When you are giving your customers images do you remove your logo?

Should You Remove Your Logo When You Give Your Client The Images:

The most common practice is to remove your logo for the final images. I always do this. NOW, whenever the images is online I will make sure to not only have my logo but to have the following information in the comments of that image:

 

  • Photography Studio Name
  • Photography Email
  • Photography Phone Number
  • Photography Website

 

 

It’s important to do this because if they share that image from your Facebook page, it will carry that information through. If someone likes your image, they have all the information they need to contact you right there! They don’t have to click through, search for it. The easier it is for the potential client to find the information the better. That’s why it’s not only important to have your logo on a photo, it’s SUPER important to have all your information front and center of every image you post on social media. If you wanted, you could even make this part of your watermark. I’ve seen a website incorporated into the watermark. It’s all about what you prefer.

 

 

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Question from Cat: “when you are giving your customers images (CD, flash drives, or actual prints) do you remove your logo from the photographs? I have been keeping my logo on my images, but two recent customers want the images on CD w/out my logo.

Kelly: If they purchase the high resolution DVD then no watermarks. They’re paying significantly not to have my branding on their images. Now Facebook/blog/etc… which they could easily “Save As” are always watermarked.

Silver:  I remove logo. The point is for then to print themselves. Unless you are just giving the images for social networking purposes and not to print?

Tiffany:  I take mt logo off when they purchase it. I feel like it takes away from the picture and once they buy them they are theirs.

Emily: There is no reason to have your watermark on the final image they get, but keep that watermark on anything that appears on the Internet

Lesley: I don’t put my logo on them. However, I do ask the customer to put “Photos by Lesley Smith/North Wind Photography” in the photo description if they put any on a website – such as here on FB. I’m from a very small area, though, where people are either friends or friends of friends and therefore are very willing to comply with that.

Vickie:  I am in the same boat as Kelly ^^^ It really depends on what my clients have paid for. If they bought what I market as a “social media cd” then the watermark stays on. If they paid the higher price for a full res then no water mark and a release to reproduce prints at their will.

A Vinyard Image:  All of my images are watermarked on fb or on other sites (except my website but people cant right click save as on that) but for the cd that the client gets it doesn’t have my watermark. It is what I shot, and edited, but not a branding thing. But I do put two business cards with the cd, one for them, and one for the friend who asks “who did your photos?” Hope that helps : )

Daniela:  I give two images one for printing without logo and one low Res with logo for web use. They sign a release stating that they can not post any high Res images on the web..

Shanyn:  I give two images . one for print and one for online sharing

Alison: I keep my logo on, I want my name on pictures that are great and get handed out to everyone and that they know I took them and they can come to me. When I got my senior pictures taken I paid but loads of money but for the pictures and they kept their name very small in the corner in all pictures, Just like when you recieve school pictures from school of your kids their logo is in the corner too, so in my opinion I keep my logo in the corner not too big but big enough so you can read it.

Jaeme: I give a file with web-sized images with my logo. A second folder contains printable images

Lenay: I also give two images one to print no logo and one for online sharing smaller with logo – I think I will start having them sign contract stating they understand the use of each image. Good idea!

Melissa:  I put my signature as a ‘copyright’ on every picture so that it comes up on the image info in properties and when I print pictures off I have my signature name printed on the back of each print…

Kelly:  @Alison: Do you think that hurts your business at all? I ask because I personally refuse to purchase 90% of items with “brand” names on them. I understand the “likeness” to school photographers but I am boutique which means they are paying A WHOLE lot more for a DVD with me ($300-$800) than school photographs.

Laura:  I do a set with marking and one without. If you don’t then you are just asking for your high res photo to be posted online somewhere. And you won’t get credit. And if it’s on FB, FB will compress and distort and screw it all up.

Kat: I have been getting mixed opinions from friends and family, but based on this feedback I’ll leave my logo/watermark off the photos (when selling customers prints or high resolution CD’s). Is there a way to have my logo, website, and email address printed on the back of photos? Should I get a stamp and stamp all images that I print for customers?

Sadie: I do the same as quite a few of the more recent posts. I give a set of edited, but un-cropped without logo and a set with logo and let them know that when posting online, they post the ones with the logo. I’ve had a few post w/o logo anyway…so I’m wondering if this is somehow too confusing. I’m planning on changing a lot of my business in January, so this is a great thread for me to think of other ways to do it, thanks!

Kim:  I leave my logo on the pics but very small in the bottom corner. I want me name to get out when people give their pics to friends and family but I keep it small enough that it isn’t very noticeable unless you look for it.

Kim: So far I haven’t had any complaints.

Colin: I made a brush in photoshop “Colin Smith Photography” every print I sell has this in the bottom left hand corner, every album I supply has my name on one of the photographs some where, after all that is my label,(not a watermark), when you buy a pair of denim jeans they will have a label on them

Lavish: Personally, I hate purchasing photos with watermarks on them. I don’t want to have prints in frames around my house with someone else’s name on them. Even if they come with a logo on them, I’d crop it out anyways when I print them. As a photographer, I keep my watermark only on my Internet photos, not the ones I give to clients.

Anji: they are buying ur work, unless its getting put on the internet, then put the logo on there, u still own the copyright of those images unless u have a contract with them over the copyright, this means they have to pay more for these images

Shay: If they are “purchasing” the CD I don’t think you should have your logo on the pictures. My photo sessions include the CD of their images and I don’t put my logo on the pics.

Melissa: On my CD I have 2 folders one labeled prints and one labeled web. The print images do not have my watermark on them, the web ones do. I had been putting my logo on prints that I sold, but I want to get a stamp to put my information on the back instead.

Michelle:  I think photographers should stop giving out CD’s all together and get back to the ole’ days of handing clients Prints. There’s nothing better then being able to give them the finished product, printed on Pro paper and can be displayed proudly in their homes. And it amazes me that so many clients spend all that money to buy the CD and yet oddly enough… never get them printed. Kinda sad really.

Linda:  agree I would never give Cd

Alison:  @kelly broyles, I am just starting out and no i dont charge that much because I feel the need not too, you have your opinion I have mine and I see a couple of people agreed with me, everything that you buy has a logo on it so why can’t pictures, they are my pictures I dont charge a lot for them, no one has had a problem, I didnt do it at first but then I had a client that posted all over her fb and never once said who took them, and she got a lot of feedback off of them but I received no more clients. So for my sake and buisness I will continue to put my name on all photos that I take with my camera. Its not like it’s taking away from the picture at all its small and not noticable. No big deal right?

Lisa: Keep your logo, scaled and give them a copyright release. You can’t keep them from posting online, after you have given them the images. This is your art. No one removes Monet’s signature from a reproduction. The trick is, to place it so that they can reproduce and crop it out without losing any of the primary subject matter.

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