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Photographers, what are your opinions and thoughts on watermarking your work?
Personally I find it annoying when someone watermarks their photos, but I have a hard time justifying that annoyance when, not only are they entitled to attempt preventing people from stealing their work, they are entitled to do whatever the hell they want, categorically.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience with the topic, especially if it helps me understand and be more accepting of photographers who watermark or digitally sign their work.
I'm purely a hobby photographer, not a professional one. I care a lot about my pictures and can spend quite some time to get THAT shot of a lighthouse if needed. However it's still just a hobby. If you want me to take a picture of something I'll most likely agree for a beer or two, if you want me to photograph you family celebration I'll decline.
So this being said I don't watermark my pictures. If you really like the lighthouse and want to put it on the wall, please do! If you want to sell it - you're a monster, but I'll never know and care about this.
It depends on what the purpose of that photograph is.
If you are a professional then obviously your final deliverables should not be watermarked, but you do have to protect your intellectual property, so if you are to share them as samples of your work through a digital medium, a watermark is more than justified. If you are going to be showing them in person then you should be showing them without the watermark because you're in control of the situation and don't have to worry about people stealing them, but you want to present the best possible version of that image.
If you aren't a professional, then you probably don't need one at all. Chances are that you want people to share it as widely as possible. Use watermarks if you do not want it shared without attribution.
I only watermark SOME of my stuff. I usually shoot non-wedding events. If I'm delivering the final products, I never watermark. If I'm delivering some proofs or some examples to a potential client, then a very small watermark. Case-by-case is the way to go.