Your Name on Photographs

[minatophase3]

Just curious. How many of you put your name on photographs that you sell? I think as the photographer it would be nice to see, but I also feel it takes away from the photo.

Do you maybe offer two versions of the photo, one with name and one without?

I have just sold my first 4 prints and as of right now my name isn't on them. I am also donating several framed prints to my church's auction next month.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Tim

[blinking8s]

all the photographers my fathers company has ever hired put their sig somewhere on the work, but with horse photography usually the pics are blows up pretty large, the name is clear and in the lower right corner...I personally think it adds to the photo, but thats cause I know who took it...something I pay attention to

[mdude85]

Well, I don't sell photographs so maybe I shouldn't be posting, but here's my take anyway.

For a photo i'd sell, I'd never type my name on the digital file before I print it. That is usually reserved for when I am posting a small image on the net and I want it to be copyrighted so that no one will steal it.

On prints, if you matte and then sell them, I don't think writing your signature on the bottom right corner, on the matte below the photo,( much like an artist does with a painting print), is inappropriate at all. Your photos are a work of art, I think.

[Scottes]

I agree - it's nice to see the name but not if it obscures or detracts from the picture.

Possibly make the signature small and unobtrusive.
Perhaps create a border for the title and put you name under it.

Or create your signature as a piece of art, and add that. :)

[blinking8s]

recent article on my fathers horse farm, the sig is on every picture, just something I am used to, to me it is not distracting the photo at all...not when you see the framed/mounted print at least...plus the photographer found the least distracting spot for a few photos

http://www.ahwmagazine.com/06ahw04/departments/06alshahania/alshahania.pdf

[vfilby]

I don't think writing your signature on the bottom right corner, on the matte below the photo,( much like an artist does with a painting print), is inappropriate at all. Your photos are a work of art, I think.

Technically speaking you should never sign on the matte. Mattes and frames can be replaced but your signature can't be transferred. The best thing to do if you are going to sign is to leave a white border around the picture when you print it and don't cover it up with the matte. Then you can sign on the border; on the photograph but not on the image itself. If you don't want to do this I would suggest signing the back.

Also only use a pencil or fine black pen to sign. You want the signature to only be there if it is looked for. One professional I saw actually had a small embosser and embossed his signature in the white border before framing.

**Edit**

Sorry Scottes, I didn't read your post close enough. Didn't mean to duplicate.

**Edit**

VInce

[Scottes]

Sorry Scottes, I didn't read your post close enough. Didn't mean to duplicate.

That's OK, you can agree with me any time.

Now if you disagree, then we'll have problems.
:-)

[minatophase3]

Thanks for the replies. I think printing out a border around and having my name on the border would be the best option. I will play around with a few photos and see how it looks.

Tim

[vfilby]

Usually your name is on the bottom right (facing the photo), the title is in the center and location or other goes on the bottom left.

Vince

[mttmrphy]

What if your name is "Proof"?

[vfilby]

In that particular case yo uare supposed to scrawl it in the biggest possible way diagonally across the image. ;-)

Vince

[Scottes]

Oh yeah, I've seen his work! He's not bad, but every one of his images seems to need a little work...

[Malok]

I sell my prints in a number of places and have a little bio on the back of the matt, but my signature is so terrible that I am afraid to add it to the photo. It would certainly detract from the value of a print.
:oops:

Has anyone ever seen a signature stamp that works well on photos and looks like a real signature? I could have a friend design an artsy signature for me if I could find a way to use it on the photos. Just don't ask me to write it myself! (I should have been a doctor with my handwriting!)

Malok

[robertwgross]

A friend of mine signs some of his stuff with a small rubber stamp of his signature. He has gold ink for it, and he normally places it diagonally across the lower right corner of the print on the white margin next to the matte.

The "signature" does not have to be exactly like your signature, but it would be nice and authentic if it is close. In fact, what some people do is to capture their signature by writing it on a pane of Photoshop, then rotate it by 45 degrees, and then save that as a file that can be overlaid on your regular image in Photoshop. Then it can be printed out by your normal means.

One advantage of doing it this way is that you could have different colors of signature saved, and otherwise they could be identical.

---Bob Gross---

[KennyG]

Bob, a better way is to turn it into a brush rather than an overlay then you can do whatever you want with it, re-size, change color, set transparency, etc. It is easier than using layers.

All my web posted pictures have either my name or Racing Pics UK on them and it was simply done by creating a brush.

[vfilby]

He has gold ink for it, and he normally places it diagonally across the lower right corner of the print on the white margin next to the matte.

Signing in anything but pencil or fine black is highly discouraged for a couple reaseons. First gold is too obtrusive, I have tried it with my own prints and it often looks gawdy. Secondly Gold will not always match the image well so the colour would need to be changed and this is a big no-no. Your signature should be almost exact each time: same colour and same style with minor variations being accepted a hand drawn signature.

In general if you want to place your signature on the front, sign it. It is much more authentic if it is a real signature. Moreover make it as invisible as possible. You don't want people to see it unless they look for it. This look will rarely be achieved with any colour or style but pencil or fine black ink.

Vince

[Digital Prophet]

I am about to sell my very first print. If I decide to that is.

A guy saw a framed copy of a print that I gave to a friend and asked me to produce one for him. As silly as it sounds this print has been a sore spot for me ever since I let someone see it. First my friend asked me to sign the print. I really felt dumb about this. I have been asked twice before but always weaseled out of it. But I can't say no to those brown eyes. So I signed it. Now I have, at least in my opionion, a groovy signature. But I swear, every time I see that thing in her office I feel like a maroon.

I think that I have come to the conclusion that if I do sell prints that I would sign the back of the print. Unless of course the person demands it on the front. And for some reason it seems people who pay for prints want the name there. Maybe it makes the print seem more professional. What I would really like is to find out how you get that look that some photographers have on thier prints where the signature looks like stamped goldleaf. Maybe I would be better with that.

Also, and this is a big thing for me, I didn't know what to sign on the print. I know it sounds dumb. You would think that the sig would be my name. But over the years I have developed "The Digital Prophet" persona through writings, postings, photoshop projects and some 3D work. It is my natural inclination to sign "Digital Prophet" to anything creative I do. So seeing my actual name on something is almost like signing a fake name on a check.

Ok that is my two and one half cents.

- Digital Prophet -

[vfilby]

DP,

As long as you're consistent I think Digital Profit should be fine. But I keep hearing this gold idea. I have tried it in different ways, both gold and silver and they both will become eyesores eventually. They look cool but the job of the sig is not to look cool it is to convey the artist's identity.

I think that I have tossed in about a buck in change to this converstaion so far....

Vince