SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I have followed some discussions in which I see that watermarks can be removed from images. IF you know how, which I do not!

Recently I came up with an idea, and hope someone can tell me if it will work. This would be for publishing images online. It is quite simple, actually - put a watermark on its own layer, and merge/flatten all layers.

Question: If this will work, would it be better to put it on the top, bottom, or middle? I assume on top if it should be visible.

Thanks!

Susan From Vermont

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Someone who is adept at using Photoshop can remove a watermark from a jpg. It would be more difficult if you placed the watemark over a detailed part of the image.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

I’ve heard some say embedded micro print into the image is a better way so if someone uses your pictures without permission you have a better chance in court for copyright infringement!

BB4A

First questions you need to be asking yourself (and I apologize for having to ask it, but...): what intellectual property are you trying to protect, how much is that IP worth to your business, and how much are you prepared to pay, in IP creation, storage, maintenance, control, and (finally, if the worst happens) litigation costs, to protect it?

If you have decided that the lifetime costs of IP Management are worth the risk reduction to your photography business, then I suggest one of two technologies that might be most effective:

1. Embedded Glyphs in the Digital Image; these can also perpetuate into the Printed Copy, for those images you select to publish & print. This isn’t as easy to hack out as standard watermarks, and is a LOT less obtrusive (I occasionally am asked to judge photographs in competitions... I immediately ignore any submissions with obvious watermarks).

2. Blockchain registration of Digital IP (my preferred option); if you don’t want to run to the expense of a bespoke solution (or be your own blockchain engineer), then there are several cloud-based services out there. Binded.com springs to mind; but this is NOT a recommendation (haven’t personally used this service) and I’m sure there are several others. If you are exhibiting images with galleries also selling your work, be sure to check with them on the solution they use?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

No, that's how most watermarks are actually exist anyway, it does not matter how you do yours, they are always easy to remove!

Linary Loc: UK

It has always been fairly easy to remove watermarks from photographs, and with Photoshop's "Content Aware" tools, it is even easier. Digital Watermarking marketed as "Digmarc Barcode" is probably one of the better and stronger methods - an invisible barcode is concealed in the image, but requires a scanner and software to find it.

Any visible watermark can be erased or removed by any competent Photoshopper.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

How would someone remove a watermark from a single image without visible layers? I only merge layers when a file is too large to bring back into LR, but after that is done it is only one layer! How could it be separated out without damaging the rest of the image? I guess it could be patched over, but not always easy to do well.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

Actually I am not a professional, although I do occasionally sell some. I was just thinking about the question because I would like to post images on my facebook page or web page with less chance that someone would take them for their own! I do use low resolution .jpg files which would not reproduce as well as the original .tiff. But ever since I heard that a watermark can be removed, I have been trying to figure out if there was a way that could be prevented! Curiosity...

chaman

Oh my God....

chaman

Once the image is converted to jpg that watermark you hid is gone.....you understand what happens when an image is PP and converted to jpg?

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Personally, I try to always only put thumbnails in places like social media, even though I have a watermark in them.

Linary Loc: UK

I think you are actually saying that you are thinking of a three layer sandwich:

3 Another layer to cover the first two - perhaps a 2nd copy of the background.
2 The watermark
1 Background

When the layer is flattened, only the top layer remains, or if their are transparent sections in the top layer, then those transparent areas will allow parts of the underlying layer to show through. The act of Flattening a layer "pile" is to dispense with the layers and leave only one.

The image attached contains a visible watermark. It can be cropped off without ill effect to the composition, (Sky needs cropping anyway.) it can be cloned out quite easily, it can be painted over using the Content Aware Healing Brush. What just can't be done is to make it non-removable.

Just to nail the point home, if you create a multilayer document in Photoshop, then Save As a jpeg, all the layers will be irretrievably merged into one layer.

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BB4A

I stand by my earlier statement; if you want to live in the Jungle, you don’t just need to sharpen your claws... you have to be prepared to use them, in defense of what you hold to be valuable? Otherwise, whether you apply a watermark (as discussed above, not even a minor deterrent), or whether you register your digital images as your copyright, tied to a watermark that is less easily detectable or removable... you are only playing unless you enforce your action with a robust legal defense.

I won't€™ go into all the legal jargon here. You can read online all about how you have the burden of proof that someone has (a) ripped off your pic, (b) deprived you of material value as a result, and (c) that you had previously taken steps to prove the date, time, and copyright ownership of the image. Here is an image that I have (just for fun, it’s a Nearly from a Series) watermarked using Glyph technology, and copyright established, using Blockchain technology. This gives me (a) relatively simple way to prove that my image has been borrowed€ by another, and (b) a way of searching and finding any such illegal publication(s) out on the Interwebs.

Obviously, at $30 a shot for US Copyright Registration, and potentially lots of legal hours (= ouch! Money) to track down any offender, I’m always asking the Big Why I would spend money to protect that individual piece of IP?

(Download)

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Wouldn't ownership of the original RAW file be enough to prove ownership of the image in court? (if so, one more reason to shoot RAW)

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

OMG? Interesting response. I do admit to some ignorance about quite a few of the processes, including how a watermark can be removed and not be noticeable.

As for what happens with conversion to .jpg - my understanding is that a lot of information is discarded and the image is compressed as a single layer.

I don't have any reason to spend a lot of money "protecting" my images, but my curiosity was stimulated!