Image Watermark

Stamp text onto a photo to mark it as yours. Choose the wording, position, size, colour, opacity and angle, and optionally repeat it across the whole image. A soft shadow keeps it readable on any background. Download the result in PNG, JPEG or WebP.

How to use it

Choose or drop an image.
Type the watermark text.
Set the position, size, opacity and angle.
Download the watermarked image.

When it helps

Marking photos before sharing them online.
Adding a copyright notice.
Labelling draft designs.
Putting a name or handle on a picture.

Good to know

A tiled, tilted mark is harder to crop out than one in a corner.
Keep opacity low enough that the picture stays pleasant to look at.
A watermark discourages casual copying, but cannot stop a determined thief.

Choosing a style that works

A good watermark is visible without ruining the image. White text with a soft shadow at 40 to 70 percent opacity works on most photographs. On very light pictures, switch to a darker colour. Large and semi-transparent beats small and solid.

Position matters. A mark in the corner is easy to crop out. One across the middle is hard to remove but distracting. Tiling with a gentle angle is the usual compromise for pictures you sell or show as proofs.

Worked example: a portfolio preview

Imagine you're sharing client proofs. Upload a photo, type your studio name, choose Repeat across the image, set the angle to -25, opacity to 30 percent and the size to about 6 percent of the width. The result shows your name faintly across the whole picture, enough to show who made it without hiding the content.

For a final published photo, switch to a single mark in the bottom right at a size around 4 percent, with the shadow on.

What a watermark can and can't do

Watermarks signal ownership and make casual reposting less attractive, but they aren't legal protection by themselves. Copyright exists when you create the work, whether or not you stamp it. If you need to prove ownership, keep your originals and metadata.

Also remember that stamping a heavy mark on every image can put visitors off. Use light marks on public pictures, and keep high-resolution clean copies for clients who have paid.

Alternatives to watermarking

Besides visible marks, you can embed copyright information in a file's metadata, upload lower-resolution versions publicly, or register your work with a copyright service. Each approach protects different things.

For photographers selling prints, offering a small preview with a watermark and keeping full-size files private is the standard approach.

Protecting the original

Keep an unmarked copy of every photo you watermark. Never overwrite your only original, since a watermark can't be cleanly removed afterwards.