The
placement of a watermark on a photograph greatly affects both its
effectiveness and its intrusiveness. If you're trying to decide where
to place watermarks on your photos, here are some common approaches
photographers take and how they impact photographs.
The Bottom Right is a Standard Choice
The
bottom right corner is a standard location to put your watermark. A
watermark in the corner is visible, yet it doesn't significantly
detract from a photograph. (Any corner works, but most photographers
settle on the bottom right one.)
When
a watermark is placed in the bottom right, it's usually kept fairly
small. The watermark certainly shouldn't cover a large portion of
your photographs, since the main reason to put it in the corner is so
that it doesn't take away from the images.
The
disadvantage of putting your watermark in the bottom right (or any
other) corner is that it can easily be cropped out of your
photographs. With any basic photo editing software, your name and
details can be removed in just a few seconds.
A Border Below Your Photo is Easily Cropped
Some
photographers don't even like how much a watermark in a corner
intrudes on their photograph, so they create a border below their
photos and place their watermark in the border. A border is even more
easily cropped than a corner, though. If people share your images
without altering them, your name will remain attached. Anyone who
wants to remove the watermark, however, can easily do so.
The Center is More Prominent
Photographers
who are more concerned about theft (and many stock photo sites) place
the watermark in the center of their photographs. In the center, a
watermark is more difficult to remove from a photograph. It still can
be removed with photo editing software, but getting rid of the
watermark without altering the original image requires advanced
knowledge. People who aren't familiar with photo editing software
won't be able to remove the watermark, and even those who know how to
get rid of it may have to spend some time altering each photograph
they steal.
When
a watermark is placed in the center, it's typically fairly large.
Keeping the watermark big ensures that it covers the focal point of
each photograph it's used on, even if the focal point isn't in the
middle of the image.
The
downside of putting a watermark in the middle of your photographs is
that it will detract from them. Its impact on your images can be
minimized by reducing the opacity of your watermark, but any visible
watermark in the middle of a photograph will detract from the picture
at least a little bit.
Individual Placement Takes Time
A
few photographers change the placement of their watermark with each
photograph they publish. They look for a visually complex area that's
not the focal point of each image and put their watermark there. In
such a location, a watermark is difficult (although not impossible)
to remove, and it doesn't significantly interfere with the image.
Customizing
each photograph's watermark takes a lot of time, though, which is why
only a few photographers take this approach. You may want to use on
only your most valuable photos, and use a quicker watermarking method
for most of your shots.
Placement Anywhere You Like with Water Marquee
If
you're looking for an easy watermarking solution, consider using
Water Marquee. The platform lets you place your watermark anywhere
you'd like on your photographs.