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  • Cyn Gagen on March 12, 2012 at 12:46 pm
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    I haven’t even started watermarking my images (I know I should) but you’re right – I find those really annoying and I’m such a visual person that I can get so distracted by all the text that I don’t really notice the picture anymore. I know that some I’ve spoken to say they do it that way because if you put it down at the bottom as in your example, it’s too easy for someone to crop it out and steal your picture. Thing is, if someone really wants to steal your image even a huge obtrusive watermark won’t stop them – there are ways around it. So, I agree with you – you need to think about what’s going to attract the honest people who just want to pin your work and share it with others the most.

  • Jackie @ Blessings Overflowing on March 12, 2012 at 12:53 pm
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    I agree with you about watermarking photos, and I never did until a site was lifting my entire content and posting it on their blog. I decided that I wanted to start watermarking my pictures so that it would be easier to show that my content was being stolen. I haven’t gone back through all of my old posts to watermark those pictures, but I have been doing it with new content the past few months. I do try to make the text not be the primary focus of my pictures by putting it in the corner.

    • SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen on March 12, 2012 at 9:33 pm
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      I hear you, Jackie! There’s nothing like seeing your stuff lifted by someone else with no attribution. I see photos as an art, and if I were a professional photographer (which I most certainly don’t even pretend to be on my best day), all my images would contain a watermark. I have decided to put one in the bottom right corner, and have done so since I started blogging back in 2008. I find that non-distracting, yet adds just an extra step for someone looking to possibly lift that photo without attribution.

      • Jackie @ Blessings Overflowing on March 14, 2012 at 3:28 pm
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        I agree! I really wish I would have done this when I started blogging. I am not sure how I will go about that process, but pictures of my children on someone else’s site doesn’t sound good to me.

  • Camille on March 12, 2012 at 4:35 pm
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    I actually prefer when the recipe/tutorial/title post is on the picture. That way when I go hunting for it on my Pinterest boards, it’s easy to find. I do watermark mine with the recipe title and my blog name for that reason, although not in the middle of the photo. :-) You have lots of room to put “coconut cake” above your blog name without disturbing the photo. Just a personal preference.

    • Cathy on March 13, 2012 at 1:19 pm
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      I agree… I like seeing what the picture is about, as I can make a decision with out even clicking to know if it interests me. Take this example: http://pinterest.com/pin/119415827589589106/ The picture w/ out words doesn’t really tell you what it is. It’s been one of our more successful pins. I doubt it would have had that much success if it weren’t for the text on the picture!

  • Robin on March 12, 2012 at 6:59 pm
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    This really is not watermarking but I still understand your point however it’s not effective. If someone wanted to, they can just crop out the wording along the bottom. The reason I personally add our name to the photos is when people use Google search for images, they see our site name which does draw people to our site. Otherwise they get images without much context. For Pinterest I think it’s important because the owner often gets “lost in translation” and people need to know where something came from.

  • Kelly Green on March 13, 2012 at 9:20 pm
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    Thanks for posting this, I would have never thought to do that! These are all valid points as well

  • Sheila @ Seasoned Joy on March 28, 2012 at 4:20 pm
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    I do watermark all my images now, after my blog content was stolen and republished elsewhere. Despite it detracting from the images, I make sure & put the watermark somewhere where it can’t be easily cropped out, because I want it to be very clear the source of the images.

  • DM@Mastering Mommy Brain on April 18, 2012 at 11:50 am
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    What a fantastic idea…I am a fairly new blogger, and thought about the possibilities of extending my reach through pinterest, but the comment above about people lifting pictures of their kids is just crazy. Thanks so much for the tip, and I will definitely be doing this going forward…