A visable copyright information and symbol.. yes, and I will post the link to the tutorial when I relocate it.
An invisable or/and trackable mark, not that know of as Digimarc appears to be the only PS supported solution.
T
Posted by Barrie Harwood on September 5, 2006 at 4:01 AM
I think you mean watermarking - copyright is automatically assigned to either the author or 'employer' (depending upon circumstances) without it being declared as a logo on an image or digitally embedded.
If it is watermarking you are after, forget PS and use BreezeBrowser (www.breezesys.com)
Much MUCH better at this sort of thing than PS in my opinion
Barrie :)
Posted by stewart canham on September 5, 2006 at 1:11 PM
Hi Peter..
There is a very simple copyright method I use, open your image, text tool and write what ever you want>go to layers>fill> and set to zero. now go to F at the bottom of the layers , and click on drop shadow,make sure that it is set to normal, now you can adjust the amount of visibility that you require, and save the image, job done, and if you need it to be almost invisible then you can have that way....
Posted by Barrie Harwood on September 5, 2006 at 1:38 PM
"Get it right" not Copyright!
We are talking watermarking here guys (and it's not semantics - they are TOTALLY different things).
To stir the pot a little, quite frankly - why bother adding a visible watermark at all? If you put it in such a location on your image that it obstructs interesting parts of it, then it is really dreadful and if you DON'T then it is easily cloned out and so pointless.
Unless you post a high res image file , it is going to be of very little commercial use so why bother at all?
I have heard of mags using web images that where 600 by 400 which have been up-res'ed by GF @ X2 and printing them roughy quarter page.
Their have been a couple of times that NPN images have found their way to others websites FOC.
The 'watermark' showing the copyright symbol (and probably the orginators name) is a reasonable method of detering this; it also (if you should chose to) makes it easier to subsequently charge for unauthorised use if you find an errand image, especially if it is obvious the watermark has been cloned (or in most cases cropped) out.
I prefer digimarc to track web images but, dependant upon the image, I will watermark some.
Heavens Barrie - chill out! Had a bad day with some brides???!!
Yes you're right, in the UK you do not need to state copyright - it is automatically assumed. But in some other countries, this is not the case. Remember that the web is open "world-wide", and that NPN and UKNP are effectively "published" in the USA, which has slightly different take on copyright to Europe & the UK, especially with some of the changes that have been suggested in the US recently .
FWIW, I once had a client use a 600x400 pixel image to 5ft+ for a popup banner , they lifted it from a web proofing portfolio I'd prepared for them & where in too much of a rush to wait for the hi-res file - so never make the mistake that web images aren't good enough quality to be used . I now watermark everything up-front deliberatly. It acts as a QC check point to stop clients getting ahead of themselves when they're in a rush for a job. Most will now wait the extra 30mins for an unwatermarked image to be prep'd and sent to them.
So, back to Peter's question - three things you can do (none foolproof):
CS2 is fine for doing one-off images, but if you've a lot to do, then prepare a separate watermark image and use something like Breezebrowser to "proof" them and in doing so stamp in the watermark image at the same time.
HTH
Posted by Barrie Harwood on September 5, 2006 at 5:27 PM
No need for me to chill out (spent part of the day on a photoshoot for AOL's advertising as it happens) but nonetheless, I do apologise if it is not right to correct mistakes and misunderstandings Nick.
Not withstanding what anyone else says, but a low res image just simply does not withstand blowing up to any reasonable size and maintain image integrity. I know everyone talks about "I know this bloke who did this.." or "I have a client who did that.." but in the real world it just dosn't happen. You might get some oik who lifts an image onto his or her own website or hotlinks it or whatever but unless you actually digitally watermark, you are not often going to find out so using a visible watermark is pretty academic isn't it and as I alluded early, looks pretty amateurish and naff.
Barrie
Posted by Sean Bolton on September 5, 2006 at 5:32 PM
Hi Peter
I follow a similar process to Nick and Stewart. In PhotoShop CS I do the following (I guess CS2 is the same)
1. For a websized image, add text string e.g. " (c) sean bolton" with Arial Font, bold, 6 pt, colour white or grey.
2. Position the text and then select Layers->Layer Style->Blending Options
3. Tick Bevel and Emboss and set Opacity to 40% and apply
4. Flatten layers
You can vary the font colour and Blending options to get a more in your face, or a more discrete copyright message.
cheers
Sean
Posted by John MacTavish on September 5, 2006 at 5:46 PM
For the bold, ugly type that works check out the gallery pages of my karting site.
The only ppl that complain about this practice on my site are the ones who have never bought anything from me, even before I was stating the copyright on the images.
For a more subtle effect blend the text layer in Overlay at about 80% opacity.
Nothing's foolproof on the web, but it's a bit of a deterent...much the same way as a locked door will deter some thieves but not others, however leaving a door unlocked will deter very few dishonest thieves..
Discussion
9 repliesHelp appreciated. Ta Peter
An invisable or/and trackable mark, not that know of as Digimarc appears to be the only PS supported solution.
T
If it is watermarking you are after, forget PS and use BreezeBrowser (www.breezesys.com)
Much MUCH better at this sort of thing than PS in my opinion
Barrie :)
There is a very simple copyright method I use, open your image, text tool and write what ever you want>go to layers>fill> and set to zero. now go to F at the bottom of the layers , and click on drop shadow,make sure that it is set to normal, now you can adjust the amount of visibility that you require, and save the image, job done, and if you need it to be almost invisible then you can have that way....
We are talking watermarking here guys (and it's not semantics - they are TOTALLY different things).
To stir the pot a little, quite frankly - why bother adding a visible watermark at all? If you put it in such a location on your image that it obstructs interesting parts of it, then it is really dreadful and if you DON'T then it is easily cloned out and so pointless.
Unless you post a high res image file , it is going to be of very little commercial use so why bother at all?
Barrie
I have heard of mags using web images that where 600 by 400 which have been up-res'ed by GF @ X2 and printing them roughy quarter page.
Their have been a couple of times that NPN images have found their way to others websites FOC.
The 'watermark' showing the copyright symbol (and probably the orginators name) is a reasonable method of detering this; it also (if you should chose to) makes it easier to subsequently charge for unauthorised use if you find an errand image, especially if it is obvious the watermark has been cloned (or in most cases cropped) out.
I prefer digimarc to track web images but, dependant upon the image, I will watermark some.
Yes you're right, in the UK you do not need to state copyright - it is automatically assumed. But in some other countries, this is not the case. Remember that the web is open "world-wide", and that NPN and UKNP are effectively "published" in the USA, which has slightly different take on copyright to Europe & the UK, especially with some of the changes that have been suggested in the US recently
So, adding a copyright watermark, while probably not really being any deterent, does serve a couple of purposes. Firstly it states that the image is copyrighted, and who by. Secondly, it allows an infringer to be spotted as a number of bloggers/kids etc don't bother rmoving the watermarks on images - check out the main site, there are plenty of times an alert has been raised because someone has spotted something they *thought* was copyrighted, and then had it confirmed by seeing other peoples shots with a © on them. FWIW, I've even seen them left on spot images in magazines
Finally, it can potentially act as an advertisement for you - esp. if you leave your web or e-mail address in there too.
FWIW, I once had a client use a 600x400 pixel image to 5ft+ for a popup banner
So, back to Peter's question - three things you can do (none foolproof):
1) Simply add a line of text in CS2 - eg "© Peter Barrit". To get the little © symbol on a PC, hold down the ALT key and type 0169 on the numeric keypad. (This works for most fonts, but not all.)
2) Add the copyright & contact details in to the appropriate EXIF Metadata tags in CS2. Usefull if you're submitting work to a library as the EXIF is often copied over to any derivative images.
3) Add a small (usually non-text) watermark which you blend into the image. This can be done unobtrusively so that only you know where it is, and can be used as proof that the image is indeed yours and has been ripped off.
CS2 is fine for doing one-off images, but if you've a lot to do, then prepare a separate watermark image and use something like Breezebrowser to "proof" them and in doing so stamp in the watermark image at the same time.
HTH
Not withstanding what anyone else says, but a low res image just simply does not withstand blowing up to any reasonable size and maintain image integrity. I know everyone talks about "I know this bloke who did this.." or "I have a client who did that.." but in the real world it just dosn't happen. You might get some oik who lifts an image onto his or her own website or hotlinks it or whatever but unless you actually digitally watermark, you are not often going to find out so using a visible watermark is pretty academic isn't it and as I alluded early, looks pretty amateurish and naff.
Barrie
I follow a similar process to Nick and Stewart. In PhotoShop CS I do the following (I guess CS2 is the same)
1. For a websized image, add text string e.g. " (c) sean bolton" with Arial Font, bold, 6 pt, colour white or grey.
2. Position the text and then select Layers->Layer Style->Blending Options
3. Tick Bevel and Emboss and set Opacity to 40% and apply
4. Flatten layers
You can vary the font colour and Blending options to get a more in your face, or a more discrete copyright message.
cheers
Sean
http://kartpics.co.uk
The only ppl that complain about this practice on my site are the ones who have never bought anything from me, even before I was stating the copyright on the images.
For a more subtle effect blend the text layer in Overlay at about 80% opacity.
Nothing's foolproof on the web, but it's a bit of a deterent...much the same way as a locked door will deter some thieves but not others, however leaving a door unlocked will deter very few dishonest thieves..
John