Watermarking has been and still is a topic with the power of easily sparking an intense debate. Photographers, business-oriented and hobbyists, have long debated whether the use of an identification mark can generate real benefits in terms of notoriety and financial gaining. Some claim they can actually live without it, while others see it as indispensable in the harsh environment of online publishing.
Why use a watermark
Regardless of what some may say, watermarking is not a mere trifle. On the contrary, it’s a mandatory step for industry professionals for two main reasons:
Protection against theft
Our modern era can open tremendous perspectives, but at the same time comes with certain drawbacks we all need to consider. One of these drawbacks is the fact that too many internet users assume they are entitled to take possession of things made available to them, in this particular case photos. Unfortunately this means copying images from photo sharing sites and making them their own, as a sign of complete disregard for other people’s hard work.
This unpleasant situation calls for adequate measures, and one of the best ways to safeguard your work against theft is to resort to a watermark software. Now this is where discussions arise, because some feel it is obtrusive and will cause distraction from the image itself. Well, this argument stands only if you intend to place a gigantic watermark on your picture. But if you create a subtle, tasteful one in the lower corner just to make sure people associate that image with your photographic pattern, it can’t really cause any distraction.
Market your photography
Let your imagination loose for a second and picture the following scenario. You’re a wedding photographer and one of the shots you shared on Flickr creates a massive stir. It gets thousands of shares, but you get neither credit for the photo, nor a link back to your site. Why? Simply because people do not know to whom they should attribute it, as there’s no clear indication of the original author. And don’t rely on the fact that normal users will do reverse image searching in order to find out your name.
Here is a clear example of where a watermark would definitely come in handy. This way you would be able to appropriately market your work, increase your popularity and drive traffic to your own website. People would slowly, but surely begin to identify you with a certain type of photography. Of course, if you’re an amateur and have no real intention of making money out of it, it’s not totally necessary. But if you’re a professional it’s a must, especially if you’ve already had images reposted from photo sharing sites like Facebook, 500 px or Flickr.
Why use a batch watermark tool
In order to watermark all your photos at the same time you need the right tool. One approach would be to resort to an all-round program like Photoshop. Just bear in mind that Adobe’s software requires you to perform multiple operations before you begin your batch processing. Another alternative would be to use an app particularly created for bulk editing, like PhotoMarks. Here’s why:
Watermark multiple photos at once
Designed to increase photographers’ productivity, this tool has the capacity to watermark hundreds or thousands of photos in one single session. The interface is quite intuitive with previews available along the way, allowing you to easily accomplish your tasks. All you have to do is add your photos, apply a logo or text watermark, select your output folder and begin processing.
Customize the watermarks as you wish
The app gives you the opportunity to add a text (either single or multi-line) or a logo watermark, both of them being entirely customizable. For that purpose you can adjust exactly the way you want the placement, tile mode, rotation, stroke and shadow effects, as well as the size, font or color.
Batch resize for web use
In order to optimize your images for online use you need to change their file size. The tool places at your disposal the Resize filter which lets you reduce the file size by selecting new dimensions for width and height expressed in either pixels or percentages. In addition to that, you can use Auto Rotate to automatically rotate photos to the proper orientation.
Directly upload to FTP, Flickr
Once you’re with editing your pictures, you have more options to make them available for internet users. You can upload the freshly-edited images directly to your website through FTP, you can upload them to a photo sharing website like Flickr, and even send them via email.
