Poll: Do you watermark your portfolio...?

I have been receiving differing views on whether to use watermark on my portfolio displayed on my web site (www.IndusPortraits.com), and wonder if you watermark your portfolio. Thanks.

I personally watermark my online portfolio so minimize image theft (as well as diable right-click), but I dont have them printed on my images for the hardcopy version.

tristinGrind wrote in post #12448476
I personally watermark my online portfolio so minimize image theft (as well as diable right-click), but I dont have them printed on my images for the hardcopy version.

This is also my opinion and action though I can't stand disabled right clicks. If you want the image you will get it even without this enabled.

On my main website (in link) I don't put any watermark. The pics posted on there are all low resolution pictures. If I post pictures on Flickr or Facebook I do tend to put watermark on them.

website - no
blog, facebook - yes

My view: Online, absolutely. In print, no.

Anywhere on the web, yes. Hard copy, no. There's one more thing to consider when posting images on the web here in the US, that with programs stripping out metadata, images can be declared an Orphan Work, and free for someone to use commercially if there's no way to identify the watermark.

enlightphoto wrote in post #12450915
Anywhere on the web, yes. Hard copy, no. There's one more thing to consider when posting images on the web here in the US, that with programs stripping out metadata, images can be declared an Orphan Work, and free for someone to use commercially if there's no way to identify the watermark.

This is not true. The Orphan Works bill has not passed--but we can expect efforts to pass it to continue.

However, it is important to add copyright information to your metadata and to prevent your editing programs from stripping it out. Prior to CS5, Photoshop "Save for Web" did strip out the metadata without leaving you an option to retain it.

yalemba wrote in post #12448189
I have been receiving differing views on whether to use watermark on my portfolio displayed on my web site (www.IndusPortraits.com), and wonder if you watermark your portfolio. Thanks.

I protect my website images from casual right-click copying. However, I don't post any images until after the sale to the client is complete...so I'm not worrying about the client copying from my website, and my personal portrait images aren't too much use to other people (yes, there is a chance that some other photographer might cop my work for her own website, but I live with that risk).

I do brand my images on Facebook--which is my logo overlaying the image toward the bottom of the image. It could be cropped out without the loss of any important image area, but as I said, I don't post any images until after the sale.

All of these images are also at the bare limit of resolution for good appearance on the web.

Thanks. Based on the poll, opinions seem to be almost evenly split on this matter

Those who have not started watermarking have not yet experience their images being stolen online and used without permission. When its stolen - and you find out - you will ask yourself, how many of your other images had suffered the same fate. You will a sense of regret that you did not watermark on hindsight and you will feel as if someone put their hand into your pocket and removed your money. Your photographs are your intellectual efforts.

Only the naive believe that 100% of the people online will honour your copyrights.

As long as there images without watermarks out there to be stolen and used, those with watermarks will have a lot less risk of being abused.

I speak with experience not only being a victim but know many others in the same situation.