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jeffreaux2

This is one from the archives.

I am having to put together a new watermark. Some of you are very good at this, and I was hoping to get some feedback on this one....my rough draft!

gavin

jeffreaux2 wrote:

This is one from the archives.

I am having to put together a new watermark. Some of you are very good at this, and I was hoping to get some feedback on this one....my rough draft!

I'm a simplest and like things simple and clean looking. Im not a fan of the font, and I don't like the little graphics on either side.

I like the idea with a transparent banner. As long as you are happy with it, that is what is important.

Yours daughters are gorgeous.

divamum

Jeff -

No expert here but question for you: is it merely intended as an ident, or do you also want it to be a deterrent for illicit downloading? If the latter, it would be pretty easy to work around it (even though it meant losing some of the image).

Unlike gavin I think it is pretty simple compared to many I've seen, so I think you're just dealing with different tastes here - no right or wrong, and purely subjective. It gets the info across and isn't too obtrusive (which may be a plus or a minus depending on your goal - see above)

HTH.

Mike J

Hi Jeff,

This is all about personal taste but I agree with Gavin - I'm not a fan of the graphics (know what you are going for though ) nor of the transparent banner.

Love the shot of your daugher and I learned a new trick on how to pose arms when leaning back into a fence or wall!

roentarre

stunning protrait in deed! Wow!

Travis

FWIW, I like it. I would maybe make the symbols slightly smaller than the font but I think it looks good. I've been working on something similar for my 2009 watermark so I'm finding this feedback interesting.

NeilL

I don't think it's quite YOU, Jeff

What does your personal, handwritten signature look like? (No don't scan and post it!! hehe)

But the style points might be clues.

Good point of divamum... do you want artistic complementarity(?) or something more pit-bullish?

Good thread.

jeffreaux2

NeilL wrote:

I don't think it's quite YOU, Jeff

What does your personal, handwritten signature look like? (No don't scan and post it!! hehe)

But the style points might be clues.

Good point of divamum... do you want artistic complementarity(?) or something more pit-bullish?

Good thread.

No...not quite me, but does incorperate some of what I would like.....and no...pit-bullish doesn't work for me either.

To me, it is fruitless to try to prevent file theft. Any watermark that would foil those attempts will also ruin(completely) the photograph for viewing purposes.

What I'd rather, is to simply apply a "brand"....to keep the honest ...honest. I give away medium sized web worthy downloads to my clients to be used on their own webspaces, myspace, facebook etc. The branding....leads their viewers back to me....hopefully for more business!

So, complimentary is what I am looking for.....and no ....the example isn't there yet.


I am taking all the suggestions in.....and also recieved by PM a handful of very nice watermarks from a very talented dgrinner. I would like to incorperate the FDL somehow. It says something about where I am from, even if it means nothing to the rest of the world....and of course a web addy.

Thanks for all the responses...

Ill chew on it some more!

divamum

jeffreaux2 wrote:

No...not quite me, but does incorperate some of what I would like.....and no...pit-bullish doesn't work for me either.

To me, it is fruitless to try to prevent file theft. Any watermark that would foil those attempts will also ruin(completely) the photograph for viewing purposes.

What I'd rather, is to simply apply a "brand"....to keep the honest ...honest. I give away medium sized web worthy downloads to my clients to be used on their own webspaces, myspace, facebook etc. The branding....leads their viewers back to me....hopefully for more business!

So, complimentary is what I am looking for.....and no ....the example isn't there yet.


I am taking all the suggestions in.....and also recieved by PM a handful of very nice watermarks from a very talented dgrinner. I would like to incorperate the FDL somehow. It says something about where I am from, even if it means nothing to the rest of the world....and of course a web addy.

Thanks for all the responses...

Ill chew on it some more!

I actually you like what you've done, but if people are finding it "too much" perhaps just make the fdl's smaller? Or even use some MUCH smaller ones to create a border box around the whole thing? (That will probably be too busy, but just brainstorming....)

NeilL

divamum wrote:

I actually you like what you've done, but if people are finding it "too much" perhaps just make the fdl's smaller? Or even use some MUCH smaller ones to create a border box around the whole thing? (That will probably be too busy, but just brainstorming....)

What about putting smaller fdl in place of the dots in your web addy? And then streamlining the type. Stupid?

jeffreaux2

NeilL wrote:

What about putting smaller fdl in place of the dots in your web addy? And then streamlining the type. Stupid?

No....not stupid in my opinion...that is also one of the ideas I am thinking about. (a third party could accuse us both of stupid I suppose? )

I will have to work at it....mostly in my head I think...for a little while and see if I can figure out how to put what I am thinking into photoshop layers.

For fun, here is a self portrait(or maybe a panorama?)...of sorts....utilizing my (mostly utilitarian) watermark that I have used during 2008. It misses the mark sorely by not including my web addy.

NeilL

jeffreaux2 wrote:

No....not stupid in my opinion...that is also one of the ideas I am thinking about. (a third party could accuse us both of stupid I suppose? )

I will have to work at it....mostly in my head I think...for a little while and see if I can figure out how to put what I am thinking into photoshop layers.

For fun, here is a self portrait(or maybe a panorama?)...of sorts....utilizing my (mostly utilitarian) watermark that I have used during 2008. It misses the mark sorely by not including my web addy.

Well, as a SP, you could hardly be accused of blowing your own trombone(?)

Of course, I recognise this WM.

If you don't mind me saying so, you are associated in my mind with a lot of ladies, I'm talking of course about the many female subjects you have delighted us with in dGrin. As a balance, you could go for something assertive, in a masculine, positive way, in your new WM. Something more emotive and less static than your old one. You have a huge amount of energy and persistence (a terrier, I agree not a pit-bull). The fdl seem somehow too staid/genteel for you, though they would represent your sentimental side .

"Just rambling, Rose."

jeffreaux2

Another go at it...
This inspired heavily by a watermark that agnieszka (Angie) sent to me by PM.

SHE is very good at this, and sent me MANY awesome looks, plus the tools to build them with.

zoomer

Very nice picture.
I'm not a fan of watermarks, to me they ruin whatever picture they are on.
I don't worry about anyone stealing these low resolution files anyway.
Come up with some thing smaller with transparent print, just a suggestion.

Matt336

jeffreaux2 wrote:

This inspired heavily by a watermark that agnieszka (Angie) sent to me by PM.

SHE is very good at this, and sent me MANY awesome looks, plus the tools to build them with.

I like that one. Simple and not too distracting (to me).

gavin

Matt336 wrote:

I like that one. Simple and not too distracting (to me).

I like this one Jeff! love the graffiti grunge font. Only thing i would say is lower the opacity on the website address so it blends a little nicer!

Agnieszka

jeffreaux2 wrote:

This inspired heavily by a watermark that agnieszka (Angie) sent to me by PM.

SHE is very good at this, and sent me MANY awesome looks, plus the tools to build them with.

sheeeeeshhhh ... haha ... Jeff, I love it!! I think that version looks really great!! .. I think it's modern (like your photography), "manly" yet not too manly, shows your website information well & the fleur de lis is not overpowering

jeffreaux2

Thanks you guys!

Agnieszka wrote:

sheeeeeshhhh ... haha ... Jeff, I love it!! I think that version looks really great!! .. I think it's modern (like your photography), "manly" yet not too manly, shows your website information well & the fleur de lis is not overpowering

...and big thanks to you!

I did some more work to it since I posted that....to move it farther into the bottom left corner and darken the drop shadows to help it show better on lighter photos.

I still need to make a copy in a different crop...for verticle frames,,,and then make black copies, but I wouldn't be this far along without your valuble help.

I also plan to try the one with the script.

You are #1!!!

Agnieszka

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Thanks you guys!







...and big thanks to you!

I did some more work to it since I posted that....to move it farther into the bottom left corner and darken the drop shadows to help it show better on lighter photos.

I still need to make a copy in a different crop...for verticle frames,,,and then make black copies, but I wouldn't be this far along without your valuble help.

I also plan to try the one with the script.

You are #1!!!

did any of the brushes work for you? A bit girly (especially the first one, but still like them too ) Might work well with your "grungy-look" ... or just in an album Nice work Jeff!

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

did any of the brushes work for you? A bit girly (especially the first one, but still like them too ) Might work well with your "grungy-look" ... or just in an album Nice work Jeff!

I didn't play with the brushed too much. They may indeed come in handy for album work.

BTW, I am just finishing perusing ALL of your websites. Impressive work, the design of each, and the caliber of the work within are awesome. You have great tastes.

zoomer

This is 100% better. I have seen some like this with a transparent script which really looks good and does not distract from the photo but is definitely there.
Of course these small watermarks are barely worth the effort as they can be cloned out in .5 seconds so......
[/quote]

jeffreaux2

zoomer wrote:

This is 100% better. I have seen some like this with a transparent script which really looks good and does not distract from the photo but is definitely there.
Of course these small watermarks are barely worth the effort as they can be cloned out in .5 seconds so......

The point isn't about theft protection at all. Honest folks will be honest. Determined folks will be determined. It's more about branding, and telling those who see the photos where to find me. I give my clients these websized files in the hopes that the WM will remain part of the image for advertising when they get posted on myspace/facebook etc.

A freebie, with a business card attatched if you will.

Agnieszka

jeffreaux2 wrote:

BTW, I am just finishing perusing ALL of your websites. Impressive work, the design of each, and the caliber of the work within are awesome. You have great tastes.

Ugh, haha ... don't even get me there I started off doing them all by myself ... but this year I gave up, and decided to go with www.photobiz.com (for my wedding photography site anyway)... It's just much easier to make changes & exchange photos by mouse-click and not have to worry that things won't line up anymore, haha Thanks Jeff

NeilL

Getting warmer, I think, Jeff. Maybe even hot. What about a little lean on the webby? And I'd still consider giving that fdl a little unstaid playfulness by putting it for the dot.

jeffreaux2

NeilL wrote:

Getting warmer, I think, Jeff. Maybe even hot. What about a little lean on the webby? And I'd still consider giving that fdl a little unstaid playfulness by putting it for the dot.

I dunno Neil. It seemed too much with two FDL's to replace the dots...though I did give it a try. It's possible that I could just say jkmann.com and slip it in place of the one dot.

I am planning to do one with script...and maybe even several others...as Angie REALLY buttered me up with some beautifully designed watermarks. Kinda opened my eyes to what is really possible. I may try the fdl as a dot then.

This is her design by the way. I only added the FDL and an "m" in the background grungy stuff as her version only had a jk back there.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness and time you and others have put in for me. Ill keep you all posted as things progress. Fortunately, I still have not completely recovered from recent surgery and have a bit more time on my hands before I have to return to the working world.

NeilL

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I still have not completely recovered from recent surgery

Best wishes for a good recovery!

Elaine

Oh, you've been having some fun! I like the latest version. I think I'll be begging you and/or Angie for some goodies!

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

Oh, you've been having some fun! I like the latest version. I think I'll be begging you and/or Angie for some goodies!

She definately has the goodies....and a very good eye for things such as this. Of course, I'd be more than happy to help you, my buddy, out in any way I can....but....you better go back and look at my first...solo attempt before you buy into my suggestions. I can take little or no credit for the final version.

BTW....what are you up to? Panning for gold? Hiding from polars and grizzlies? Eating salmon?

..are you getting any good photo ops up there?

zoomer

Ok I get it..I had not thought about it from that perspective.

jeffreaux2 wrote:

The point isn't about theft protection at all. Honest folks will be honest. Determined folks will be determined. It's more about branding, and telling those who see the photos where to find me. I give my clients these websized files in the hopes that the WM will remain part of the image for advertising when they get posted on myspace/facebook etc.

A freebie, with a business card attatched if you will.

angevin1

You do such very good photography!

But I would steer clear of the French Iron cross. It is also so close to a trademarked symbol of the Boy Scouts of America~

cheers, tom

Elaine

jeffreaux2 wrote:

She definately has the goodies....and a very good eye for things such as this. Of course, I'd be more than happy to help you, my buddy, out in any way I can....but....you better go back and look at my first...solo attempt before you buy into my suggestions. I can take little or no credit for the final version.

BTW....what are you up to? Panning for gold? Hiding from polars and grizzlies? Eating salmon?

..are you getting any good photo ops up there?

Thanks, my friend!

No great photo ops yet...the light just hasn't been very interesting (it snowed all day today) and I guess I'm not feeling creative enough to make it interesting! And you know those polar bears, they just blend right into the snow! I did see a moose yesterday, but I was in the car, in the dark, without my gear. I certainly hope to eat some salmon!