Watermarking Photos for Social Media

A few months ago, I excitedly launched my newly redesigned blog and in addition to the facelift, I watermarked my images differently. This post isn't about whether photographers should or shouldn't watermark, but if you decide to do so (like me), let's have a chat about the most effective forms.

If you've been with my blog for a while, you'll love my unabashed love for Blogstomp (in case you need a refresher on the hours this app has saved me, you can find it HERE) because of its ease, time-saving qualities, and aesthetic. Blogstomp has changed with my brand over the years…here's my previous watermark…

Here's my current watermark…

So why the change? Beyond wanting something new to reflect my brand, I thought of it from a marketing and social media perspective. The largest source of wedding inquiries I receive are from Facebook, followed by Instagram. On these platforms, it's very important for people to see my name as part of the photo. By placing my name on the photo itself (as opposed to the border), it shows up in Facebook updates without the need to click on the photo within the update to see the watermark. This is powerful. Here's an example…

The same goes for Instagram (which I have tied to Twitter). I felt like adding a watermark border within the Instagram platform diminished the aesthetic value. In light of this, I opted for a straight-forward watermark with just my name. Here's an example of a professional photo I uploaded (my iPhone pictures aren't watermarked)…

It's really important for my name to be easily read and identified on each photo, so this is why I don't use my logo. While I love my logo, if a prospective client stumbles across one of my photos on Pinterest without the source listed, I want to ensure that bride can easily find me if she's interested…and logos can sometimes make that difficult. The same goes for all other forms of leveraging social media.

Lastly, I'm often asked how I upload my photos to Facebook because they don't appear compressed or pixelated (a common frustration with photographers), and I happy to respond that Blogstomp is what makes it so easy for me. With a single click of a button, the photos are resized optimally for the web, watermarked, and placed in a folder, ready for upload. You can even upload directly to Facebook from the app, which makes life SO much easier. If you'd like to get a 20% Discount on Blogstomp be sure to use the BABYGOTSTOMP promo code at check out (it expires on March 31st). Hope this helps!

Here's to saving time and easily sharing our photos,
j*