I have photographer friends and I have graphic design friends, and I consider myself as both. That is why I find it very interesting when I visit blogs I notice a difference between the two.
Photographers always put their watermark on their photos, but graphic designers do not do the same.
Is it that people think photos are more likely to get stolen than steal a logo or just photographers and designers have a different thought on work on the internet.
When I was in middle school, I had a geocities webpage. I scanned in my photos and I put little designs I made on the internet. I always put a giant watermark on them (thinking back who would want to take art from a middle schooler). In recent years I stopped doing it. I guess I learned that anything I put on the internet is up for grabs, that is the evil of it. If somebody really wanted to steal that photo, no watermark was going to stop them. With advances in Photoshop simple things like watermarks can be taken away. I suppose I hope that people would not steal, or at least ask for permission to use it. I just hate how those pesky watermarks take away from the design or photograph.
It is a fine line from protecting your work, but showcasing it to the world
Thoughts?
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I think the hope is that sharing work examples online acts as a business card to bring in new customers wanting unique work, isn't it? If you're worried about securing every little thing you do, I don't think you will get far. Don't hoard your work. Exhibit your talent. Look at Google or any open platforms that big companies are rolling out. They're more focused on showing you what they have to offer rather than making sure of getting credit. This however may be more of a graphics perspective, but photographers need to get the message across that they are capable of getting whatever shot you want.
There was a photographer at an SPJ conference a few weeks ago and he brought this up. He said he puts several watermarks on every photo he puts online, including a big copyright symbol on the face of the main subject. His reason: a good editor is smart enough to see past a watermark and decide if they like the photo or not. And if they cant, he'd rather lose that business than have people jacking his work and using it without him getting paid or even acknowledged.