Reply To: thoughts on my photos?

[cameraclicker]

Why not watermark? I do, for a few reasons:

For the record, I’m not completely against watermarks, just against watermarks that deface the image.  I don’t use watermarks but my photos usually have embedded EXIF data.  Yes, you can remove that easily too, but it doesn’t show and anyone who cannot remove a watermark probably won’t bother with EXIF data either, at least not knowingly.  Unfortunately Facebook removes EXIF data from everything you post there, which is a reason my Facebook page has nothing on it, and also a reason for adding a discreet watermark.

The benefit of watermarks has been seen.  I found a photo in another photographer’s book, which had a watermark and traced back to the owner.  I don’t know if she took any action or let it go.  On the other hand, I looked at other photos in that author’s books and traced them back to various stock sites even though they did not have watermarks.  I still don’t know why a photographer would write books on photography and use someone else’s photos, but that’s a separate issue.  I think the major benefit of watermarks is advertising, if your photo is spread around the Internet.  That can be achieved even if you put a fairly discreet watermark in a corner, or down the side.  It doesn’t have to be at 100% opacity and square in the middle to be a benefit.