Weekly Poll: Do you watermark your online images?

[Teewinot]

I'm a yes! I watermark every image I upload to Flickr and DPS. I feel like while it's easy for people to remove the watermark, I'm sending a stronger message that this is my property. I just use a subtle system, a copyright symbol and my name in a bottom corner. For example...

[NavyWife05]

I do. I'm a beginner but I already had an issue with someone I took pictures for saying that I was not the one who took the pictures and I didn't have permission to use them. So I had to provide the proof that they were my pictures and I did have permission. So after that I just put a tag/watermark on mine. Mine just has a simple tag in a corner.

[Seltzer]

I used to.. then I got lazy. Basically when I used PS7 it was easy to watermark when I was using it to make my web photo albums. I liked using fairly translucent text that didn't really interfere with the photo and wouldn't be completely simple to remove. Standard bottom-right location.

[Marmalade]

I don't. I figure if people want the picture they are going to take it no matter what. I did watermark two pictures, only because I wanted to play around with photoshop and see how it was done. Most of my pictures on flickr are for dps or my husbands hockey team and the world will not end if someone decides they can't live without one of my pictures. And I am not delusional in thinking that my pictures are ooohh so great and everyone wants them.

[Taallyn]

I don't, although I have to admit to considering it from time to time. Currently I'm not really good enough for someone to want to steal my photographs. The gallery site I use lets me prevent people from down loading the original file and it specifically states that the photographs' rights all below to the photographer.

I've seen some people up some truely invasive watermarks on otherwise lackluster photographs. There are also people have nice unobtrusive watermarks on spectacular photographs. The best way to protect your photographs is to be careful where you post them.

[inetwiz]

I always watermark my images using Batch Watermarker. The free online version lets you watermark one image at a time. However, if you need to watermark all images in a folder, download their free installable version and install it on your computer. It works out great for me!

[tomw]

@ Per Jr:
Same!

I don't watermark my images because #1: I'm too lazy,
#2 It takes away from the art. I'm not selling prints yet so I wouldn't be losing money if someone downloaded and printed my photos.

[Nobie]

I've never really considered watermarking. I find it ugly and, well...you can't use an image off the net for print anyway. I always drop my images down to 72dpi as that is the most a screen can register, anything more and you're just taking up space and time. You all know what a print out looks like from the internet. So no, I don't watermark. Besides, if somebody did use my image illegally, I could probably get more money for it retroactively than if they had asked to purchase it legally from the beginning.

[lisamillerphotos]

I add watermarks bc when I make my gallery pages it gives the option. I also know myself and as I am learning, when I see a great image, I may print it and try to reproduce it in my own way.

And since there has been interest in purchasing my photos, I figured I had to. Maybe I am wrong. I am willing to admit that...

[Bumblebee Bruin]

I have started to by just having my name in one of the bottom corners and year that it was taken. However I only do it for online photos. I always keep the original and the enhanced version of it to so if i want to play with it again for a different effect. I like the idea b/c it give me automatically credit if it would ever get used. However if i could figure how to change the file size smaller or so that you can't download the photos I probably would do that instead. I am not stuck on it one way or the other.