Watermark
A watermark is a visible mark — a name, logo or text — placed on a photo to show who made it and discourage unpaid use, usually on proofs and previews.
Watermarks put your brand on an image: a studio name in a corner, a logo across the middle, or a translucent pattern over the whole frame. They're common on proofing galleries and previews, where clients see images before buying or approving them, and less common on final deliveries.
Too strong and the image is spoiled; too faint and it's easily cropped or removed.
How it works
Software composites text or a logo onto a copy of the photo, with chosen position, size, opacity and colour. The original stays clean. Galleries often apply watermarks on display, while some workflows bake them into delivered copies. Invisible watermarks, embedded in the pixels, and metadata credits are alternatives that don't affect the look.
An example: a school portrait proof gallery
A school photographer shares proofs with parents. A soft logo in the lower corner identifies the studio and discourages screenshots, and the purchased prints are delivered without it.
Watermarks in CloudTether
CloudTether can watermark the photos it delivers: in a shoot's settings, the Delivery watermark card offers text, a logo or both, with position, opacity, size, padding and colour, and a live preview. The mark is added server-side as each photo is delivered, so clients' copies are watermarked while originals — and anything sent to a full-resolution archive — stay clean. See watermark your delivered photos. Pair it with resized delivery for light, branded previews.
When not to watermark
Final client deliveries, press filings and stock submissions generally shouldn't carry visible watermarks. Use metadata for credit instead.
Tips and common mistakes
- Use a PNG logo with transparency for a clean watermark.
- Keep it consistent across a gallery so it reads as branding, not clutter.
- Add copyright in metadata as well — watermarks can be cropped.
See also
Put it into practice
CloudTether tethers your camera to your phone and delivers every shot to the cloud, live as you shoot — no laptop.