In this article you’ll go through a guide on how to make a watermark, why you should actually do it, what are the best softwares and whether or not you should tile watermark images. Let’s take a closer look!
What is a watermark and why use it?
A watermark is a semi-transparent sign. It’s usually a text (for example your own signature, or company name, or your website) or a logo, or both put on a picture. You should watermark your photos, videos and documents to protect them from being used by third parties, as well as to market your own brand.
Watermark design
To make a watermark of your own you don’t need much. All you need is a good, intuitive watermark photo app with useful features like fonts, icons and various effects. But the sole design of your watermark is equally important as the design of your logo. Think about something more than just your favorite font and a camera icon. Create a watermark that actually mirrors your style and adjusts to your photographs and, ideally, doesn’t distract from the image itself.
How to add a text watermark to a photo?
The easiest and most basic way of protecting one’s works is to add a text to a photo. Start with uploading a picture to a chosen watermark creator. Then pick a font and its size, and the name of your company, or the website. Put it in the corner or the bottom of the picture, or all over the image, but this is less recommended (popular for stock photos). Choose a color for your custom made watermark, fade the opacity to the moment when it matches your picture best (it has to be discernible, yet subtle). If you’re not happy with the result, choose a background, or a shadow, or rotate it. Then watermark all your photos!
How to add a logo watermark to a photo?
Add your logo in the same way you add a watermark. Upload an image, then your logo, put it in a place you want it to be, rotate it, change its transparency, maybe add a background. Don’t have a logo? Make your own with features available in a given watermark software– icons, texts, colors, additional effects.
It is recommended to look up how to watermark photos in a guide from the software that you’re using. There might always be slight differences.
How big should a watermark be?
It should be visible, but it shouldn’t stand out, because it may detract viewers’ attention from the picture. Watermark pictures with a text or an icon that conveys a message who’s the author, but don’t use big letters and too many effects that cover the most of the picture. Small watermarks look more classy and professional. Usually, opt for subtle watermark, but noticeable enough to find it in a second.
5 the best watermark photo apps
There are multiple apps offering a vast selection of features like creating a custom made watermark with available fonts and symbols, manipulating the pictures etc. Here are some of the best softwares to watermark an image with:
- Visual Watermark – offline software, providing its users with watermark templates to easily and quickly make your own watermark or to manipulate existing ones.
- Photoshop – a tool for more advanced users. Professional image-editor, a bit expensive but with bundle specialized features enabling users to make their own graphics from the basis.
- GIMP – a free image editor for beginners (but not as simple as Paint for sure) allowing to manipulate logos and images, but also to make new, though basic, text watermarks.
- PicMarkr – the easiest, free online watermark tool offering its users with a feature to upload pictures from Facebook, Flickr or a drive, but allowing only making a simple text watermark – optional image watermark has to be uploaded from a drive.
- PhotoBulk – paid desktop software for Mac with options to manipulate both watermark and a picture, batch and bulk watermark, and to edit EXIF data.
Watermark whole photos or not?
Generally, tiled watermark (stamps all over a photo) doesn’t look particularly professional. Watermark a photo in a place where the watermark adjusts neatly with the composition of the entire photo and does not ruin its aesthetics.
So, you’ve learnt how to watermark a picture with a text or a logo, and how to make your own watermark, now it’s time for you to try it! You can download suitable software from ww.visualwatermark.com. Enjoy!
