How to use the Watermark Adder
- Add images. Drop one file or a whole batch (up to 60) onto the box, paste with Ctrl+V, or click to browse. Thumbnails appear under the preview; click one to inspect it, or × to remove it.
- Write the text. On the Text tab, type your name, handle or site, then choose a font, color, Text size, Opacity and Rotation. Legibility adds a soft shadow or a thin outline in a contrasting tone so the mark reads on both light and dark areas.
- Place it. Single puts one mark at any of nine positions, inset by the Edge margin. Tiled pattern repeats it across the whole image; adjust Spacing and Stagger rows for a brick layout.
- Add a logo (optional). On the Logo tab, upload a PNG — transparency works best — and set its size, opacity and position independently of the text.
- Save. Pick Save as and quality, then Download this image or Download all (ZIP) for the batch. Your settings, including a small logo, are kept on this device for next time.
What a watermark does and doesn’t protect
A watermark is a speed bump, not a lock. It stops the casual repost: someone screenshots your piece for a mood board or a meme account, and your name travels with it. That alone recovers a lot of lost credit, because most uncredited sharing is careless rather than malicious.
It does not stop a determined person. Generative fill in current photo editors can paint out a small corner signature in seconds. A tiled pattern that crosses the subject takes far more work to remove cleanly, which is why stock agencies use them on previews — and why they also make the picture less pleasant to look at. Every watermark is a trade between protection and the viewer’s enjoyment.
Your copyright doesn’t depend on any of this: in the US and the other countries of the Berne Convention, protection is automatic once the work is created, with no notice required. What a visible name adds is evidence and friction: under US law, a watermark that identifies you can count as copyright management information, and knowingly stripping it to conceal infringement is a separate violation under 17 U.S.C. § 1202.
Size is set relative to each image’s short side, so a whole batch looks consistent no matter the dimensions. At the default 5%, text on a 1080 × 1350 px Instagram portrait is 54 px tall; on a 2000 × 3000 px portfolio image it is 100 px. All drawing happens on a canvas in your browser — the photos never leave your device. The only optional network request is the font file when you pick one of the Google Fonts.
Settings by situation
| Situation | Placement | Size | Opacity | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram or portfolio post | Single, bottom corner | 3–5% | 50–70% | Credit without spoiling the art |
| Work-in-progress share | Single, overlapping the subject’s edge | 4–6% | 60–80% | Harder to crop off |
| Client proof before payment | Tiled, −30° | 4–6% | 25–40% | Usable for review, useless as a final |
| Shop listing or print preview | Tiled, −30°, spacing 2× | 3–4% | 15–25% | Visible on close inspection, calm at a glance |
| Reference sheet for students | Single, top center | 2–3% | 40–60% | Attribution only |
When a single mark sits right in a corner, profile grids and link previews that crop the edges can cut it off. An edge margin of 3–5% gives it some distance from those crops. Placing it so it slightly overlaps the artwork — rather than empty background — also means nobody can crop it out without cropping the art.
Tips from practice
Watermark the export, never the master. Keep the clean full-resolution file in your archive. The batch tool makes it painless to regenerate marked copies when your handle or site changes.
Use your shop or site name, not just ©. A bare © tells a viewer the image is protected but not where to find you. yourname.art or your handle turns every repost into a signpost.
Check the darkest and lightest area. White text at 70% disappears on a pale sky; the soft shadow fixes most cases, and the thin outline handles busy textures.
Shrink and compress after marking. Resize for the platform with the Social Media Image Resizer, then squeeze the files with the Image Compressor for Portfolios. Big uploads get recompressed by the platform anyway, often less kindly.
Re-add metadata if you rely on it. The files saved here contain pixels only — EXIF, IPTC and other embedded fields such as camera data or copyright notes are not copied. Many social platforms strip that data on upload anyway, which is one more reason the visible mark matters.