Photo Watermark
Add your name, website or a copyright line to a photo. Place it in a corner or tile it across the whole image.
Drop an image here or click to choose
JPG, PNG or WebP · nothing is uploaded
What a watermark actually protects
A watermark deters casual reuse and identifies the source — it does not prevent theft. Anyone determined enough can crop a corner mark or clone it out, and modern tools make that easy. What a watermark reliably does is stop an image being passed off as someone else's by accident, keep your name attached as it spreads, and signal that the photographer is paying attention. For the small share of uses where that matters, a tiled watermark across the middle is far harder to remove than a discreet corner one — at the cost of the image looking worse.
Corner or tiled?
| Corner | Tiled | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like | A discreet signature | A proof or preview copy |
| Removal difficulty | Easy — crop it | Hard — covers the subject |
| Best for | Portfolio, social posts | Client proofs, stock previews |
| Recommended opacity | 35–55% | 15–30% |
The usual approach is to use both, at different stages: a corner mark on anything you are happy to have shared, and a tiled mark on proofs sent to a client before payment.
Copyright, briefly
In every country signed up to the Berne Convention — which is nearly all of them — you own the copyright in a photograph from the moment you take it. No watermark, notice or registration is required for the right to exist.
What a © notice does is remove the "I didn't know it was protected" defence, and in the United States it can matter for damages. US registration with the Copyright Office, done before an infringement or within three months of publication, is what unlocks statutory damages and legal costs — and that, rather than the watermark, is what gives a claim teeth.
A watermark's practical value is attribution: when an image is reposted without credit, your name travels with it.
How to use the Photo Watermark
- Drop in your image.
- Type your name, website or copyright line.
- Choose a corner for something subtle, or tiled for something hard to remove.
- Adjust size, opacity and rotation, then download.
Frequently asked questions
Does a watermark stop people stealing my photos?
It deters casual reuse and keeps your name attached, but a determined person can crop or edit it out. Tiled watermarks across the subject are much harder to remove than corner ones.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The watermark is drawn on a canvas in your browser and the result downloads directly. Your image never leaves your device.
What opacity should I use?
Around 40–50% for a corner mark — visible but not distracting. For tiled watermarks, 15–30% is enough, since repetition does the work.
Can I use a logo image instead of text?
Not in this tool, which handles text only. For a logo watermark you need an editor that can composite one image over another.
Does watermarking reduce quality?
The output is re-encoded as JPEG at high quality, so the loss is negligible. Very large images are capped at 1400 pixels wide, which is ample for online use.
Related tools
Last reviewed September 4, 2026. Results are estimates for general information only.