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Protecting Your Intellectual Property With Watermarks

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Savvy Home Pix B.1000860.LLC

 Ann Cummings and Steve Scheer both stopped by my blog post about image theft and asked questions about image watermarking.

I decided to watermark my photos when some of my neighborhood localism posts pictures started turning up in the MLS. Just FYI, last I heard no watermarking Localism pics :)

The program I use is Batch Watermark Creator. On the website it is listed at $29.95 but I think I bought the professional version for $59.95.

I tried a bunch of freebies out prior to purchasing this one and you can try this out free by downloading it. They put a line through the picture until you purchase. You can modify your watermark to run through the entire picture, just be in a corner, be as light or as dark, as big or as small as you want etc etc etc. The beautiful thing is that you can do this in batches!

If you google "watermark," there are a bunch of programs to try for free. Be careful of viruses. I did find that this one was the easiest to use out of all of them that I tried.

If you have watermark programs you already use, share them here!

All the Best,
Renee Burrows
Realtor®

Nevada Realty Solutions - Your Dream, Your Investment, You\'re Home!
8942 Spanish Ridge Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89148
direct: 702-580-1783
fax: 702-995-8237
Renee@ReneeBurrows.com
http://www.ReneeBurrows.com

 

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Thanks,  Renée Burrows 702-580-1783 Broker/Owner, REALTOR®
 

 

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Comments(41)

Sandi Bauman
Chico Homes Real Estate - Chico, CA
Chico CA Realtor
Thanks for the link!
Jul 20, 2007 08:27 AM
Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Coldwell Banker Realty
Renee - Now on my list of things to check into.  The list is getting very long!  Keep on blogging!
Jul 20, 2007 01:17 PM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer

Kim:  I am with you, no stealin!  I can make it even lighter and naked to the eye.

Ryan:  I so look forward from hearing from you.  I hope all is well ;)

Susan:  See my response Kim.  :grin:

Maggie:  Thank you for stopping by and your kind remarks and your watermarking suggestion :wink:

Steve:  Good luck with whatever you decide!

Brad Snyder:  Thanks for stopping by and you make it a great day!

Pam:  You have to put it at an angle, it was one of the middle steps, good luck!

Neetu:  Same here but you can put any text into it and lighten it.  Thanks for your suggestion!

Brad A:  I agree with you about quality.  I wish the MLS would add some noise to the pictures so when they are snagged it is easy to clarify who they belong to.  If only it were a perfect world!

Fran:  LOL!  They are still your intellectual property!

Ann:  You are most definitely welcome and I love it when you stop by.  You are one of AR's stars!

CEG:  You can set up a google alert also!

Jay:  No I haven't, tell me more!

Neal:  LOL!  Good luck!

Thomas:  I know, that site distracted me for the day too!

Dan:  You can make it slightly blurry or make the watermark so light that it is barely visible to the naked eye.  You don't have to put marks that identify you, perhaps just initials or something?!?!?  I am thinking about that!

Katrina:  I am amazed also!

Cyndee:  You are most definitely welcome!

Rey:  I only use the pro version because I use the photos in business.  I think that was the only diff

Sandi:  You are most definitely welcome!

Tony:  Good luck and thanks for stopping by! 

Jul 21, 2007 04:36 AM
Cynthia Tilghman, Realtor® Onslow County NC Home Specialist
Kingsbridge Realty, Inc - Hubert, NC
Hi Renee,
I've not had a problem yet but should probably think about doing this.  Be proactive, right?

Jul 24, 2007 12:14 AM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate
Thanks Renee, I was sent here from a post Neal Bloom did on stealing pictures. I bookmarked and will do this if I see my photos stolen.
Aug 03, 2007 11:52 PM
Tracy Santrock
Santrock Realty Group Inc. , - Cary, NC
Raleigh - Cary Broker

Hi Renee, great post! I've been looking for ideas on how to apply a watermark. 

Aug 22, 2007 12:08 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer

Cynthia:  Exactly!

Missy:  thanks for stopping by!

Tracy:  Good luck and I hope I helped you out! 

Aug 22, 2007 05:34 AM
Ginger Wilcox
Sindeo - San Francisco, CA
Excellent reminder!  Does anyone know if this could be done n Photoshop or Macromedia Fireworks?
Aug 22, 2007 08:03 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer
Ginger:  I havent a clue but hopefully someone will pop in and be able to chime in!
Aug 22, 2007 08:45 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO
Watermarking can be done in Photoshop easily just by adding whatever text you want on top of your image and then changing the opacity of the layer.  But as Renee mentioned in her post the programs you can buy let you do it in batches (total time saver).  Hope that answered your question a little bit.
Aug 22, 2007 09:35 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer
Stephen:  Thanks for answering that question here!
Aug 22, 2007 06:00 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA
Here is an example of one of my staging photos that I watermarked using Photoshop. I had my photos stolen several times and I got sick of dealing with it:living room staged by Moving Mountains Design
Nov 28, 2007 02:10 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer
Michelle:  It is frustrating is it not?  You should put your domain in rather than your brand name.  That way you get more mileage when a thief uses your pics!
Nov 28, 2007 03:17 PM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer

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Dec 16, 2007 12:46 PM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info
ahhh, that's better.  thanks for the great post, and for making it work again!
Dec 16, 2007 05:47 PM
Kim Carpenter
Coldwell Banker - Alton, NH
Lake Winnipesaukee REALTOR -Lake Winnipesaukee Real Estate, NH
This is a great idea.  It is always good to protect yourself.  Especially when we have so much stuff posted out there.  It is difficult to keep track of it all.
Dec 16, 2007 09:07 PM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer
Georgina: Thanks for notifying me that it wasn't working! Kim: Yes it is difficult. I will attack claws out if I find my graphs anywhere else!
Dec 20, 2007 03:13 PM
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Mesa Arizona Realtor
Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC - Mesa, AZ
AzLadyInRed

Renee, this is a good post too. Watermarking, huh? Never thought about it.......but I will now. ;-)

Pepper

May 14, 2008 07:30 PM
Judy Peterson
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox&Roach Realtors - Tredyffrin, PA
"Superb Service, Superb Results"

Renee! Interesting post about watermarking and an affordable utility. It does detract from the photo I think. I usually add my website url to my photos.  Not ideal but it discourages lazy "borrowing". Also, my Nikon D40 invisibily stamps my name ID on every photo when I take the photo, which is a great tool to have.  If there's ever a question, I can "read" the photo and know it's my work.

Jul 31, 2008 06:58 AM
Renée Donohue~Home Photography
Savvy Home Pix - Allegan, MI
Western Michigan Real Estate Photographer

Teri:  I have had photos stolen so I just like a little something to protect myself and prove it is mine!

Judy:Can it still read it even if you upload your photos to third party sites?

Aug 02, 2008 08:00 AM