Watermarking Your Images : 3 Reasons I Faithfully Do It

the idea of placing a watermark on your images is a personal choice.  some photographers don’t do it, while others do.  it is really up to the photographer and if they want to or not.  for me, i am faithful about watermarking my images.  for the most obvious reason, i have had images stolen in the past and that just irks me.  placing a watermark on my image doesn’t keep it totally safe, but it does offer a slight deterrent.  if you are on the fence about watermarking your images and aren’t sure if you should or shouldn’t, for the sake of full disclosure, here are 3 reasons why i watermark my images each and every time.

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Watermarking Your Images : 3 Reasons I Faithfully Do It

first of, there is no right or wrong answer here.  watermarking your images is a personal choice.  if you want to do it, do it.  if not, don’t.  every photographer has a different stance on watermarking, and choose whatever works best for you.  for me, i love watermarking and you may be surprised why.

1.  A Little Protection

like i said, i have had images stolen in the past.  it sucks.  but i believe in karma, so that is on the other person, right?  i like to place a watermark on my images as a way to add a little extra protection to my images.  yes, i know that someone could simply edit out my my watermark if they truly were passionate about stealing.  but again, that is on them and their conscience and if that how someone wants to spend their time, that’s between them and their live choices.  and again, karma.

2.  Instant Branding

watermarking your images is a wonderful way to have instant branding.  on social media outlets like instagram, it is popular for photography forums to share images from other photographers in their own feed.  when you have a watermark on your image, you are instantly allowing your brand to be represented, no matter what feed you are featured on.  i also given all my clients watermarked files of their session images for social media posting because, should they forget to mention the awesome photographer who took them, the watermark tells all their friends who they worked with and then…my email starts dinging with session requests.  it’s as easy as a watermark!

3.  Creates Balance

one of the main reasons why i love watermarking my images is because it can create fun balance in an image.  a thoughtful watermark placement can add to an image, instead of being a distraction.  i am always thoughtful when deciding where to place my watermark to make sure it adds to the image and creates a visual balance.

whether watermarking your images is a choice you make or don’t make, that’s totally up to you.  i personally do and have done it for awhile now and i love that it adds a little piece of mind, offers instant branding and creates a visual balance in my images.

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