protecting my work

i would like to protect my work using a watermarking program.  can anyone suggest an inexpensive program the i can use besides using paint shop pro?

Watermarking will not protect your photos at all. All you can really do is disable the right click option on your site. But this only protects you from the average user, the techies know how to get around it easily. Your best solution is in not posting large sized photos. You can try googling for Invisible Watermarking, but as to how well they work is another thing. Really only keeping the images to a smaller size is the only option. And not posting your best work, but work that you think is on the fairly good side.

Joves is correct. I'm not a techie by a long margin and I can grab anything that shows on my screen, right click disabled or not. I've had a couple photos used sans permission and I took it as a compliment. I won't detail here.
If you're worried, learn to use "Tineye" or any other photo lookup tools.......

Joves wrote: Watermarking will not protect your photos at all. All you can really do is disable the right click option on your site. But this only protects you from the average user, the techies know how to get around it easily. Your best solution is in not posting large sized photos. You can try googling for Invisible Watermarking, but as to how well they work is another thing. Really only keeping the images to a smaller size is the only option. And not posting your best work, but work that you think is on the fairly good side.

If you don't post your best stuff on your sites how do you get clients? I know mine don't like the average work.  

As far as programs I use lightroom to edit pictures and they can bulk watermark when you export them.   I put my watermark right across the center of the image so its hard to get rid of.  I put the opacity to about 30% (don't quote me im going off memory seeing as im at work) It has discouraged a lot of people from stealing my work.  They used to be able to just crop the image and the watermark would be gone.  Then I would see them post it on twitter instagram and facebook as their own.  I do agree do not put  the image up as a full sized image but a small image still won't stop them from stealing your work best bet throw that watermark right across the image 

butterflygirl921 wrote:

Joves wrote: Watermarking will not protect your photos at all. All you can really do is disable the right click option on your site. But this only protects you from the average user, the techies know how to get around it easily. Your best solution is in not posting large sized photos. You can try googling for Invisible Watermarking, but as to how well they work is another thing. Really only keeping the images to a smaller size is the only option. And not posting your best work, but work that you think is on the fairly good side.

If you don't post your best stuff on your sites how do you get clients? I know mine don't like the average work.  

I am not worried about clients myself. If I did have them then I would set up private galleries for them to choose what they wanted printed. Then watermarking them makes sense, and putting up the best work does as well. She does not state in regards to where she is posting them. For all I know it is in a forum like here, or on Flikr, in which case a watermark does nothing. So you do not post your absolute best, you save those for your site, which still leaves you unprotected fully, but less so than other places. Then you limit the size, and watermark.

I don't have a web site but do post a lot of photo's on the internet. One of mine showed up in a magazine article out of Utah claiming the homestead was in eastern Colorado. They wouldn't get past a small magazine photo though, I resize everything down to 600 pics generally, on the long side and about all you can get out of them is a 4x6. I was flattered to see my photo in the magazine and wrote and told them so. never heard a word back from them! My understanding about the only way you can protect an image is do it through the government copyright office or if you have the original file. I never took a photo aI worried that much about.

Joves wrote:

butterflygirl921 wrote:

Joves wrote: Watermarking will not protect your photos at all. All you can really do is disable the right click option on your site. But this only protects you from the average user, the techies know how to get around it easily. Your best solution is in not posting large sized photos. You can try googling for Invisible Watermarking, but as to how well they work is another thing. Really only keeping the images to a smaller size is the only option. And not posting your best work, but work that you think is on the fairly good side.

If you don't post your best stuff on your sites how do you get clients? I know mine don't like the average work.  

I am not worried about clients myself. If I did have them then I would set up private galleries for them to choose what they wanted printed. Then watermarking them makes sense, and putting up the best work does as well. She does not state in regards to where she is posting them. For all I know it is in a forum like here, or on Flikr, in which case a watermark does nothing. So you do not post your absolute best, you save those for your site, which still leaves you unprotected fully, but less so than other places. Then you limit the size, and watermark.

Ok I can agree with your arguement and im starting to think i need to rethink my site.  

some1sangel wrote: i would like to protect my work using a watermarking program.  can anyone suggest an inexpensive program the i can use besides using paint shop pro?

What genre are we discussing here? If portraiture, less of a problem. Fine art? Small images with a watermark. Look around and what others are doing that play in the same ballpark as you. (Apologies for the sports metaphor.)

And PSP is perfectly suited for watermarking. You can create macros ("actions") to do the work for you.

There are also freeware programs out there that will add a watermark for you.