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100% Image Protection Without Watermarking - Guest post by Michael Novo

6/11/2014

21 Comments

 
Intro by Skip Cohen

Those of you who know me well, know what a fan I am of sarcasm, which is a big part of what started the friendship with Michael Novo. While he definitely walks a thin line, at times sounding like he's insulting all of us, he also recognizes that he's a long way from getting his own skill set where he wants it to be. In fact, that might be why I see him at so many workshops. You might even say he's working hard to get his work to a level that people want to steal his images!

If you start to feel a little dumped on, read the whole post...he really redeems himself in the last few paragraphs. Most important of all is one point he left out that I've believed in for years...make sure you're paid fairly up front, so you don't care quite so much about what happens to your images after they've been delivered to the client.

Picture
Image (without watermark) copyright Michael Novo. All right reserved.
We’ve all heard the debate about securing your images online with the use of watermarks.  To mark or not to mark, that is the question.  That horse has been beaten to death so much, that it’s on the verge of coming back as a zombie horse. 

On one hand watermarks are a pretty decent deterrent against someone looking to snatch your photos.  On the other hand, they are of course ugly and intrusive.  In fact the more creative someone gets with their watermark e.g. butterfly kisses, hearts or some other travesty that the photographer finds cute, the uglier the watermark usually is.  So it really boils down to which route is best.  Do I watermark, do I output low resolution files or should I even go as far as avoiding online posting completely?

The solution is actually simpler than you may think and avoids watermarks altogether.  It’s time tested and has a success rate which is very close to 100%. You retain the ability to share your images online with the entire world and not worry about theft.  In fact the system is so effective that even high resolution digitals are safe and sound! 

So what is this new and innovative solution?  Here it is… Your images aren’t very good and no one wants to waste their time to right click and save your mediocre photo.  They especially don’t want to market their company with your images either, unless of course they’re trying to go out of business.  “Is that really the solution?  Did this jerk just insult my…?”   

Yes…you’re welcome.  You may now continue your digital life totally watermark free.

No, but seriously, your images really aren’t that amazing and there’s really no one out there who wants them in the first place aside from the client.  If you have ever asked for critique of an image and one of the phrases you heard was “Well…I like the idea behind this image”, then congratulations sir or madam, your image was just stamped as being secure from theft. 

There’s no one at Getty who descended upon your portfolio and said “I must have this amazingly so-so image from that photo walk this photographer was a part of.”  There’s no executive at Nike who saw you posting an image of your kid playing sports and thought “AH-HA! With no watermark on this image, now is my chance to strike!”  I know what you’re thinking right about now.  You’re thinking “Well ‘F’ you Michael Novo, your images aren’t anything special either!”  And I would have to agree with you there, which is why I don’t watermark mine either.  I can compromise and say that when tagging a client on social media, it can be a possible way to drive folks to your site but even that idea is being phased out.  When someone wants to find you, they will.

But every point has a counterpoint.  Not long ago Sal Cincotta came across a photographer who not only stole his work, but built a good portion of his website using Sal’s images.  Jerry Ghionis recently had one of his images published as an actual marketing and advertising campaign by another photographer.  In fact there are many well-known photographers in the industry whose images are stolen on a regular basis.  But the difference is that their images are worth stealing while many of ours aren’t (at least not yet).  It’s an odd measure of security but what the majority of the photographic community has, is called ‘Security by Obscurity’.  The evil-doers either don’t know about you, or if they do know then they don’t care because they would rather steal from the very best than from the middle of the road.  But even the very best of the best often skip the watermark.

I reached out and asked Jerry and Melissa Ghionis about why they choose to not watermark their images knowing full well that there’s a very good chance that their images will be used by others again.  Melissa told me:

“Our basic reasoning behind it is that our images look prettier without a watermark and a lot of watermarks can actually be quite distracting.”
  Jerry also added “The money that I will make with my images showing beautifully, with no distraction will far outweigh the money that I might lose from people copying my images.  If someone is prepared to go to the extent of stealing my images then they could easily crop an image closer or remove a watermark in Photoshop.  Thankfully, because of my profile and friends around the world, when someone does steal an image from me they seem to be found out pretty quickly.” 

If what you are creating is art, then let the art speak for itself.  Instead of worrying about ‘protection,’ focus on putting your heart and soul into your craft so that what you create stands out from the crowd.  Make something that is actually worth stealing (ideally licensing).  Get out there and capture a landscape image…a wedding moment…or a portrait which remains in a person’s mind long after they first saw it.  Create something that an individual will look at and say “I want that image to be a part of my life.”  When you capture and create something beautiful for the world, you have a much better chance of something beautiful being given back to you.  So get out there, get creative and leave the watermark button unchecked.

21 Comments
Bob Hallam link
6/11/2014 12:47:18 am

Love the article and agree with your basic premise, but it misses the point that a watermark can also be a useful advertising and marketing tool. Agreed that it can be intrusive if used like a full facial tattoo, but for those just getting their photography businesses off the ground and are not marketing at the level of Jerry and Melissa quite yet, they do serve to simply tell their audience who they are. Like a commercial in your favorite TV show a watermark can certainly disrupt a composition if not carefully placed, but commercials do pay the bills.

Reply
Ron McKinney link
6/11/2014 04:38:29 am

I completely agree with Bob. I really don't care or worry about theft, although I think many of my images are worthy of it, esp with so many new photographers out there trying to get started. But the point that Bob made, and I completely agree with, is that the watermark is a marketing tool. I want people to share and share and share the pic, and I want them to see the watermark. Jerry Ghionis doesn't need that type of marketing, so it's an unfair comparison.

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Michael Novo link
6/11/2014 04:43:19 am

Hi Bob! That's probably the strongest point that I can think of in favor of watermarks and one that I used until recently on select images on Facebook.

How I used to do it was post watermarked images (small non fancy text) in the corner of the sneak preview images for clients. They can then tag themselves and their friends see my name of course on the image and can take a look at my work. So my logic was the same as yours.

Let's cover Facebook first. I had a client to which I delivered high resolution digitals from their engagement session. Only my top tier clients get high res at which point they have already invested in prints and albums. They posted one of the images and it got quite a few comments, one of them being "OMG who made this!? You have to make sure you print this!"

It was sort of like a light bulb going off in my head. I realized that over the past several years I would get new clients calling me and emailing me and saying "I love that shot!" They would see my watermark and rave about it to me. But now, without the watermark, they were leaving the rave in the thread and asking who made this.

The lady who saw my image then called me and booked me. So rather than her seeing the shot and simply calling me, she created buzz for me by asking who made the image, the bride chimed in saying how we made the shot and provided my name and that resulted in me booking this next client. Would I have booked her with a watermark? I would say of course I would. But instead I got a free commercial from the bride right then and there in the thread for all of her friends to see. I realized that I want my bride, groom, portrait or senior client to say my name rather than me yell it out.

Reply
Darren Brade link
6/12/2014 03:40:08 am

Generally I think of a watermark as something in the centre of the image to prevent image theft and branding as a discrete name/logo to show who or where the image came from.

I stopped putting images out without a watermark after finding them being used by other photographers or nigh club promoters.

Reply
Cindy S
6/12/2014 11:07:37 am

Like Darren, I started uploading only marked images, after an infringement problem. Watermarking, done in photo editing software before you upload, is part of the image and more work to remove than a simple right click bypass of some websites' watermark option. Most infringers will just move on and look for an image that's ready to use. Also, some people wrongly think a copyright notice is still required. In any case, the watermark puts them on notice you're not just supplying them with free art. Sure there are those who will remove even the strongest mark, etc, but that is the minority, like the burglar who gets thru the best lock. We still lock our doors to prevent the other 99% from breaking in.

The advertising purpose is one to consider, too. A lot of so-called 'sharing' now is done without credit or a link back. Pinterest, Google, Bing, Facebook, all these now have large images that are super easy to copy or download right there. They don't even have to come to your site to steal it anymore, and many idiots believe these sources are "public domain," because they don't know that public display is not the same as public domain.

Once shared without credit, even seemingly trivial uses become a place where more infringement stems from. Unless you watermark your images in such a way it's not easily cropped off. Then, except for the really criminal types handiwork to remove the mark, your image stays identifiable, an ad for you, wherever it goes. Like 'sharing' was supposed to do.

Karlo Gesner link
6/11/2014 01:30:57 am

freakin' hilarious.

Reply
Bruce Berg link
6/11/2014 03:21:12 am

This works great ONCE the client has made the purchase, but I have found that until then, if the client gets it-you've lost the ability to sell that image unfortunately.

Reply
Michael Novo link
6/11/2014 04:27:19 am

Absolutely correct Bruce and I didn't want to dive too far off topic but in our example we do in-studio proofings and clients can order there. Until then I simply don't put the images in a gallery.

In general to add to your point its difficult to sell if you load watermarked or non marked images in a gallery before the sale is made because 9 times out of 10 the clients just forget or move very slowly.

Reply
Mark Evrard link
6/11/2014 12:17:29 pm

I agree 100%,
If you are that good, the buzz is in the word of mouth, nothing gets talked about with the knowledge of who/where it came from, no questions, talk, chatter!
Well done!

Reply
Corey Ann link
6/12/2014 03:24:01 am

I'm sorry but I have to completely disagree with this column. I run Photo Stealers and I have personally seen images from the inept to the expert photographer stolen. It's not a problem that only arises for the expert photographer but for every photographer. Not only does watermarking help protect your images but it also gives you additional damages if and when the image is stolen should you decide to pursue it in a court of law. Finally, in this Pinterest world it just makes sense to watermark to help make things easier should one want to find who took the image.

Reply
Michael Novo link
6/12/2014 07:19:53 am

Corey Ann of course images are stolen and will continue to be. You are correct in the fact that photographers can get damages for someone else trying to cover up the fact that they stole the image by removing the watermark!

Now let's look at it as a practical application vs quoting what could be. Let's say an entry level photographer takes the watermarked images of another photographer and removes the watermark and uses those images in something like a Craigslist ad. In theory the photographer can sue for thousands of dollars. But in reality the only thing that's going to happen is that a C&D letter will be sent and no money will exchange hands.

I can personally speak to this matter. Some years ago, Fox News Milwaukee requested a few images of mine to show in a news segment, which I provided with the statement saying that they had to display them with my tiny watermark. But the watermark was cropped out, my images ran in the segment with no mention of my studio name. Bingo, I called my attorney who is well versed in photo laws and is a photographer himself. After a length conversation he said that while technically I could indeed sue, there's a very good chance that I wouldn't even recover the legal fees. His suggestion was to get in touch with them and simply work out a way of promoting yourself as compensation rather than going after them financially. After that I spoke with another attorney who more or less suggested the same thing.

So yes, technically what you say is 100% spot on. But there's the world on paper and then there's the world of what actually happens which is perhaps where we differ in opinions :)

Reply
Craig Stewart
6/12/2014 03:46:29 pm

Very good points Corey Ann

Reply
Peter Adams link
6/12/2014 04:24:10 am

I don't "watermark", I "brand".

Nothing to do with securing and image from theft... Everything to do with securing more SALES.

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Michael Novo link
6/12/2014 07:29:44 am

Ahh good ole' branding. That's the biggest response I got to this column. So I did a little survey. My profile photo on FB has the watermark placed in there tastefully by the photographer who captured it. That photographer has even met and hung out with the very friends that "liked" and commented on my profile photo. So I asked them. "Without looking...who made that photo?" Not a single person had a clue. Even the people who had met him recalled his name from the watermark. But what is recognizable is his portrait style and technique.

And that's what brand should be. The brand should be a style that we can all recognize and flock to. When we see a Porsche driving down the street, we don't need to run around to the back of the car to look for the label in order to recognize it as a Porsche.

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Peter Adams link
6/12/2014 05:05:42 pm

Ahh good ole' only using your own personal experiences as a barometer for everyone else. Guess what I get LOADS of work from the exact same thing because my logo IS PRESENT. I also know many, many other photographers who have exactly the same experience as me with that. "Off page" organic Facebook WOM is one of the most powerful (and FREE) marketing avenues available today in the domestic photography genres.

A few years back Top Gear took a Hyundai Coupe with its badges covered up to Italy... It was a new model at the time. the general public thought it was a Ferrari when first seeing it. They needed to see the label to know it wasn't one.

It is incredibly naive to think that a brand is just a "style". Branding is the whole kit and caboodle.

" Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's product distinct from those of other sellers." "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand

My logo, my business name, my imagery all make up constituent parts of my brand.

Cinobite
6/12/2014 05:35:07 am

I guess you missed all the recent thefts by mainstream musicians who stole photographers "mediocre" work for their global campaigns...

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Michael Novo link
6/12/2014 07:39:21 am

Of course work from all levels gets stolen. Let's not nitpick and say "oh well I can name X number of cases where a poor quality image was used".

Your example is also a bit different. If you're referring to the images which the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus stole from him, let's also look at it from the perspective of how many different options did they or any other band have? See if I'm going to set up a wedding portfolio and use other peoples images, then of course I have my pick from the cream of the crop. But if I'm looking for photos of myself photographing a wedding in action to use for self-promotion, then my selection is sort of limited to whatever anyone happened to capture of me AND post online. At that point, I'll take whatever I can get...and no watermark would stop me or any band that is determined to steal.

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Cindy S
6/12/2014 10:59:05 am

Agree w/Corey from Photo Stealers. You do not have to have the most stupendous image online to have it infringed. Plus, there is a lot of good work online. This is really another angle at telling people they should be flattered if their work is taken. NOT. Perhaps it is tongue in cheek, I don't know.

Besides potential money losses, infringement causes confusion over who the real owner is, (and copyright protection was not invented only for the minority of ultra famous whose work everyone knows on sight).

Infringement can kill licensing deals, because legitimate paying clients want something that hasn't been trotted all over already.

It can associate the artist with causes or companies they object to.

It eats at your mood, energy, and time.

Many of those who think they don't have an infringement problem haven't even looked. It is fairly common to have someone say they are never infringed, and when you ask them if they do reverse image searches, they have never heard of it. Then you show them how, they do a search, and find out how many ways their work is being misused, and usually freak out. Suddenly it's not that flattering!

Reply
Craig Stewart
6/12/2014 03:44:28 pm

I can see the authors point for most main stream photography - though I choose to watermark my portrait work for marketing purposes. We only blog images that have been purchased anyways.

Where this argument totally falls down though, is event photography. We do a lot of Year 12 Balls (Proms for the Americans) If we did not HEAVILY watermark these images - we would never make any sales. This is not a market where you can get paid up front and a high percentage of students are actively trying to steal the images.

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Michael Novo link
6/13/2014 04:36:06 am

Craig I agree with you here. But this is a slightly different category in my mind. Here we're talking about proofs and proofing. It used to be proof books, now it's proof discs or private online galleries. You might also be sending commercial proofs to an art director where it's beneficial to stamp it as a proof so that after a dozen exchanges, they don't accidentally use the wrong image as their final. Of course there are going to be instances where marking the images makes sense. But I'm referring to the bulk of the market when someone simply posts a photo they took of a flower from the local botanical garden during a photo walk. It's ok to go ahead and post that photo in your social media stream with no marking. Other than that your point is totally valid.

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John link
7/30/2014 02:08:24 am

I really don't care or worry about theft, although I think many of my images are worthy of it. I'm happy to share my images especially on facebook and pinterest. Mayby after few years I will change my opinion :)

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