Aadding a watermark to an image can really give it that personal touch! It can also be a handy way of letting viewers know where to look for more of your work.
A watermark is simply and image or some text which is placed on the image when the image is exported. This acts like the photographers personal signature on the photo.
Watermarks can also be used for a number of practical reasons. If you are sending a proof copy to a client you can add large watermark to prevent them from using it without you permission.....
Or you could add a signature just for that last little creative touch:
The best part is, if you have Adobe Lightroom it is crazy simple! Let me show you how.
Step 1:
Open Adobe Lightroom. Press "Edit" in the toolbar and then "Edit Watermark. This will open the Watermark creator wizard.
Step 2:
Now its time to build your custom watermark. This part is very simple and if you look in the image window, you will be able to see your personal watermark.
Typically its a good idea to keep the colour as white and then set the opacity to around 50%. Opacity is how "see through" the text will be.
Make sure to check the "Size" button as this will make sure your watermark scales when you export different sized images.
Personally I like to have my watermark bottom centre and then use a nice handwriting font.
On the subject of fonts, you can install your own custom fonts which can be downloaded from the internet. I use the website Creativos (LINK) to find all sorts of interesting new font styles.
Step 3:
Once you are happy with the look Click, "Save" and then give your watermark a name.
Step 4:
Now its time to export your image with the watermark applied.
Select the photo you want to export and press "File -> Export"
Scroll down to the Watermak tab, toggle on "Watermark" and select your new preset from the drop-down menu.
Make sure all your other export settings are as you want them to be.
Press "Export"
AAAAAANNNDDD done.
Like I said. Super simple.
Make sure to subscribe for more photography lessons and Lightroom tips every month!
David