SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...That's lousy advice..."
sbohne you are indeed certainly entailed to your "tenured professional" wisdom on watermarking

However it is highly unlikely you are working with top fashion agencies...
such as DNA in NYC
http://www.dnamodels.com/

If you review their "Development" book you will not find a watermark...
http://www.dnamodels.com/div/men-development/

And on their "Main Board" the imagery is primarily "Tear Sheets" and only has publication verbiage...
http://www.dnamodels.com/div/men-main-board/

or T.H.E. Artist Agency in DC
http://www.theartistagency.com/

again if you review their "New Faces" board you will not find watermarks...

I totally "get" that commercial studios will watermark... but they are not likely doing major fashion campaigns... nor are they focused on developing talent for the fashion industry...

Truly sorry I've offended you... my bad, I should have qualified my thoughts as that of a fashion photographer who shoots only for agency "Development" boards... I'm certain not a commercial studio shooter...

Thank you for pointing out my error here... it was unintentional and naive on my part...
I wish you all the best on your journey sbohne
Again thank you for your thoughtful remarks on my inappropriate post... Deeply appreciated...

Rickoshay Loc: Southern California

Hogwash! I know several professional photographers that mark their images when sharing anywhere on the internet. They all are certainly not acting in poor taste are they?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

A "signature" can be any unique mark and, yes, it most certainly IS a form of copyright protection.

Deliberate removal of a copyright protection can result in fines of up to $10,000 per instance (in addition to other fees and penalties for misuse of the images).

Protections I use for my copyright include....

1. Keep any images posted publicly on the Internet small... normally no more than 800 pixels on the "long side". This is too small for printing or most other uses.
2. Watermark OR sign all images posted publicly online.
3. Record copyright ownership information in every image's EXIF.

Regarding #3, I have my cameras set up to record the basics and Lightroom set up to automatically add more info during Import.

You can probably set up your D7100 (not a model I use) to record your name and perhaps a little more basic copyright ownership information.

I have images "stolen" for use on Facebook, etc. all the time. Rather than fight this (which is fruitless), my watermark is essentially an advertisement with the URL for my sales galleries.

My watermark:



My signature:



Both the watermark and the signature are applied to images the same way. I now use the watermark feature while Exporting images from Lightroom. In the past, before LR was able to do that, I used FastStone Photo Resizer (a freeware) to add the signature or watermark. That worked well, but so does LR now and it streamlines my workflow.

My "Proofs" are always watermarked. Those are the "thumbnails" in my galleries (limited to 800 pixels max, long side). Most are event photography.

Images that are licensed to be used editorially or in advertising or in most other commercial manners are normally NOT watermarked or signed.

Images that are destined for personal use and display either online or as prints are always signed.

Digital files licensed for any use have the details of the licensing agreement embedded in the EXIF. If provided on a disk, I also will usually include a separate .txt file with the same licensing info.

sbohne

There's no apology necessary. And you're correct: when I did fashion photography for "stuffers" for customer billing for Jacobson Stores, we did not watermark them, didn't even ask for a credit. But I HAVE seen photographer's names on photos in such Model Compilation books such as "Faces" (not sure if that one is even still around).

It's just that when you give absolutes, you might want to consider where that person is. Had you simply prefaced your post: "While I don't know about other segments of the industry, as a Fashion Photographer, watermarking is frowned upon," you would have been all good.

Best wishes.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

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You can add your copyright information to be embedded into the shots but I don't think there is any way to a signature or watermark on the photos.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Directly onto the image:
Theoretically yes... using your camera's overlay function. But it certainly won't be easy to get right, requiring a bit of trial and error. Essentially, you would be doing an in-camera double exposure. The second image with the signature (shooting a card with signature, for example) needs to have a completely black background, with the signature itself lighter than the background... the signature can be in some color if you wish. And positioning of the signature within the image needs to be exact, so that will merge onto the first image in the desired location (and proportion).

However, I don't really recommend doing this in camera unless you absolutely must do so. It is so much easier to add a signature watermark to images later, using an image editor.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

That would be "copyright," an important distinction: the right of copying.

1DProphet

Question for the group, how many file for copyright before public display? Has anyone prepared a 820 filing? Or are most only worried about a Pinterest or Facebook takedown request, or perhaps a local small business borrowing your imagery in error 😁!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

If you are looking to increase the value of your images, digitally signed images are less desirable and diminish the value of the print. The best way to sign a print is to use an archival roller-ball gel pen. Otherwise you can create a signature and apply it in post processing. I don't know of any way to add this in camera.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Well, you surely wouldn't want to wrong copy.

spaceytracey Loc: East Glacier Park, MT

Thank you!!!!