Watermarking and copyright protection are essential for the success of your photography business. However, it can be a complicated process to get it right. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about protecting your images.

What are a Copyright and Watermark?

A copyright photography watermark is a digital mark placed on your photographs that identifies you as its creator. It serves as a statement that your image belongs to you and no one else.

A good watermark should be large enough to be visible but not so big that it detracts from the photograph itself. You also want to ensure that it isn’t so obvious or distracting, which is why some photographers choose to place their watermarks in less noticeable areas of their photos (e.g., at the bottom).

The best way for you to decide where exactly should be placed your watermark really depends on what kind of photographs you take and how much time and energy are willing to put into creating them in the first place!

Ways to Add Watermarks

In the world of photography and visual media, watermarks are used to identify the owner of copyrighted material. They can be placed on images in several ways:

• As an overlay or overprint; this means that they show up when you view your image but aren’t visible when you look at a thumbnail version of it
• As a stamp that covers part or all of your photo (this is usually done with text)

Another way to add watermarks is by adding words or images directly into your files. This method can alter how your photos appear if they’re resized or cropped, so most photographers prefer not to use this method unless there’s no other choice. Giving credit is imperative.

Why do Photographers Need to Use Watermarks?

1. You can reduce the risk of illegal and unauthorized use

Watermarking is the best way to reduce the risk of unauthorized use by attaching a unique identifier to your photo. Once your watermark, it’s quite difficult for people to steal your photos and pass them as their own.

This can help protect you from copyright infringement lawsuits and make sure that you are getting paid for all the hard work that goes into creating something beautiful!

2. You can help promote and brand your image

A watermark may not protect your image from being stolen, but it can help you prevent the theft from being successful. You can protect your work without having to add a signature. A signature is hard to read and easy to fake, but a watermark is more visible and harder to copy.

3. You can make it easier to find the owner of the copyright

The most common reason why photographers and other artists use watermarks is that they’re easy to find and read. They can be in the right place on your image, so you don’t have to scroll around looking for them. It somehow acts as a business card and we all know how a business card can help you as an artist.

It’s also easier to see the content of a watermark than it is text on an image; this means that even if someone copies your work, they won’t be able to change it without making it look strange or blurry.

Adding Watermark to Your Photo Using Colorcinch

Protecting your intellectual property starts with you. Adding a watermark to your photo will protect you from people who want to use your photo for commercial purposes. We will show you how easy it is to add a watermark using Colorcinch.

For this tutorial, you will need an image you personally took and your transparent watermark or signature.

Step 1: Start by opening Colorcinch. Upload your image.

Step 2: Navigate to Image Manager and click on Upload Image. Choose your transparent watermark or signature. Once uploaded, the image will appear in Your Images below the Upload Image.

Step 3: Drag the watermark on top of your image. Adjust to match the base image.

It’s that easy. Here is the final output.

What Are Free Stock Photos?

Free stock images are copyright-free images of high quality used for commercial or personal use. They are mostly used as blog posts and website articles. Most of these images belong to the public domain, while others are licensed by their respective owners.

Some free stock photography websites have a standard license that allows you to use their images without paying any fees, but some require you to pay an annual subscription fee in order to access all the available images on their website.

Where to Get Royalty Free Images?

There are lots of websites where you can find great images that have no cost to you. These sites have different types of images, some being more specialized and some having a wide range of topics. Some sites have a lot of images, others have fewer but all are of good quality.

If you’re looking for royalty-free stock photos with low prices then check out these websites:

Pixabay

Pixabay is a great source of royalty-free images. It’s home to over a million images, photos, and illustrations that you can use as you wish. In addition to having an abundance of content.

The site has a large community of contributors who are continually creating new work for Pixabay to add to their collections.

The Noun Project

If you’re working on a user interface, the Noun Project is an excellent resource. Their collection of icons, which are free to use and don’t require attribution, is suitable for web and mobile projects.

The Noun Project’s library comes in the form of vector icons—meaning they have clean lines that can be scaled up or down without any pixelation problems—and they’re available in several different file formats.

Unsplash

Unsplash is a collection of high-quality, royalty-free photos available for use under Creative Commons Zero (CC0). What does this mean?

It means that you can use these images for anything, without attribution or credit. You can download them, edit them and add them to your own projects.

Picnoi

Picnoi has a great selection of images. The site’s search function makes it easy to browse for the perfect photo, and the categories make it easy to narrow down your search. You can gain exclusive rights by signing up.

Picnoi’s images are free to use. In fact, all of their photos are royalty-free—you can use them in your commercial projects without worrying about copyright infringement issues.

StockSnap.io

StockSnap.io is a free stock photo website that helps people find high-quality, royalty-free images and videos.

There are over 20 million photos and videos uploaded by thousands of content creators, so you’re sure to find anything you need!

Conclusion

Copyright and watermark in photography are important for a variety of reasons. The copyright protects your images from theft and misuse by other people, while the watermark makes sure that your work is seen as an original creation and not just another stock photo.

Together, these two concepts allow you to protect your art from being used without permission or recognition.

We hope that this article has been helpful in providing a basic understanding of what copyright and watermarking are, why they’re important for photographers, and how to use them correctly.

If you have any questions about copyright or watermarking, we encourage you to contact us at our law firm so we can discuss your situation in more detail!

The post The Importance of Copyright and Watermark in Photography appeared first on Photo to Cartoon – Cartoonize Yourself & Create Avatar Characters for Free.

A watermark is a text, logo, graphic, or the artist’s signature superimposed on an artwork. While its primary purpose is to discourage others from stealing the image, it has many other functions too. Let’s have a look at them and also see how to make our own watermark.

Why Use a Watermark?

If there’s one disadvantage of digital photography’s dominance, it has to be the ease with which others can steal your images. You may not be bothered about others using your images but for professional photographers, that’s the source of their bread and butter.

Using watermarks is one of the best ways you can discourage such behavior. Additionally, by using a watermark, you can brand your work and get your name/business out in front of a larger audience and promote it.

Types of Watermark

1. Text Watermark

The most basic way to use a watermark is to simply superimpose relevant text. Now you may ask what all info we can add in a text watermark. Well, you can:

• simply type your name
• type the link to your website or other social media handles
• type the name of your photography business

While this is a very simple approach, it also has the advantage of being to the point and legible.

As simple as a text watermark appears, you’ll be surprised with how easy it is to make one too using Colorcinch.

Step 1: Upload your image to Colorcinch.

Step 2: Navigate to Text and click on Add Text. A text box will appear on the image. Click on it and type what you want as your watermark.

Step 3: Format the text using the various tools available in the text menu. You can do various things like change the font color, spacing, height, and opacity. You can also add a background color, an outline, and even shadows.

Step 4: Once done with the formatting, resize the watermark by using one of the control points in the text box. Finally, drag the watermark to one of the corners. Voila! your text watermark is all done.

2. A Logo Watermark

If you have a photography business, then using a logo watermark makes perfect sense. But wait, that’s not all. Brands across the world place their logo too in their promotional images.

Placing a logo as a watermark thus not only helps prevent unauthorized use of images but also helps in establishing your brand image and getting your name out there. After all, it’s easier to remember an image than to remember names and websites.

If you already have a logo of your personal business or need to place a watermark for a brand, let’s see how you can quickly do so using Colorcinch.

Step 1: Upload the image to Colorcinch.

Step 2: Navigate to Image Manager and click on Upload Image. Then, navigate to the path of your logo and upload it to Image Manager. The uploaded logo will appear in Your Images section.

Step 3: Click on the logo and select Add to Project or simply drag the logo on top of the image. Once the logo is placed, you can change its color by using the Color Overlay feature.

You can further adjust the alignment, order, opacity, and even flip the image by clicking on the Layer Properties.

Step 4: Once you’re done making any adjustments to the logo, resize it using any of the control points. Then, drag it to a corner so that it does not appear distracting.

Note: You don’t need to upload the logo every time you want to use it. Simply head on to the Your Images section in Image Manager and you can find it there.

3. Watermark From Signature

Using your own signature as a watermark has to be one of the classiest ideas. It is a great way to personalize an image as it appears to have a better human touch than when text or logo are used.

And don’t worry, it is not essential that you use a stylus to digitally sign your photos. We can easily make a watermark out of your signature using Colorcinch.

First, let’s prepare the signature to be used as a watermark.

Step 1: Get a clean white piece of paper and a black pen. Sign the paper with your best signature.

Step 2: Scan the paper if you have a scanner or else photograph it. It is a good idea to slightly overexpose the image while ensuring that the writing is not blown out.

Step 3: Upload the image of your signature to Colorcinch.

Step 4: Navigate to Image Manager and click on Upload Image to upload your signature.

Now that your signature has been uploaded to Colorcinch, let’s see how you can use it as a watermark in an image.

Step 1: Upload the image in which you need to place the watermark to Colorcinch.

Step 2: Navigate to Image Manager. Place the image of your signature over the photo.

Step 3: Now, to remove the white background of the signature, simply click on it and go to Layer Properties and change the Blend Mode to Darken, Multiply, or Color Burn.

As you can see, making a transparent watermark from your signature has never been easier.

To Sum It Up

Remember, putting up a watermark in your photos does not guarantee the full protection of your images. It is just a means of letting others know that you’re serious about your work and that you don’t want others misusing it.

Also, be respectful to your own work when using a watermark. A proper watermark should not distract the viewers from the focal point of your image. In fact, they should be “just noticeable”. Avoid using multiple watermarks and it’s best to keep it away from the prime subject.

Whether you want to learn how to make a watermark that’s text-based, a logo, or even a signature, the quick ways we discussed here will definitely help you out. Try out at least one of these watermark techniques and safeguard your work.

The post How to Make a Watermark for Your Photos: Quick & Easy appeared first on Photo to Cartoon – Cartoonize Yourself & Create Avatar Characters for Free.