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Photography Question 

Rachel M. Enge
 

Copyright/watermark


I am a photographer just starting up my business and I was wondering if someone could clarify copyright and watermark?


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January 07, 2011

 
chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny

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  Could you be more specific? Are you looking for steps on how to add a watermark-style copyright text mark/logo to your photos? Or are you looking for clarification on copyright law, etc.?


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January 07, 2011

 

Rachel M. Enge
  Clarification on what a watermark is? Is it just your logo, and do you copyright your logo? And is that considered your copyright, or am I just confusing myself?


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January 07, 2011

 
- Carlton Ward

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  Hello Rachel,

Copyright Symbols
When you capture a photo, the picture exclusively belongs to you and you are the only person who can authorize somebody else to reproduce it or use it. The best way to let others know about it is by attaching a copyright notice to your pictures. Using the copyright symbol "©" or writing the word "copyright" along with the year and name is enough to let others know that they cannot use the picture without permission.
I attach my © 2010 Carlton Ward to my images when I download them using Adobe Photo Downloader. It is attached to the metadata :)
To type the © symbol, hold the cntrl/alt key and type 0169 on a PC; on a MAC, it's a simple Option G.

Watermark
To Watermark your pictures with a copyright notice is even a stronger strategy to protect your pictures than to just copyright them.
The question may arise as to what a watermark is and how can I watermark my pictures with the copyright notice?
A semi-transparent image which is placed over an image is called watermark. If one copies the picture, the watermark is copied with it. So it can deter the intentions of image stealers to quite an extent.
You would be required to decide the size and placement of the watermark on your images.
Rule of thumb is that the more intrusive the watermark image is, the harder the picture becomes to be stolen. The disadvantage is that it becomes difficult to view the image. You would need to find a balance between the two.
Watermarks can be of different types like generic or specific text, image, date or copyright. You are required to have the right software to do this job.
Once you have added the watermark, your image becomes much more difficult for others to steal.

my .02


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January 08, 2011

 

Rachel M. Enge
  Thank You Carlton for your .02. It's great information and I will put it to use Thanks so much!


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January 08, 2011

 
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