Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tech Tuesday ~ Watermarked Photos

I’ve been asked recently about how I put a watermark on the photos I use within my blog.  And since more than one person has asked me this question, I thought I’d go ahead and write a blog post about how I do this.

One of the genealogy bloggers who contacted me said she’d had a couple of her photos “borrowed” from her blog. Hopefully using watermarks on your photos will help to stop this from happening.

The process I use is really very simple.  I use Windows Live Writer to compose my blog posts.  Windows Live Writer is part of the Windows Essentials suite.  I’m currently using Windows 7 and there was a rumor that Windows Live Writer was going to be discontinued with the Windows 8 update.  But happily, it looks like Live Writer has been continued in the new Windows Essentials 2012 Suite.

Windows Live Writer has a built-in watermark feature.  So, here’s how it works and what the program looks like:

This is what the start-up page looks like for my blog.  Your blog's settings and template will cause it to look different for you.

Windows Live Writer 1
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When you are ready to add a photo to your blog post draft, click on the "Pictures" tab in the toolbar and insert your photo.

Windows Live Writer 6
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Once you’ve added a photo to your blog post draft, just click the "Watermark" tab in the toolbar.

Windows Live Writer 2
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The Watermark dialog box will appear.  Type your copyright statement in the Watermark text line.  As you can see, there are different options available:  font family, size, and position of your watermark.  Once you’ve created your watermark, press OK.  And here’s a nifty little feature.  When you press the "Set to default" tab, Windows Live Writer will automatically add the watermark you just created to each photo you upload in the future. 
 
Windows Live Writer 3
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And here we are!  Your photo now has a watermark.  It’s just that simple!

Windows Live Writer 4
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After completing your blog post draft, press the "Post draft to blog" tab in the toolbar.  Your blog post should then be sent over to your blog.  (Check first before exiting Windows Live Writer.)

Windows Live Writer 5
Click to Enlarge
I use Blogger.  And when I write my blog posts, I will usually tweak them in Blogger once the draft has been transferred over from Windows Live Writer.

Of course, there are other ways to add watermarks to photos.  I’ve used Photoshop to add watermarks to the photos I’ve uploaded to Pinterest.  But for adding watermarks to my photos within my blog posts, I prefer the simplicity of Windows Live Writer.

Thanks for reading!

 Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012
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18 comments:

  1. Andrea KelleherDecember 11, 2012 at 10:30 AM

    Thanks for sharing this. I was wondering how to do it myself.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 11, 2012 at 10:33 AM

      Hi Andrea,

      I'm so glad to hear this post has been helpful to you!

      And thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. WendyDecember 11, 2012 at 10:34 AM

    I don't have Live Writer, but one of your screens looks similar to mine. However, I see that I don't have the Watermark command. I typically add my text with an edit feature in Irfanview, which is a free download for viewing images and doing simple adjustments like cropping, resizing, and changing color to black and white. I like the appearance of your watermark.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 11, 2012 at 10:56 AM

      Hi Wendy,

      Hmm, I've never heard of Irfanview before. Live Writer is also free. :)

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Debi AustenDecember 11, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    While I have Live Writer down now (thanks for that!) I love hearing about the "set to default" option! I still worry that someone will take my photo and crop the watermark off so I've put a few of them across the middle to prevent that. I don't love the way it looks on my blog but I like it more than finding my photo somewhere else on the web.

    To add to your comment about tweaking in blogger, I do the same thing. I haven't figured out the spacing or the label function in Live Writer so once I get the post in blogger I make slight changes there.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 11, 2012 at 3:27 PM

      Hi Debi,

      I just learned about the "set to default" tab yesterday. Isn't it great to learn something new? I know what you mean about the possibility of someone still taking the photo and cropping off the watermark. So, I see nothing wrong with slapping the watermark across the middle too.

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Mariann ReganDecember 11, 2012 at 5:26 PM

    Thanks, Jana! It sounds really easy. Since I have a Mac, using Windows Live Writer is probably not for me, but the principle sounds the same. There is maybe an equivalent on Microsoft Word for watermarking photos. Now I know to look fo one. And Wordpress will probably take the watermarks. Thank you for this information!

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  5. Billy Blue EyesDecember 11, 2012 at 11:54 PM

    You can also use Photoshop for that little trick as well though it does not stop people taking the photo. I have mine copy writed ine the photo data.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 12, 2012 at 10:24 AM

      Hi Bill,

      So, if I understand you correctly, you type your copyright statement on the copyright line within the details tab for the photo? What a great idea!

      For those unfamiliar with how to accomplish this, here's what you do: Right click on your photo, click on "Properties," then click on the "Details" tab. Scroll down to "Copyright" and insert your copyright statement in the text box.

      Thanks for sharing this great suggestion Bill! And thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. UnknownDecember 12, 2012 at 11:18 AM

    Another great post, thanks Jana! I don't have LiveWriter, but I do use PhotoShop Elements for my copyright label. I have found a pretty simple and easy way to add the c symbol, as well: ALT + 0169. (Press Alt, then type 0169, then let go of Alt.) It's a quick trick for those of us that copyright a lot of images like this. (I don't know what it is for Mac, this would be for PC's.)
    I also love Bill's suggestion of putting the copyright in the image data - so thanks Bill!
    ~ Jen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 12, 2012 at 11:51 AM

      Hi Jen,

      Thanks for the copyright quick trick tip! That'll be quite useful. For my blog posts, I just copy and paste my copyright statement from a word document. And yep, Bill's suggestion is great!

      Thanks so much for reading and for your comments Jen! I really do appreciate it!

      Delete
  7. Billy Blue EyesDecember 12, 2012 at 11:56 AM

    You basically need to enter the copyright in the EXIF data which on a DSLR can be done through the menu but on my compact I had to do t through the camera settings program

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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 12, 2012 at 12:01 PM

      Hi Bill,

      Oh! So you actually put your copyright data on the camera itself? That's interesting. I'll have to check that out on my camera.

      But, for the photos of my ancestors which I didn't take, I do like the idea of inserting the copyright in the details tab for the photo, which I thought was your suggestion. So thanks for sparking that idea too. :)

      And thanks for stopping by again!

      Delete
  8. AnonymousDecember 21, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    I work a lot with Microsoft's Paint program. It does have some limitations, but I like using it to convert files easily to different formats. For example, when I scan my documents I scan them as a TIFF file as it is a lossless format. Then I open the document in Paint, add text/watermark, then save as a JPEG. The file is all ready to go for posting to the internet. Then I have two copies of the document, one for preservation and one for manipulating/sharing.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 21, 2012 at 5:14 PM

      Hi Genealogy Lady,

      Thanks for your awesome tip! And thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  9. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2013 at 10:06 PM

    Unfortunately, any data you add to the copyright field, or any other field, can be just as easily removed by anyone who wants to do it. Also, it's not easily seen unless someone is looking for it.

    Certainly a watermark across the middle of a photo makes a strong statement of 'Hands Off'. It's hard for anyone to get around that. If you also add your website URL, it's free publicity from anyone who wants to take it anyway. Might as well. What would be even better is if there was a way that any photos that go wandering would automatically link back to your website.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastJanuary 4, 2013 at 10:24 PM

      Hi JL,

      Thanks for your input and ideas. Have a great weekend!

      Delete

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