos remain yours until the customer makes their order and pays for them. By the way, If they try to remove the stamp copy using finger nail polish remover it just leaves one big mess. I try to explain this to them when they take the proofs home to study before making their choice of prints to buy.

Bob Curtis

DougW Loc: SoCal

With film I used to send proofs out and shortcut the process so the print would degrade in a fairly short time.

arphot Loc: Massachusetts

Or . . . http://www.digimarc.com/DigimarcForImages/ . . .