Posting Pictures - Watermarks

So, this may be a little off topic from hiking, but more on the topic of forum posting. Also, it's a question, but doesn't relate to NE or NY directly, so I figured Backcountry may be a good place for the discussion. Moderators, please place in the appropriate topic that you see fit.

So, I've noticed that many people watermark their photos on here with a "copyright". Is this easy to do without owning photo editing software? Is this something that is done using shareware type programs. Please let me know as I like to post my photos and would like to protect them as well! Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Karl

EDIT: Misread your post. Yes, using microsoft paint or whatever default image editing software your computer comes with, you could easily add text to your photos before you upload them. It'd be time consuming and the finished product won't look that great.

You say "own," though, in reference to "photo editing software." There is a good deal of free programs out there that will allow you to easily make the vast majority of edits most photographers would want to make to their photos- cropping, adjusting contrast/color levels, etc. Most of these editing programs also have an option to easily add a watermark, which can say whatever you want it to. Picasa, which is owned by Google, is one such program. Windows live photo gallery, if you have a computer with windows, is another. I'm sure there are plenty of others out there.

In the same vein, many image-hosting websites (like picasaweb) allow you to customize and state what rights you reserve for your photos on the web, using the various options available under creative commons.

I would caution you, however- adding a watermark to your photo doesn't actually provide any greater level of protection from someone misusing your photo without your consent. It's easy to crop out copyrights, and those with a greater level of skill in image manipulation can even photoshop them out. You can make watermarks super intrusive so that it's impossible to edit them out without destroying the image, but then people will derive less pleasure from viewing your photo.

The reason most professional photographers use watermarks is not for copyright protection, but so that if someone finds their photo on a 3rd party website, that person can easily find the photographer and be exposed to the photographers other works of art. The reason most amateur photographers use watermarks is because they like to pretend that they are professional photographers and like to think that someone would actually steal their photos.

That's not to say that it hasn't happened- not too long ago a bunch of photos and trip reports were taken from another northeast hiking message board and posted elsewhere without the consent of the photographers/authors.

ImageMagick can write text on images (as well as do a lot of other things) using the convert command. It is free and available for Unicies, Macs, and Windows. http://www.imagemagick.org

Doug

(slight off topic....sorry)

I generally don't use an online hosting site for my pics. I do have a lot on Facebook and know that in order to post a pic here you have to use the URL, etc. I've tried doing this with Facebook pics, but only ever get the dreaded red X. Is FB not a legitimate hosting site that I can post pics here??

Only if your fb photos are available to the public.

ADKdremn said:

(slight off topic....sorry)

I generally don't use an online hosting site for my pics. I do have a lot on Facebook and know that in order to post a pic here you have to use the URL, etc. I've tried doing this with Facebook pics, but only ever get the dreaded red X. Is FB not a legitimate hosting site that I can post pics here??

Click to expand...

Facebook isn't really intended to be an image hosting service- that is, its not a website where you can host images and have them display on other websites. Pictures uploaded to facebook are intended to be viewed on facebook only.

I'd use another service, one that is specifically intended for image hosting and isn't simply part of a social network. Picasaweb is a good one that many members of the hiking community already use. It's run by google, so it requires a google account which is easy to obtain. It can also integrate easily and seamlessly with the Picasa image editing software, allowing you to touch up and upload your images all through the same program.

ADKdremn said:

(slight off topic....sorry)

I generally don't use an online hosting site for my pics. I do have a lot on Facebook and know that in order to post a pic here you have to use the URL, etc. I've tried doing this with Facebook pics, but only ever get the dreaded red X. Is FB not a legitimate hosting site that I can post pics here??

Click to expand...

testing:



If you see a photo of a flower with a "furry tongue", you're seeing a photo hosted on Facebook - even though my account is supposed to only share photos with friends. There may be a way to get Facebook to enforce your desired privacy settings, but I don't know it. I don't trust Facebook for a nanosecond.

Use the URL of the *image* not the URL of the page.

Facebook actually calls this a feature - you need to use the specific URL for public consumption. It is not linked to in any way through the normal FB means.

Tim

Thanks everyone...I'll give it a shot when I have a little more time.

Yes, I can see it, and for the benefit of others, Nartreb and I are not FB friends, but we very well could be 'friends of friends'.

bikehikeskifish said:

Facebook actually calls this a feature - you need to use the specific URL for public consumption. It is not linked to in any way through the normal FB means.

Click to expand...

The URL that Nartreb used is rather cryptic, I wouldn't rely on Facebook to keep that encoding mechanism in perpetuity. The link may work now, but I wouldn't bet on it always working.

While I agree with Dave on the FB URL coding, there is a "feature" that gives you a public URL to share with non-FB users, independent of the inside-FB privacy settings. Of course it is FB and they change features and rules more often then most of us go hiking

I use this on occasion to send things to my non-FB parents.

Tim