Should you watermark
your photos

The decision to watermark your photos or not… For every decision made there are reasons behind it. Explanations of these reasons can sometimes help you make a better decision yourself. After being asked why I don’t watermark my images I thought it might be helpful to explain my reasons why. Now, before I begin, let me remind you that these are my reasons and just like with everything in life this might serve you well in your business and it might not. It’s a decision you will have to make and I’m just hoping to provide some insight through my experience to answer this question.

Some reasons that I placed a watermark on my images when I was first starting out were…

• A watermark would make me stand out and look more professional
• I was excited about my newly created logo and wanted to the whole world to see it!
• A watermark would be good marketing
• A watermark would protect my images from being re-edited or stolen

I watermarked my photos because I wanted people to see me as a professional. I thought if I appear professional, then I’ll be professional. I thought it would separate me from the other photographers. In all actuality no matter if there is a logo or not the image will speak for itself. People don’t need a logo to determine if a photo is “good” or “bad.” The photo itself will be the telling sign if it is professional or not. I don’t watermark my images because they are a distraction to my images. If you look at industry leaders and wedding blogs you will not see watermarks. Why? Because watermarks are a distraction and actually make the image less visually appealing. They begin to look cluttered and often times loose the emotion you were wanting the image to show.

Excitement over the hard work of coming up with a logo was another driving force behind using a watermark. This excitement, while great, was clouding my judgment. There are many other and WAY MORE EFFECTIVE ways to “use your logo” for branding purposes.

This leads into the idea that a watermark on an image will generate more leads and be the most effective way to book more clients. Let me tell you, the best and most effective marketing is to give your clients the ability to market for you.

If you were limited to only posting a watermarked image, that your photographer chose, it would take away from your client experience and desire to market for them. With online galleries (a post on that coming soon!) your clients have the ability to download high-resolution images of their choice that are most significant to them. When you give them this opportunity they post away on social media, usually saying something emotionally engaging, while most times giving you… the photographer, credit. I have found that my clients are using their images so much more on social media when they are free of the distraction of logos. This benefits me most as it showcases more of my work and generates more “traffic” to my business.

Lastly, the notion that watermarking will keep your images from getting stolen or used without your permission is kind of silly in this day and age. I think there are even apps that can remove logos now. How likely is this to happen is the question you need to ask yourself. If one of my images actually gets “stolen” how is it truly going to hurt me?

When my clients invest with me my desire and goal is to give them the best experience possible. This includes the ability to download any high-resolution image they want and post to any social media outlet they want! Why?

Because by sharing those images they…

• generate more excitement from family and friends
• get reposted and shared over and over
• cause people to ask about their photographer and experience
• inevitably help promote my business/services in a huge and POSITIVE way

Overall, if there was one thought I want to leave you with it’s that people are more likely to hire you over their experience than because of a logo. Plus, placing a logo on every single photo is time consuming and not the most efficient business practice in my mind.

Again, these are just my thoughts and suggestions. Hope this gives you an idea of why I choose not to watermark my images.