Typically for pay shoots, I do not watermark web images but have always watermarked web images for trade shoots. I've been a doing this for a few years now and have had problems with models cropping out my watermark. It irritates me since it was part of the agreement that that is prohibited but is it worth making an issue over it?

I know photographers who never watermark their images, only watermark their images that they use for themselves but not for the models or production team and others that always watermark web images, even for paying clients.

I've seen photographers I admire on various sites that do or don't and was just wondering what the standard is?

Thanks!

Rachel

Rachel,

Any paid shoots, I give full rights to the pictures but I still retain the copyright. When I am doing this for an agency, I don't put any watermarks on them. However, for trade shoots, I would suggest doing two things.. Make your watermark so prevalent that it is difficult to remove them and secondly take a look at Digimarc. Those are covert watermarks and if the individual removes it. I would inform them that you retain the copyright and they don't have authorization to make any changes to any pictures without your consent.

Pete

If it's trade, I watermark the photos.

If it's paid, I don't watermark them unless the model requests them on their prints. Also, I don't give the unedited images to them for their own use. Their payment is not for those images, but for a certain number of completed, printed images.