Learn all you need to know about watermarking for photographers
If you want to protect your images from fraudulent use, watermarks for photographers are an important security feature that will help you safeguard the lawful use of digital photos. They can also be used for advertising purposes. These digital signatures on photos can help you protect your work and prevent your photos from being used without your permission.
Although watermarks for photographers go far beyond a simple security tool, they are also very useful for signing your work, they can become part of your identity stamp and help you with the publicity of your work. If you have not yet created your own watermark or you are thinking of giving your current watermark a makeover, in this article we are going to give you a series of recommendations with real examples of photographers who use Arcadina to make it much easier for you to create your own.
Protect your images on the Internet with the help of watermarks for photographers.
Contenido
- What are watermarks for photographers?
- Watermarks for photographers: tips on how to create them
- Examples of watermarks for photographers
- Arcadina and watermarking for photographers
- Protect your images with watermarks for photographers
- Arcadina goes with you
What are watermarks for photographers?
Watermarks for photographers are a stamp, signature or distinctive mark that is placed on digital photographs to prevent misuse, give you publicity and convey greater professionalism. There are different types of watermarks. There are some that only consist of text, others of simple drawings and there are even many that combine both elements. In these combinations you can also play with colour or go for black and white. In this case, especially if you use some colour, you have to take into account that these colour combinations will not always look good in all photographs. If, for example, your colour logo clashes with the background of a photograph, you can prepare a black and white version. Once you have created your watermark, you can apply a % transparency to it to make it blend in with the images as much as possible.
In Arcadina you will be able to upload all the watermarks you want to use (in image format) and thanks to our watermark editor you will be able to create a text watermark to protect your images.
Watermarks for photographers: tips on how to create them
Several aspects that you have to take into account when creating this seal of identity are the size you are going to give it and the location in the photograph. It is clear that a watermark will be more efficient the bigger and more centred it is in the image, but if you do not measure these 2 parameters very well, your photographs may lose some of their interest.
If, on the other hand, you choose a watermark that is too small, although it will do its job of protecting the image, people who may see these photographs will not recognise your watermark. Ideally, you should test until you find the ideal position and size of your watermarks.
It is also important to assess the position and degree of transparency so that its main function of image protection is fully guaranteed.
When making these decisions, it is important that you take into account the type of photograph in which they will be embedded. Because it is not the same a wedding photo where the only people who will be interested in that image will be the bride and groom, than a stock photo that may have many more suitors.
Examples of watermarks for photographers
To give you a clearer idea of all the options you can use when creating watermarks for photographers, we are going to show you a selection of watermarks from some of our photographer clients. In these examples you will find all kinds of designs, sizes and positions. The idea is to help you decide which style is best suited to your brand and the type of work you do.
Watermarks with your trade name
Ana Verónica Andrade
Ana Verónica Andrade is a photographer specialising in sessions with newborn babies and toddlers who has opted to create a visible but discreet watermark using her commercial name.
This type of watermarking has become very fashionable in recent seasons and consists of creating a brand using the photographer’s commercial signature. This modality is usually very well integrated in the photographs, giving a very aesthetic and elegant look to the images.
In the case of this photographer, she has chosen to include her commercial name in the watermark and to place 2 marks on each image. One is centred and discreet and the other is a little more striking.
Although it is a watermark for photographers that is noticeable, as it is designed with an elegant white font and placed at the bottom of the image, it is not bothersome to appreciate the style and quality of the photographs.
Yoly Bermúdez
Yoly Bermúdez’s website specialises in showing all kinds of corporate, architecture and interior, product, gastronomic, fashion, event and other types of photography.
This photographer has chosen to include a watermark with her name on some of her photos, such as the fashion ones. And to make the logo more eye-catching, she has used a more creative font and added a camera.
If you go through her gallery you will see that Yoly has placed the watermark in a discreet place on the image so that customers can appreciate the photographs in all their splendour.
Torre Fotógrafo
Torre Fotógrafo is a website that specialises, above all, in wedding photography and children’s studio sessions, although in its gallery you will also find other types of photography, such as: restaurants, companies and videos.
Behind this website is Francisco Javier, a photographer from Albacete who has created a very elegant and original watermark using only the name of his company. In his galleries you will see that he combines the watermark in both black and white and places it at the bottom of the photo.
HC Fotoclik
HC Foto Clik is a website dedicated to promoting social photography. If you go through their galleries you will find reports such as: XV sessions, events, babies, family and reports for over 30 years.
The photographers behind this website have created a watermark combining their business name, a camera and a very creative design. In this case the watermark matches their company logo, a very effective way of creating brand identity.
Large, conspicuous watermarks in a clearly visible place within the photo
Andrea Ripa
andrearipafotografie.arcadina.com
In the business area of Andrea ripa`fotografie’s website your customers will be able to buy photographs of the sporting and social events you have attended.
This photographer has opted to include 2 watermarks in his images. One of large size and with a transparent effect that crosses from side to side the image with the name of his company. And another much more eye-catching but smaller one located at the bottom of the image. In addition, in this last mark he takes the opportunity to include information about the event in question.
This type of watermarking for photographers is very useful for colleagues who sell their images publicly through a photo gallery.
Drop Studio
Drop Studio is a website dedicated to sports photography, social networks and events. To protect their images from fraudulent use, they have also chosen to include their company name in large, visible letters. In this way, anyone who wants a photo will first have to go through the checkout process to download it without the watermark.
José Luis Serrano Fotografía
On the José Luis Serrano Fotografía website, they have also chosen to include in the images a watermark with the company logo, in this case it is a camera together with the name of the brand and they have chosen to place it in a more visible place within the image on one side. José Luis has also added another logo in the central part of the image with his business name.
GDDEM
Another website where they attach great importance to the visibility of the watermark is GDDEM, a website dedicated to the sale of sports images where, if you visit their online shop, you will see that their photographs are protected against fraudulent use by a powerful watermark. Although this is a very striking and large watermark, it does not prevent people who are interested in buying an image from being able to see clearly whether they appear in the images or not.
Moreover, now at Arcadina, in addition to being able to use AI to help customers locate their images more quickly through face and text recognition (e.g. bib number), they will also be able to take a selfie or upload an image to make this search even faster.
>> Did you know that you can now search for images by selfie? Find out about this new AI feature
Almost unnoticeable watermarks
Sara Alarcón Fotografía
Sara Alarcón is a photographer who mainly takes photographs of children, pregnancy, family reportage and boudoir. She has chosen to include in her images a watermark with the name of her company and the logo of a camera in a smaller size so that the main protagonist is the image.
By placing this mark in a central area of the photograph, she perfectly fulfils the function of protecting her work while at the same time advertising her brand. In addition, this photographer has chosen to use the watermark on her images as her company logo.
David Álvarez Fotografía
Another example of this type of branding that is a little less visible but which can be seen is the one used on the David Álvarez Fotografía website. This photographer has chosen to include his commercial name in the middle of some of the images in his gallery and to make it more discreet, he has applied some transparency.
Héctor Hernández Audiovisual
hectorhernandezaudiovisual.com
Héctor Hernández is an example of a photographer who has chosen to use in some of his landscape photographs a watermark with his signature, the name of his company and his corporate colours in a very discreet size at the bottom of his images.
If you look at the rest of this photographer’s galleries you will see that in other photographs, for example, those of fallas, he uses a similar but subtly different watermark, although also at a reduced size.
Both watermarks are of a very small size but sufficient to ensure the proper use of your images by third parties.
Hernán Bua
Another example of an almost invisible watermark, not because of its size but because of its degree of transparency, is the one used on Hernán Bua’s website in some of the photographs of this website dedicated to landscape and nature reports, among others.
This photographer has chosen to create a large watermark with the initials of his business name and has applied an almost total degree of transparency so that the watermark is almost unnoticeable but fully effective.
Watermarks repeating in the image
San Fermín Shopping
San Fermín Shopping is a website that is dedicated, among other things, to selling photographs of the races that take place during the San Fermín fiestas and to protect 100% of its images in which hundreds of runners can appear in a single photo, the photographer in charge of this website has chosen to include the name of his company as several watermarks distributed throughout the image. In addition, as a nod to the festival and to make this protection mark more visible, he has chosen to create it in red.
It goes without saying that in order to sell this type of images through the web and to make it quick and easy for participants to find each other, the use of Artificial Intelligence in the galleries of your online shop is an essential tool.
Foto Deporte Online
fotodeporteonline.arcadina.com
The Foto Deporte Online website is focused on the sale of images of tournaments and sporting events through the Internet and to protect the images we have opted for this option of including a watermark at a considerable size and that is repeated throughout the image. In this case, a degree of transparency has been applied to the text-style watermark so that it does not interfere with the view of the image.
If you look at the images, in addition to this large and visible watermark for photographers, you will also be able to see the company’s logo at the top and much more discreetly.
Carlos Reina Photography
Carlos Reina is a sports photographer who knows how important it is to protect the images on the web if you want to monetize the reports thanks to the sale of photos online, so in his public galleries for sale you will see that some of his images are protected with a very visible watermark.
This is the logo and the name of your company with your corporate colours that are distributed throughout the image, so that every corner of it is 100% protected from unlawful use.
This type of watermarks that are repeated in the image are very common for photographs in which several people appear, this way you make sure that all of them will be on a watermark.
Strategic placement for watermarks
Michele Morrone
If you want to be 100% sure that your photographs will not be used without your permission but you are not convinced by the option of including, for example, the logo all over the photo, you can look for a strategic point within the image to place this mark. And the most suitable place is, without a doubt, the centre of the photograph.
This is the case of Michele Morrone’s website, who has placed the URL address of his website directly in the centre of the photos in his gallery in an eye-catching red box.
This type of watermark, as well as serving to protect the images, is also a way of advertising the website. If, for example, you share a photo on social networks, users will be more than clear about which website they can go to in order to buy it.
David Capín Fotografía
Another example of a photographer who has chosen to include the name of his commercial website in the middle of the images is David Capín. On this occasion the watermark is much more discreet, but as it is on a transparent background, it is much more conditioned by the background colour of each image.
Hellen Violet
Another example of strategic placement of a watermark but much more discreet is the one you will see on the website of Hellen Violet, a photographer specialising in communion photography who also takes other types of photos, such as weddings, christenings, pregnancies, etc.
In her image galleries you will be able to enjoy some of her photos and see the watermark she has used to protect them. In this case it is the logo of his brand and his commercial name placed in the central part of the image. And so that it does not interfere with the image, a % of transparency has been applied.
Javier Cloquell
Another example of a strategically placed watermark can be seen on the website of Javier Cloquell, a sports photographer who has chosen to protect his images from his online shop by creating a text watermark from our editor.
This option is very practical if you don’t have a watermark created yet or if you want to apply a different watermark for a specific gallery. To create a watermark, just type in the text, choose the colour, degree of transparency, size and location.
In this case we have chosen to create a watermark in black colour with a considerable size and place it in the centre of the images and although it may seem a bit striking, the truth is that for people who are interested in buying a photo, it will not bother them to be in the images.
Watermarks for photographers with company logo
Galerna Fotografía
Another very common option when using watermarks on images is to take advantage of the company logo to protect the photographs, this is the case of the Galerna Fotografía website where a very simple logo has been used and in tune with its brand.
Marta, the photographer in charge of this website, has chosen to upload different versions of her logo changing only the colour, in this way this element adapts to the harmony and style of each image.
Hockey Catedra
Hockey Catedra is a website dedicated to the sale of images of all types of hockey competitions that also uses its company logo to protect its images, although in this case the effect is much more striking than on the previous website.
This time they have chosen to use a much larger watermark and place it in the central part of the images and so that no information is lost in each photo, they have chosen to apply a transparency to the logo that allows the faces of the participants to be seen at all times.
This is a good way of ensuring that when these galleries are shared in media other than the web, people are clear about who the author of the report is.
Ilightu Photo
Ilightu Photo is a website dedicated to product photography, portraits, corporate reports and videos where, in order to protect their work, they have decided to include their company logo in their images.
Although the logo is a quite striking and representative image, as a watermark it is a rather discreet detail that has been placed at one end of the black and white image.
Jai Cano
In this case the logo of this photography website dedicated to landscape photography, night photography, caving and many other disciplines, is his own signature Jai Cano.
In their image galleries you will be able to appreciate a very subtle watermark with the name of their company, which coincides with what is also their logo.
Watermarks with important information
Jabara Foto
A very practical way of watermarking for photographers is to include information of interest to users, such as: website, email or even Instagram profile. This way, if any of your photos are shared through networks or any other means, they will have all your information at all times.
This is the case of the Jabara Foto website where you will be able to enjoy photographs of landscapes, fauna, flora and several other portfolios where a watermark has been chosen to protect the images with the following information: company name, website and email.
Javier Enrique Fdez
Javier Enriquez is a photographer who, as well as taking wedding, children’s and family photos, also takes flamenco photos and to safeguard his photographs he has decided to use the name of his Instagram profile as a watermark. This way, when one of his images is shared, people will be able to follow his work on social networks.
J Del Valler
José del Valle’s website, where you will be able to enjoy his landscape, urban, light painting, black and white, still life, etc. photographs, you will also see that his images are protected with a watermark that consists of his company logo and the name of his website.
Although it may seem like a lot of information, if you go into his galleries you will see that José has created a very subtle watermark that almost goes unnoticed in the images.
Jean Francois Sanchez
And to finish with this compilation of watermarks for photographers we go to the website of Jean Francois Sanchez, a sports photographer who is protecting his images with a very visible watermark that also serves to advertise his photography website. A very effective way to advertise himself while protecting his work.
Arcadina and watermarking for photographers
When it comes to uploading your watermarks to your Arcadina website, it’s very easy. All you have to do is choose the image, upload it and adjust the parameters you are most interested in.
In our editor, you will also be able to create a text watermark that you can then use on the images of your choice. In the following article of our help we explain all the steps you have to take.
>> Arcadina Help. Watermarks – Loading and managing watermarks
When it comes to using your watermarks, you can do it both in the web galleries and in your business area. In the following video of our training for photographers we explain how you can do it.
In addition to being able to upload your watermarks, at Arcadina we offer you much more security when displaying your work, with actions such as images being displayed at a resolution adapted to the web and the right button not allowing you to save the photographs.
Protect your images with watermarks for photographers
Protecting your images with watermarks for photographers is essential to prevent people from using your work illegally. And as you can see, it can also help you to enhance your brand identity and advertise on social networks.
At Arcadina we offer you all the business solutions you need to be a professional photographer.
Today we want to share with you the interview of the photographer Luis Bañeres who knows very well the importance of using watermarks, especially in his stock photos.
>> Meet Luis Bañeres, portrait, child and stock photographer
Before we say goodbye for today, we would like to ask you a question: Are you one of those who use watermarks for photographers to protect your images? We’ll read you in the comments.
Arcadina goes with you
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If you have any queries, our Customer Service Team is always ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We listen to you.
