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How to Watermark Photos in Photoshop

Published: 14/02/2022

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With digital photography becoming more mainstream, people are sharing their images on the internet. This is a great way to save your memories, get advice from others online, improve your technique, and meet people who have the same interests as you. Unfortunately, there is a problem that photographers need to solve, and it is copyright theft. 

As an artist, protecting your work is a must as it prevents others from using them without your permission. You can protect your images by watermarking your images. 

How to Watermark Photos in Photoshop

Applying watermark on your images in Photoshop is fast and easy. Go to Photoshop and choose a new file, then select the size of the watermark that you want to add on your pictures. You can add a text watermark or you can use a logo or an image instead. 

Below are the step-by-step guides on how you can apply a text as a watermark and how to apply a logo as a watermark. The watermark that you choose should depend on what you prefer. 

Real estate image with edited watermark logo in Photoshop

Creating a Text Watermark

The most straightforward type of watermark to create is a text watermark. It can consist of words like a website, the image title, or your name, and you can add special symbols after like the copyright symbol. 

Below are the steps on how to add a text watermark::

  • Create a new layer
  • Enter the text
  • Change the font 
  • Position the watermark
  • Add finishing touches
Saving a new brush name while editing a watermark

Create a New Layer

The first thing that you need to do when you open Photoshop is by selecting the image that you want to put a watermark on. Once you've decided which image you want to work on, you need to create a new layer to put it in. 

In order to create a new layer on Photoshop, you need to select Layer, then choose New. You will be promoted to name the layer, so you can name it "Watermark." Click Ok to save your work. 

Creating a new layer in Photoshop

Enter Your Text

With a new layer ready, select the Text tool. Click anywhere on the picture and type the copyright notice. You do not have to think about the font, position, color, and size. You can change all of that afterwards. 

You can add special characters like the copyright symbol. This can be done via the Windows Character Map. Just click on Start, then select Programs. On the drop down menu, choose Accessories, then System Tools, and choose Character Map. 

If you are using a Mac OS X, the special characters are called Character Pallete. To add them, just go to Edit, then choose Special Characters. If you want to insert the copyright symbol (©) on your images, you can do the following as a shortcut:

  • Hold Alt and type 0169 for Windows
  • Press Option+G for Mac OS X
Selecting a font while editing a watermark in Photoshop

Tweak the Font

Select the Text tool and make sure that you highlight the copyright notice. Use the toolbar so you can change the font face and the color to suit your taste. You can also make changes with the font size, even though there is a chance that you will be resizing the watermark. 

Select the color for your text. The best colors to add to your text are plain and neutral colors. Most photographers select either white or black, this will depend on which color stands out more. If you wish to add some color, you can add 50% gray color. 

Placing text as watermark in Photoshop

Position the Watermark

Next, select the area where the watermark will be positioned. You can place yours in the area where it won't obscure the main subject of the image. It is normally placed near the corner. You can make yours more prominent, so you can do whatever you prefer. 

If you want to change the size or change the position of your watermark, you can do so via the tool called Free Transform. You can open this tool by pressing Ctrl+T if you are on Windows, or Cmd+T if you are on Mac. When you are resizing your watermark, make sure that you hold down Shift in order to constrain the proportions of the text and to stop it from getting out of shape.

Finishing Touches

Watermarks need to be subtle on images because the attention of the viewer will be on them instead of the subject. If you need to make some corrections, you can adjust the opacity of the layer between 30% and 50%.

You can also jazz the text up by adding some effects. Both the Bevel and Emboss effect can look great on your watermark. It can separate them from the background of your images. Make sure that the watermark is simple so it won’t be too distracting to look at. 

Adding a Logo Watermark

If you are a professional photographer, photography enthusiast, or a realtor that has your own logo, you can use it as your watermark instead of using a plain text. 

To add your logo as a watermark, you need to follow these step-by-step guides:

  • Prepare your image
  • Add the logo to the Photo
  • Tweak the color

Prepare Your Image

To make your logo an effective watermark on your images, you first need to remove all of the color from it. This means that you need to open an original file and convert all of the elements to plain ones. The remaining colors need to be the following:

  • Black
  • White 
  • Shade of gray
Real estate image with edited watermark logo in Photoshop

Add It to the Photo

Once you've drained your logo of color, open it in Photoshop and copy the logo across the image that you want to watermark. Drag the logo into position and you can crop and resize it if you want to. 

Choose the layer and change the logo's blending mode to "Darken." Once you do this, the white background will disappear, and this will leave only gray and black areas. Then, change the opacity of the layer so that the watermark is semi-transparent. 

Tweak the Color

If you want to change the color and adjust it to what will make it look better, you can easily do it. The first thing that you need to do is to add an "Invert" adjustment layer, you need to choose Layer, then select New Adjustment Layer, and select Invert. 

In the Layers panel, you need to position the Invert layer just above your logo's layer. After, you need to highlight it by pressing the Alt and the Option button. Select the line that you see between the two layers. In this way, you can link the two, you can make sure that only the logo is inverted instead of the whole image. 

Once you are finished, choose the logo layer and choose “Lighten” to change the watermark’s blend mode. What you will see is a  light colored logo. You can also apply this method if you want to apply different colors on your logos, just make sure it won't clash with the colors of your images or it won't be difficult to read. 

How to Create a Custom Brush to Apply Your Watermark

The fastest and easiest way that you can add watermarks on your images is by using a custom brush in Photoshop. You can do this with both a text or a logo watermark.

Once the custom brush is created, you need to select the brush tool and choose the watermark brush. Tap on any area in your photograph that you want your watermark to be positioned in. 

Below are the steps that you need to follow so you can turn your saved watermark into a custom brush for future use:

  • Prepare the logo
  • Convert your logo to a brush
  • Use your logo brush
Using a Brush Preset in Photoshop

First, you need to make sure that the logo resolution is 500 pixels minimum or 1000 pixels maximum. This will make sure that the quality of your logo won't be affected in case you need to tone it down as soon as it is placed on your image. 

Also, before you create a brush, you need to make sure that the logo is placed entirely on a white background. So, you need to make as many adjustments as you can when it comes to resolution and grayscale before you convert it to a brush to be used in your next images. 

Convert Your Logo to a Brush

As soon as you have the image the way that you want it and open it in Photoshop, choose Edit on the menu option and select Define Brush Preset. It is better to name it something easy so you can locate it in the brush list. 

Logo or Watermark are the most popular names, but you can change it if you want to. You can create more than one custom brush if needed. After you've named your brush, just click on OK to save it. 

Using Your Logo Brush

In order to use your customer brush, you need to use your mouse to choose the brush tool from the left tool back. Click on the watermark brush on the list or you can just tap "B" on your keyboard as it is a Photoshop shortcut. Next, right click to access the brush list and find the one that you've saved. 

Choose a color and make sure that the size of the brush is adjusted accordingly. You can adjust the size using the brack tools. Next, tap on the area of the picture that you want to position your logo on. You won't need to repeat these steps every time you want to use your brush. 

As soon as you are done with the steps and once you’ve named the brush, it will be saved automatically in Photoshop. Then, adding your watermark to your work will be fast and easy because all you need to do is to get the brush and place it in any area. 

Conclusion

Watermarking your work will save you from a lot of headaches. There have been numerous cases wherein other people had benefited from the work of artists. 

Make sure that you save the design of your watermark so you can easily apply it to your other images. You can change your watermark anytime you want, as creating and saving them is a quick and easy process. 

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