Can you imagine walking into an art gallery, picking up a painting and merely walking out with it? Absolutely not! Unfortunately, it is SO much easier to steal artistic work, including photographs, when it is posted on the internet. As artists, there are things that can be done to minimize the possibility that someone else can steal our work. One way to do that is by using a watermark. It is not a fail-proof method, but I use it in an attempt to deter people from taking my images. I purposefully put part of my watermark over important parts of the picture, including skin, face, body parts, detailed clothing, etc. While it is always possible to clone it and crop it out, I try to place it strategically so that it would take more work than it is worth to do so. Additionally, I always lower the resolution of the image, which means that if you try to save it and later enlarge it to print (for any purpose), the image will not look the same and will be of much lesser quality.
When you receive your CD with the images from your session, there are two different folders and one PDF document. One folder contains images for you to print (Final Prints), one includes images for you to post on the internet (Web Images), and the PDF document is a signed document with permission for you to print your images wherever you choose. I do not put watermarks on any of the images that I prepare for you to print. I do not see any need for it to be on any image that you are printing to hang on your wall or give to family members,. While I post some images on my Facebook page and blog, I do not post all the images that are included with your CD. However, should you want to post any of the pictures, the folder that contains the web images contains all images from your session with the watermark and lowered resolution. Per our contract, those are the ones that you can post on your Facebook page, blog, website, etc. I ask you to post those images with the watermark for the same reason I do: to protect my work. You have paid me to produce a work of art for you, and I trust that you respect me enough to help protect me by not allowing others to easily steal my work.
It's unfortunate that we have to worry about others stealing images so easily, but it is a very real threat. For that reason, I choose to watermark any work I do that is displayed online.
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