The Gathering Place : Watermarks on Social Media
It’s a question that’s been asked by photographers all over – do you watermark images on social media or not? While there’s no clear cut and dry answer, and the preference falls to the photographer, there are pros and cons to posting watermarked images on social media.
Pros :
The pros of watermarking in social media is brand recognition and reaching out with your name. There’s absolutely no question as to who took the image, it’s right there. The hope is that as your images make it through the web of social media your name will become more well known and a respected brand. Photographers that love to watermark are generally protecting the images from being “stolen” off Facebook and printed by their clients or stolen and used as portfolio by other photographers.
Cons:
Watermarks on images used in social media can be a bit distracting. If you’ve got a photo of a family with your watermark right through their faces, it can take away from the image quality and social media impact all together. Many photographers believe that if your work stands out – people are going to find out the name of the photographer no matter what.
Tip: If you’re going to watermark, make sure your watermark is simple and not distracting. Generally, a fade works best in an easy to read font and placing the watermark in a non-distracting location such as a corner or the bottom or top edges in negative space.
We asked the Showiteers what their thoughts were on watermarking on social media and here’s what they had to say:
Showiteer and wedding photographer Denise Karis of Denise Karis Photography watermarks on Facebook because she wants to make sure potential clients can find her easily.
Wedding photographer Kristina Robinson, half of Dee and Kris Photography says “I always do when I post them on venues pages. Booked a TON of jobs that way.”
Andrew Smith of Andrew Smith Photography says he doesn’t watermark because he feels it’s distracting. “Nope! I don’t want it to take away from the image. They would just crop it out anyway if someone were to steal it.”
