How to deter picture theft?

[FUDGEY]

Following on from my "selling pictures" thread I have came up with another idea. Today I put 4 of my pictures up at a cafe which is situated beside riding stables. As the area is very horse orientated I am going to advertise that I will go and take photos of individuals horses, put the best pics on a disc then they can choose which one (or more) they want enlarged & framed. An obvious concern is that they steal the pics before ordering. Does anyone know how to write "copyright" faintly over the photograph? Any other ideas would be welcome to deter theft. Thanks

[big bill]

Hello Fudgey using Photoshop create a new layer and holding down the alt key type in 0169 ( alt+0169) will give you the circle with the copyright C you can then type in your name beside it with the year something like C Fudgey 2009 .
With it being in a new layer you can also fade it down slightly ,hope this helps

[charlieb]

As the pictures will only be seen on a computer screen, you could resize them to 1024x768 or 800x600 which would limit there reproduction potential.

Or even smaller - multiple image submissions e.g. for a magazine cover are often submitted as "contact sheet" with a 10-20 images on a single piece of paper - as it is the composition of the image rather than the quality (which will always be excellent) which matters.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by charlieb

...Or even smaller - multiple image submissions e.g. for a magazine cover are often submitted as "contact sheet" with a 10-20 images on a single piece of paper - as it is the composition of the image rather than the quality (which will always be excellent) which matters.

Personally I'd go for this option.

Since starting my website I've been asked by several people for CDs of some of my images so that they can choose which ones to buy prints of - though obviously that's what the website is intended for!!

Instead I've simply sent a sheet of thumbnails (typically 15 or 24 to an A4 sheet), thus limiting the scope for any unauthorised (and unpaid for ) use of a larger version.

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Avocets, Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[FUDGEY]

Thanks, Bill, Charlie and Jeff once again this site comes up trumphs. A couple of questions that may sound stupid to yous in the know. Firstly Bill once the image is put on the pic is it a simple enough process to reverse? Secondly to Charlie or Jeff, can I put thumbnails onto a disc and if I can will the customer get a good idea on how good the quality is or will they just see a tiny pic and get a rough idea what it would be like enlarged? Sorry for being a pest, but your input is greatly appreciated and I can't thank yous enough.

[charlieb]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

once the image is put on the pic is it a simple enough process to reverse?

Rather than use the images on the disc to create prints from, you'd use the "unadultered" image on your computer (you'd create a copy of the image and add the copyright notice to that).

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

can I put thumbnails onto a disc and if I can will the customer get a good idea on how good the quality is?

Yes, I recommended the size 1024x768 as it's a good compromise between seeing the quality and composition of the picture (and is a common computer monitor size) whilst not being particularly useful for large prints. But as Jeff says, many people will send even smaller thumbnails to make copying the images even more pointless.

I take it it's not really practical to go to the customer with the disc (and then take the disc back with you) or get the customer to come to you (i.e. not leaving them alone with the disc)?

[big bill]

Hello Fudgey before you put the copyright mark onto the photo make a copy of the original and put the copyright mark onto this ,you always keep you Original Photo as that an original and take any copies from that to work on and put your copyright mark onto this

[FUDGEY]

Top advice, much thanks ;-)

[SteveF48]

If you want people to see how excellent your photos are put Proof across them, like wedding photographers and portrait photographers do.
Remember to do this on a copy, because the whole point is it's very difficult to remove.
I also recommend adding copyright to the IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) metadata in all original images, in case you want to sell them to a publisher. Photoshop Elements can do this as it imports files, or the free software Xnview is alternative.
NB JPEG files have an area set aside for metadata, so adding it won't affect your pictures.
The metadata can be removed by unscrupulous thieves, but reputable users will check it before using a picture.