How to make a logo watermark

A logo watermark is your brand mark placed on your photos, so people see who made the work. You need one image file and a few minutes. This guide covers preparing the logo, choosing its size and position, and choosing between a corner mark and a tiled one, for photographers, sellers and agents.

When the logo is ready, open the watermark generator, choose Logo, upload the file and set the size and position. Nothing is uploaded to a server: the logo and your photos stay in your browser.

Prepare the logo file

The best file is a PNG with a transparent background, cropped close to the artwork. Transparent pixels let the photo show through, and a tight crop means the logo sits exactly where you place it instead of floating away from the corner behind an empty border. An SVG also works and stays sharp at any size. A JPEG works too, but it cannot be transparent, so it appears with its background as a rectangle.

Think about the photos your logo will sit on. A logo that is only dark disappears on a dark picture, and one that is only white disappears on snow or a bright sky. A mid-tone logo, or one with a thin outline in a contrasting colour, reads on both. If your brand has a light version and a dark version, keep both files and run the batch twice when the photos differ.

Make the file big enough. The logo's size is a percentage of the photo's width. On a photo 4000 pixels wide, a logo set to 25 percent is 1000 pixels wide, so a file at least that wide stays sharp. A smaller file is stretched and goes soft.

Add it in six steps

1. Open the watermark generator and add a photo that is typical of your batch.
2. Choose Logo and upload your file. A PNG, SVG or JPEG works.
3. Set the size. Start with the default, 25 percent of the photo's width, and adjust until the logo is easy to recognise without competing with the subject.
4. Choose the position: one of nine places, or drag the logo where you want it. The default margin is 3 percent of the photo's width, so the logo does not touch the edge.
5. Set the opacity. The default is half. Raise it for a clearer mark and lower it for a quieter one.
6. Check the preview on a bright photo and a dark one, then on a portrait and a landscape shot. Save the settings as a preset, then run the batch. Presets are stored on your device, and you can export them to a file.

Corner or tile

A corner mark is quiet. It covers one small area, suits a gallery or a listing, and leaves the picture easy to enjoy. A tiled mark repeats across the whole frame at an angle you choose, so every part of the picture carries your name. It suits client proofs, previews and drafts, where seeing the work matters more than a perfect picture. Tile mode lets you set the gap, the stagger and the angle, and a lower opacity keeps a tiled mark readable without hiding the photo.

A visible watermark shows who made the work and discourages reuse. It is a deterrent, not protection, and nothing here is legal advice.

Placement for photographers, sellers and agents

These are starting points. Adjust them by eye in the preview.

Photographers

For a portfolio or a website, put a logo in a bottom corner at the default margin, with half opacity or lower. It stays quiet enough to keep the picture the hero. For client proofs, use a tiled logo or your name across the frame at an angle, with low opacity, so every part of the picture carries your name. Keep your unmarked originals for delivery.

Sellers

Use a small logo in a corner, away from the product, in the same place on every photo. Check the image rules of the marketplace first. Do not cover labels, text or details that a buyer needs to see.

Agents

Use your logo, or your name and website as text, in a bottom corner away from doors, windows and key features. Use the same mark on every photo in a listing, so the set looks consistent.

Because size is a percentage of the photo's width, a batch of mixed photos gets a mark in the same proportion on each one. That is what keeps a set of listing photos or a gallery looking even.

No logo yet

Text works well on its own. Use your name or your website in Bricolage Grotesque, or in a system sans, serif or mono font, and switch on the outline or the shadow so the words stay readable on busy photos. Pro adds dynamic text, so a mark can carry the file name, the date, the year or a running number.

Beyond photos

The same logo works on the PDF tool and the video tool, so your brand mark stays consistent across everything you publish. To put your name and licensing details inside the file as well, use the copyright metadata tool.