Watermark/Copyright info

I have been reading all of the threads on this and I was just wondering something. I am not a great photographer, but I have takes some good shots. I have seen photos with the copyright symbol and the year/name, I have seen designs, pics. Is there any certain one a person should use for different reasons or is it just personal taste? I don't have a buisness or anything like that, but I have read it is good to put them on any pics regardless of how good/bad? Sorry for sounding stupid. Is it just personal choice? I can understand putting a logo if you have a business/company or can you make up a logo anyways?? I will stop, I keep repeating myself.

Watermarking stops people using your images without permissions, at least for commercial or financial gain. It also tells people if they like the image who to ask for a print. Plus it's partly vanity. I watermark because every image people use without permission is potential income lost.

What determines if you use just your name/date or a made up logo or graphic image? Is it all personal preference?

Yep. Personal preference.
If you use Photoshop, there is a nice tutorial (Digital Watermark Branding) on Russell Browns website.

It is a mater of taste and personal prefference, but with the amount of Pirated images these days, if someone wants one of mine the have to ask me first, heck, I would give it away if it was the right Magazine or Publication, but they have to come to me first!

I've just prepared a disk of images for my first wedding clients to use to select the shots they want in their album. Rather than labour the point I've just added semi-transparent, large lettering to each saying "72dpi - not suitable for printing".

Probably not worth the effort. A national used one of my images AFTER first removing © and name, then claiming it was an "unsolicited image"