Lately a lot of people have been asking me on Instagram how to add watermarks on their
images. There are probably a million ways to do this but I find using Lightroom the easiest as it works with both text and graphic styled watermarks. Here’s a quick and easy method to add watermarks in Lightroom.
To enter the Watermark Editor, go to Lightroom > Edit Watermarks on a Mac or Edit > Edit Watermarks on a PC.
Text Styled Watermark
Let’s begin by looking at the Text Styled Watermark which is the default option when entering the editor. Text Styled watermark is often used for adding copyright information or contact information to your image. I use this option to add my name and website (a little more subtly than in the example below).
Enter the desired text in the white box under your image and then edit Font, Style and Color until you’re satisfied. Normally I decrease the opacity to between 50 and 75% as I find 100% to be a bit too attention-grabbing for me..
GRAPHIC STYLE WATERMARK
Graphic watermarks are mostly used to display a logo on an image. Be aware that you can only use either PNG or JPG files and the recommended file format for graphic watermarks is PNG because of it’s possibility to have a transparent background.
Choose an image by selecting the Graphic option and locating the desired logo/graphic stored on your computer. Adjust the opacity and size to what looks best.
You may have noticed that it’s not possible to drag the logo around the image and place it wherever you want. To change its placement, choose the desired position by selecting one of the circles next to the Anchor option and fine adjust the placement by modifying the Vertical and Horizontal Inset.
Save Watermarks
Last step before we’re done is to save the watermark. Simply press the save button and asmall box will appear on your screen. Name the new watermark whatever you please but preferably something that describes the watermark so you’ll know what you’re selecting on a later occasion. A simple yet effective method to name watermarks is by mentioning color and positioning. As an example, here are two watermarks I use “CHPhoto_White_Low” and “CHPhoto_Black_Low”.
Since some images are bright and others dark, it may be smart to create both a black and a white version of the watermark so your watermark is visible no matter the image. It’s always possible to go back and change a watermark in the Watermark Editor. Also you can switch between the watermarks you wish to use when exporting an image.
Add the Watermark
Now that we have created a watermark, we can add it to our image. This is done when exporting an image. I find the easiest method to be the following:
-
Right click your image
-
Select export -> export
-
Scroll down to Watermarking
-
Check the box and locate the watermark you wish to use
-
Press Export
The image has now been saved to the folder which you selected in the first tab of the Export Menu.
As I mentioned in the introduction, there are probably a million other ways of adding watermarks but this is what I use. If you already know how to add a watermark, feel free to share your method in the comment section below and maybe I’ll learn something new!
