Where do I make a watermark in Lightroom Classic?

Choose Edit > Edit Watermarks on Windows or Lightroom Classic > Edit Watermarks on macOS, in any module. That opens the Watermark Editor, where you pick Text or Graphic.

How do I apply a watermark when I export in Lightroom Classic?

Choose File > Export, select the Watermark box in the Watermarking panel, then choose Simple Copyright Watermark or Custom, which uses a watermark you made in the Watermark Editor.

Can I add a watermark in Lightroom on my phone?

Yes, during Export as or Save copy to device. Adobe lists Include Watermark as a premium feature that needs a paid subscription, and says it applies only to the exported copy.

Why is my Lightroom Classic watermark missing from the exported file?

Adobe's pages point to an out-of-date app and, for the Simple Copyright Watermark, an empty Copyright field. Adobe also lists the Watermark box for only some file formats, so check your export format.

Does Lightroom Classic support OpenType fonts in a watermark?

No. Adobe's Watermark Editor page says OpenType fonts are not supported.

How to add a watermark in Lightroom Classic and Lightroom

In Lightroom Classic, choose Edit > Edit Watermarks (Windows) or Lightroom Classic > Edit Watermarks (macOS), design a text or graphic watermark and save it, then select the Watermark box in the Export dialog. In Lightroom desktop, select Include Watermark on the Export screen.

Published October 30, 2026. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources linked on this page. How we write our guides.

Lightroom watermark settings in Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Classic and Lightroom (desktop) are two different apps with different dialogs, so the steps below are kept apart. In Lightroom Classic the watermark is made in the Watermark Editor and applied when you export. Adobe's Watermark Editor page gives these steps.

In Lightroom Classic (Adobe's page does not name a version; steps checked October 2026):

In any module, choose Edit > Edit Watermarks (Windows) or Lightroom Classic > Edit Watermarks (macOS).
Choose a watermark style: Text or Graphic.
For text, type it under the preview area and set the text options: font, style, alignment, colour and drop shadow.
For a graphic, click Choose in the Image Options pane and pick the PNG or JPEG file.
Set the watermark effects described below.
Click Save to save the settings as a preset and exit the Watermark Editor.

The effects Adobe lists are Opacity (the level of transparency), Size (Proportional, Fit or Fill), Inset (moves the watermark horizontally or vertically in the photo) and Anchor (one of nine anchor points, with a left or right rotation). Fit sizes the watermark across the width of the photo; Fill sizes it to fill the height and width. Adobe gives no numeric range for these settings. For a starting size and strength, see our guide to watermark size.

If you have trouble seeing the watermark on final images, Adobe suggests trying a larger size or a different position. Presets live in the menu at the upper left of the editor, where you can update, rename or delete them. With several photos selected in the Filmstrip, the left and right arrow buttons preview the watermark on each photo.

Apply the watermark on export in Lightroom Classic

Making the watermark does not mark any file by itself. Adobe's export page puts the choice in the Watermarking panel of the Export dialog.

In Lightroom Classic (steps checked October 2026):

Select the photos you want to export and choose File > Export.
In the Watermarking panel, select the Watermark box.
Choose Simple Copyright Watermark, or Custom and a watermark whose name appears in the Watermark pop-up menu.

A simple copyright watermark uses the contents of the Copyright metadata field. To make a custom one, click Edit Watermark. Adobe also points from the editor page to showing a copyright watermark in a slide show, in Print and in web photo galleries; we do not cover those here.

For many photos at once, select them all before you choose File > Export. If you would rather mark a folder of finished files outside Lightroom, our guide to batch watermarking shows the browser route.

Lightroom watermark on the desktop app

In Lightroom (desktop), the watermark is a setting on the Export screen. Adobe's export and share page gives these steps. Adobe does not say which export file types accept a watermark, or which plan you need for this feature in the desktop app.

In Lightroom desktop (steps checked October 2026):

Select a photo (or several), click the Share icon in the upper-right corner and select Custom Settings. Shift + E also opens it.
In the Export screen, select Include Watermark. A default watermark of your name is added to the photo.
Click the settings icon next to it to change the text or graphic options.
Click Done, then Export Photo.

The text options are the text itself, Font, Style (Regular, Bold, Italic or Bold Italic), Rotate, Color (Adobe says to choose between black or white), Use Drop Shadow, Anchor, Size, Opacity and horizontal and vertical offsets.

For a logo, use the Graphic tab and the folders icon to upload a PNG or JPG file. Adobe advises a file with a transparent background for a seamless graphical watermark, and says you cannot upload a watermark larger than 5 MB. Our guide to a transparent PNG logo covers making one.

Lightroom watermark on mobile

Adobe's mobile watermark page says you can add watermarks in Lightroom on mobile during Export as and Save copy to device, and that they apply only to exported copies, so the originals in your library stay unaltered. Adobe's export formats page lists Include Watermark among the premium features that need a paid subscription; it does not name the plan.

The steps differ by platform. On iOS, open the photo in Detail view, select Share, select the Settings icon in the Share Photo panel, then turn on Include Watermark in the Export settings panel and select Customize. On Android, open Detail view, select Share, choose Export as, then enable the Include Watermark toggle and select Customize. Both have Text and Graphic tabs. On iOS Adobe says the text box starts with a copyright symbol followed by your account name, and that the settings you configure are saved and applied to future exports while the toggle is on.

Lightroom watermark fonts

For Lightroom Classic, Adobe says OpenType fonts are not supported in the Watermark Editor. Its page does not explain which fonts that covers, so we suggest testing your font in the preview before you export.

In Lightroom desktop, watermark settings sync to the mobile apps. Adobe says that when a mobile app does not support the selected font, it reverts to the default font on mobile, and it gives no list of supported fonts. For choosing a typeface, see our guide to watermark fonts.

Lightroom watermark not working

Adobe's pages give two documented things to check for a missing Lightroom Classic watermark, plus a file format list that we read as a third. Everything else here is our suggestion.

An old version. Adobe's export page says that if watermarks are not being applied to exported photos, make sure you are using the latest update. In Lightroom Classic, choose Help > Check For Updates.
An empty Copyright field. Adobe says the Simple Copyright Watermark uses the Copyright metadata field, and that if the field is empty, no watermark is applied.
The file format (our reading of Adobe's lists). Adobe lists the Watermark box for JPEG, PSD, PNG, JPEG XL, AVIF and TIFF files. The Image Format menu also offers DNG and Original, which are not on that list. Adobe does not state what happens to those two. If you export as DNG or Original and see no mark, try JPEG or TIFF.

We suggest you also check that the Watermark box is selected and that the menu shows the watermark you made. Adobe's known-issues page has one watermark item: Lightroom Classic 12.5 or lower on macOS Sonoma does not show a shadow watermark in the correct direction. That affects the drop shadow, not whether the mark appears. If your mark is there but hard to see, use a larger size or a different position, as Adobe suggests above.

Another route: mark the finished photos in your browser

If you want the same mark on exported JPEGs without opening Lightroom again, Fix Watermark adds a text or logo watermark in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. Drop in the photos, set the text, size, opacity and position, and download the copies. Free: up to 50 photos per run, and runs are unlimited. No watermark of ours on your photos, ever. Original pixel size; JPEG and WebP are re-encoded at the quality you choose.

Sources

Checked October 30, 2026.

Questions

Where do I make a watermark in Lightroom Classic?: Choose Edit > Edit Watermarks on Windows or Lightroom Classic > Edit Watermarks on macOS, in any module. That opens the Watermark Editor, where you pick Text or Graphic.
How do I apply a watermark when I export in Lightroom Classic?: Choose File > Export, select the Watermark box in the Watermarking panel, then choose Simple Copyright Watermark or Custom, which uses a watermark you made in the Watermark Editor.
Can I add a watermark in Lightroom on my phone?: Yes, during Export as or Save copy to device. Adobe lists Include Watermark as a premium feature that needs a paid subscription, and says it applies only to the exported copy.
Why is my Lightroom Classic watermark missing from the exported file?: Adobe's pages point to an out-of-date app and, for the Simple Copyright Watermark, an empty Copyright field. Adobe also lists the Watermark box for only some file formats, so check your export format.
Does Lightroom Classic support OpenType fonts in a watermark?: No. Adobe's Watermark Editor page says OpenType fonts are not supported.