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| lianna |
Watermark and signature HELP please..So I've been messing around a bit with watermarks but am having a slight issue deciding on a name to use. I just wonder what you guys use as a mark or signature and if it is something besides your name, how did you come up with it and do you have any suggestions for me? I want something unique for me, something all my own. I am not good at all with the watermarking yet, would love tips there too. I know nothing about copyrighting, either.Thank you!! |
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| creators |
Hi Lianna, I use either my name or Occasional Lapses. It was originally the name of a band I was going to form, but as that didn't happen it seemed somewhat, ironically, appropriate for my creative work. I have to say that it doesn't bespeak a high power business approach, but then as the whole Saatchi & Saatchi approach is a crock, I guess it'll do for me. You have, as do we all, intellectual and artistic rights over your work whether you mark that work or not. However, in a world that includes the internet, putting a copyright notice on your work makes sense. The keyboard shortcut on windows (Don't know about MACs) computers for the copyright mark is = Hold down ALT and type 0169 and release ALT, which will produce a handy © in whatever package you are using. To produce a watermark effect reduce the opacity of the typing to somewhere around 40 - 60%. If you would like a walk through I would be happy to produce one. Any questions, just shout, someone around these here parts will usually come up with something. 
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| hil26 |
With a name like Lianna, I'd just use that - never used watermarks so can'ty help on that score | ||||
| Venom |
Hi Lianna,
With regards to a name is there anything that has a special meaning to you? where do you want your photography to go? i.e selling pictures or just a hobby. If your thinking of earning some money from it maybe more of a business name. Just a thought! Mike |
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| lianna |
i do hope to sell my work in the future, i am at a loss for a business name. Nature has a special meaning to me, the outdoors, any thoughts? |
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| creators |
This is probably a crap idea, but what about, 'Naturally' Photography by Lianna? | ||||
| Venom |
Or
Natures Best, Natures Own |
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| digitalkiwi |
Pretty good Venom,
My company is called Digital Kiwi Photography, Digital because we use digital cameras and Kiwi because we are based in New Zealand, also kiwi because we try to highlight the plight of the Kiwi bird as its a national icon very low numbers, and becuase of this 20% of our profits go towards a conservation fund to help a number of different animals including the kiwi bird. Thats was our thought process anyway we have several variations Digital Kiwi Photographs is for the portraits, DK Weddings is for the Wedding Photography. |
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| lianna |
I have chosen Bird Song Photography. I thought about Bird Song Nature Photography but I may want to do weddings and portraits in the future, hopefully people won't think I only take bird photos. I chose it because birds are my favorite subject to photograph and also because Birdsong is one of my favorite songs by the Grateful Dead.
I look forward to hearing what you think, good or bad. lia |
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| Evolution104 |
What a lovely name! And versatile from a business standpoint.
Perfect! |
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| lianna |
Thank you!! 
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| Evolution104 |
You're welcome 
I just did a google search on "Bird Song Photography" and found a business in British Columbia with a nearly identical name: BIRD'S SONG PHOTOGRAPHY 4397 GROUSE RD PRINCE GEORGE, BC PHONE: 964-0948 You list your location as Pacific Northwest, so I don't know if that means US or Canada. Maybe this is a concern if you intend to register a business in Canada? If your business will be local, it might not be an issue. But if you want a web site, you may want to consider locking in the name as soon as possible. |
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| Venom |
Nice name Lianna, definitely worth doing what Evo as said. |
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| lianna |
I am located in Washington State and I will probably sound like a tard asking this here, but how do you register a business and also, how do I lock in the name? I have never had my own website, so this is all very new to me. One more thing, when marking my photos, do you think it is best to use Bird Song Photography © 2007 or just Bird Song or ... ?? And a small mark in the corner or a larger mark in the center or maybe several smaller marks? |
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| creators |
I'm personally not much in favour of large and intrusive marks and copyright notices. It's down to personal choice, though if I had a show stopper like Tarzans latest from Vietnam I might make an exception, but I generally prefer something tasteful in the lower corners. | ||||
| lianna |
Thank you, that is my preference as well. | ||||
| Simonzphotoz |
I might be a cynic and the only one who noticed, but bird song photography although nice, abbreviates to BS Photography, which isn't so  !!
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| Simonzphotoz |
and on a slightly different though similar topic, i'm experimenting with a new copyright on my work, bigger but bolder, though does detract from the image a bit, but i'm always worried that people will pinch them, now at least i don't worry. have a looksy | ||||
| lianna |
laughs! Well, it sure does, doesn't it! I think I like it anyways.
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| Evolution104 |
Typically in the US, registering a business is a legal endeavour. I've never done this, but I believe the first step is to obtain a DBA ("Doing Business As"). I'm sure part of this is for tax reasons, as well as protecting your business name and getting credit at banks. Registering a domain name requires an on-going fee, which varies widely depending on who does it for you and the length of time. I think that in the US, a 2 year registration is the current maximum offered. I pay $20 a year to register my domain. Some companies offer the service for much less (perhaps as little as $5), but you want to consider the level of service and track record too, including possible additional fees if your web site is registered by a different company than the one which hosts your web site. Once you have a domain name registered, then you also need a web host. I use HostRocket.com, but there are literally thousands of hosts and resellers out there - some unreliable and some shady. Ask around and do your homework. Prices, services, reliability and support vary widely. Then don't forget the web site - if you are not able to create your own, you may need to hire someone to do that for you. You certainly don't need a DBA to create a web site! And you don't need a web site to obtain a domain name (i.e. BirdSongPhotography.com). Once you register your domain name, and keep paying for it, then it's yours and no one else can register it. If you skip renewing your domain, it goes on the open market and anyone can lease it, meaning if you skip a renewal payment, you could lose the name, possibly forever. Even if you have BirdSongPhotography.com, someone could register BirdSongPhotography.net, BirdSongPhotography.org, BirdSongPhotography.biz, BirdSongPhotography.info, etc. If you are intent on having a business, get the .com version. And usually, most businesses don't spend the money to protect all the versions unless they are a big company. Consider the mess if Microsoft only registered Microsoft.com and spammers registered the others. Ask your friends and maybe your internet service provider for any recommendations regarding domain name registration and web hosting. There may be a good local company you can work with. |
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| creators |
The question to ask yourself is, 'Pinch them and do what?' A web ready image in JPEG is of such low resolution, quality and size it's useless for anything other than (at a stretch) a desktop wallpaper or perhaps a piece of school work. If your images are of such superb a quality that they'll do that, a huge and disfiguring copyright notice is certainly a deterrent, but why bother, no one is making any money from it. In a world that is drowning in images, and web sites, without an awful lot of leg work on the ground nothing is going to happen in any business sense with low res web images. The worry that someone might pinch it is actually rather irrational and, unfortunately, most people who see such a huge copyright notice with any business sense will know that. It says something about you that you might want to avoid. |
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| Simonzphotoz |
yeah, i see your point, it was just an experiment really, might rectify it today. | ||||