In this modern era, where plagiarism has spread like wildfire, applying a watermark is essential in order to protect your images from unauthorized use. Moreover, it is a way for you, as a professional or amateur photographer, to get proper credit for your work.
To create a watermark in Photoshop is far from being a complicated process. On the contrary, it is quite easy to do and takes up very little of your time. Adobe’s software places at our disposal multiple ways of adding a watermark to our images and in this particular tutorial we’re going to take a closer look at two of these popular methods.
1. Create a text layer
The first and most basic method involves creating a simple text layer. This is how to do it:
Step 1 – Type your text
Open the image you want to watermark in Photoshop. Select the Text tool and begin typing your text. It can be anything you want, from your name, your company’s name to the address of your personal website.
Step 2 – Adjust the font and the placement
Once you’ve entered the text, you can begin playing around with the font type, size or color. Try various options until you find the right combination. Then decide where you want to position the watermark. The recommended alternative is to put it in a place where it doesn’t obscure your main image, like the lower right corner for instance.
Step 3 – Apply special effects
In case you want to give your watermark an interesting look, you can play around with the Blending Options. You can apply the Bevel & Emboss effect for a more 3D appearance, drop a shadow, outer/inner glow, add a stroke and many more. This is the fun part of the process, because you have the possibility to try out as many looks as you want for your watermark. Just tweak those options until you’re entirely satisfied, there are no restrictions.
Step 4 – Adjust the opacity
If you’re aiming for a discreet watermark as most do, then it’s best to make certain corrections like tweaking the opacity. This will make your text watermark less prominent, allowing the viewer to focus on the photo itself. So lower the opacity level until you finally achieve the aspect you want.
2. Create a watermark brush
The second method you can resort to in order to add copyright to photo involves using the Brush tool. This one will actually simplify your work, as you won’t have to follow the previous steps every time you wish to watermark your photos.
Step 1 – Create a new document
To open a new document go to File > New. A new window will pop up with a couple of options you need to pay attention to.
Give it a descriptive name like Watermark for instance. Now the most important thing is to ensure your fresh document has a transparent background, so select Transparent in the Background Contents section of the window. Choose the size you want, let’s say 800 x 600 pixels, and hit the OK button.
Step 2 – Enter your text
This step is pretty self-explanatory. All you have to do is select the Type tool and enter the text you wish to use a watermark.
Step 3 – Set it up as you want
In this step you can get creative and customize your Photoshop watermark to your liking. Choose the font, size or color according to your taste. Apply special effects like Bevel & Emboss, drop a shadow or two, add inner or outer glow, the possibilities are numerous.
Step 4 – Trim the image
Once you’ve established the final format of your text, you need to reduce the image to its size. To do this go to Image > Trim and then check Transparent Pixels.
Step 5 – Turn it into a brush
In order to turn our image into a brush, we need to go to Edit > Define Brush Preset. Set a relevant name for your newly-created brush and press OK.
Step 6 – Select the new brush
Open in Photoshop the picture you wish to watermark and create a new layer by clicking on the “new layer” icon located in the lower right panel. Now select the Brush tool and go to the Brush Preset menu bar. Scroll to the bottom where you’ll be able to find the brush you recently created.
Step 7 – Apply the watermark to the image
Before adding the watermark, make some final adjustments. Set the color of your brush with the aid of the color picker and adjust the brush opacity to your liking. Now, once everything is set in order, you can apply it to the image.