Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an UnknownMaybe you noticed that a picture is watermarked. I myself have done this for a long time with the photos on my blog, but in the meantime these photos are replaced without watermark. This is because I find a watermark ugly on a photo, but many photographers and sometimes bloggers add to their photo anyway. In this blog post you can read my opinion whether a watermark is meaningful or not? printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

WHAT IS A WATERMARK

Not everyone knows what a watermark is, that's why I'll first tell you what a watermark is and why you use it? Actually, it's very simple, a watermark is a logo or name of you and/or company. I don't own a company myself, but I like to photograph. This is a hobby for me, but also for my blog or for others I make pictures. This is not always posted by me and often I put a watermark on my photos, so they can see that I have taken this picture. I have watermarked the picture above, to give you an example.

WHY DOES A PHOTOGRAPHER USE A WATERMARK ON HIS PHOTOS

Actually, a watermark on a picture has 2 functions:
  1. The photographer first indicates that his or her work is not used without his or her consent. A newspaper or a person who places the photo on their own social media channels and pretends to have taken this picture. These are just a few examples I give. Because if I have to list them all, I'll be busy.
  2. With this, the viewer can also see who took this picture. This is useful if you want to know more about the photographer's work or maybe want to hire them for a photo shoot. Especially if the photographer is a member of a photo association like me, his or her will also be shared on their website or social media channels. So it is certainly useful that a picture is provided with their watermark, so that the viewer of the picture can see who took this picture.
Fotografie
Fotografie

STOPS A WATERMARK PHOTO THEFT

If you want to fight against phototheft, a watermark can be used as a tool. Especially when your logo repeats all over the picture, even though your picture doesn't really get nicer and you have to wonder if the watermark doesn't ruin the picture. Because I find the watermark very distracting, even though this is a very exaggerated example. But you can also do it very subtly in the middle of the picture, like I did in the right photo. But then you have to use a magnifying glass or zoom in the photo to see which photographer made this, if you want to know.

Only with the 3 photos that I have watermarked, I can prevent my photo from being used without my permission. To be honest, I have my doubts about this. This because you can remove the watermark with 2 of my photos very easily. Despite the user of the photo here takes a risk, because you have to deal with copyright at all times. Even if the photographer is not a professional photographer, he or she can rely on copyright.

So if people really want to use the photo without getting permission from the photographer/maker there. They'll always find a way to do that and prevent you from being a photo-theft victim. That is why I have also described in my disclaimer (on my website) that the photos I have taken may not be used without my permission. Because even though I'm not a professional photographer, I did make the picture myself.

CONCLUSION

I'm not a lawyer. So I can't tell you exactly what the legal situation is, and for that, I'd rather refer you to a lawyer if you really want to know. However, I can give my opinion on whether it makes sense to place a watermark on your photos. In my view, it makes no sense to prevent phototheft, if they want to, they do it anyway. But for brand awareness, a watermark can be useful, although I don't like the picture to get any better.

Until next time,

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