Watermarking client proofs?

Bryans12v

I mean after all these are photos they will most likely frame and have around the house. Do you guys watermark these?

I just recently did a session for a friend and her newborn. What I did was uploaded the images (watermarked) to both my facebook fan page and my webiste first. Shes shes them there, loves them and shares them with everyone before she gets proofs. I sure the client right clicked away and saved the images posted to FB, whcih is fine, theyre watermarked and by here uploading them to her page is, to me, free advertisement. I figured I would do this first so the watermarked images get shared, first. The proofs on the other hand, once she gets them can upload them and share with all her friends and family without them knowing I took them if they are not watermarked but if she would like to print, would it be right to have my watermark on them if theyre in a frame in her house?

Im new to photography and the business behind it. Can anyone shed some insight on this subject?

zoomer

Nobody reads watermarks, they are anoying. For those that fear people stealing their photos they need to use a large enough watermark, small ones can just be removed.
If you want people to use/display your photos the large watermark does not work and the small one does not work.
To each his own...

Art Scott

Bryans12v wrote: »

I mean after all these are photos they will most likely frame and have around the house. Do you guys watermark these?

I just recently did a session for a friend and her newborn. What I did was uploaded the images (watermarked) to both my facebook fan page and my webiste first. Shes shes them there, loves them and shares them with everyone before she gets proofs. I sure the client right clicked away and saved the images posted to FB, whcih is fine, theyre watermarked and by here uploading them to her page is, to me, free advertisement. I figured I would do this first so the watermarked images get shared, first. The proofs on the other hand, once she gets them can upload them and share with all her friends and family without them knowing I took them if they are not watermarked but if she would like to print, would it be right to have my watermark on them if theyre in a frame in her house?

Im new to photography and the business behind it. Can anyone shed some insight on this subject?

Are giving her true proofs?? meaning not fully processed images or are they fully processed 4x6" images??? when I shot film I give the client a set of PROOFS....these were 4x5" images with a large PROOF stamped on them...then when they made enlargement orders I would remove the PROOF and give them back in nice leather folders for display.......now my proof are on line..straight out of camera jpgs watermarked.....all prints given out have a signature line on the lower left side....up far enuff from bottom and left edge so that it is not covered by mating.....this is not a copyright statement...it is my signature.......which used to be gold foil stamped on to the images...now it is done in photoshop......

This is just how I do it.

Hope that helps at least some.....and I am one of the people that use large watermarks and they are colorful also.

vaio2006

One of my photographer friends sent me this article:
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/09/watermarks-protecting-your-images-or-damaging-your.html

Its quite an interesting article.. might be worth checking it out

- Tai

Glort

vaio2006 wrote: »

One of my photographer friends sent me this article:
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/09/watermarks-protecting-your-images-or-damaging-your.html

Its quite an interesting article.. might be worth checking it out

- Tai

Yes, It was an interesting article and gave me a good idea.

I have to wonder if this watermarking thing is not a modern fallacy along the lines of the old " Never sell your negatives" thing of the old days.
I had boxes and boxes of wedding and other negatives I held onto that I could have got good money for at the time but 10 years later I was paying money to have taken away.

Luckily in the later years I was using film I realized what crock this was and started selling them and never regretted the money I made from them.
When I put images online I don't want them stolen either but id they are going to be anyways and by watermarking them I'm doing more harm than good, well not much point is there?

I think arts method is good but the one in the article may be better ( if practical) because it appears to stop the image being taken in the first place.

I think the best watermarking solution was illustrated in that article.
It links to a couple of shooters who have the copyright info on a border around the edge of the image itself and everything is overlayed with a transparent gif.

I tried viewing an image by right clicking and I saw effectively nothing which was great. the image is not degraded for the viewer/ potential buyer but the image is very well protected. Yeah, I know there are ways around it, ( well I don't know how exactly but someone would) but I doubt my clients being average kids and housewives do so that makes it fine for me.

Anyone know of any tutorials or how to's on setting up the transparent overly thing?