The Importance of Watermarking Your Jewelry Photographs

Jewelry can be so easy to copy; some swindling entrepreneurs attend trade shows just to peep other designers’ works. Then, they decide how they can manufacture the designs with cheaper materials. Ultimately, they try to sell their knock-off pieces at lower prices.

Even worse, many consumers don’t understand the true value of diamonds, precious metals, and skilled craftsmanship, so they can’t comprehend why one skilled designer who sources high-quality materials charges so much more money than a shady pop-up shop that’s making the same style in base metal and glass stones.

The more time I spend on Instagram, the more I realize that many accounts simply steal photos from true jewelry designers’ accounts without giving proper attribution. Overall, I don’t support reposting content on Instagram – not only is reposted content boring, but it also demonstrates a lack of creativity. Even worse, when the original poster isn’t credited, the practice of reposting is downright despicable and ultimately won’t help the reposter’s reputation.

So how can you, as a talented and creative jewelry designer or retailer, ensure that no one steals your photos? Surely, you don’t have time to monitor who’s copying or ripping off your work. Well, you can watermark your photographs and/or make sure that your name or logo is incorporated into every image.

What’s a watermark? It’s an image or text on your photograph that deters other people from copying your photo and claiming it as their own. If you position the watermark effectively, someone will have to do more Photoshop work that it’s worth to remove a watermark.

Not only will a watermark protect your designs and beautiful photographs (though it’s not a foolproof method of protection), it will also build brand awareness. Your current followers and new potential customers who are discovering your website and/or social media accounts will begin to associate your images with your logo and name.

How can you add watermarks to your photos without ruining the integrity of your image?

• Hire your original logo designer to create a watermark version of your logo and ask him or her to teach your how to add the watermark to your images. If you designed your own logo, read how to make a transparent version of it, which you’ll be able to add as a new layer to any image.
• Download a watermarking app like iWatermark for iPhone and iPad or check out this list of the seven best watermark apps for Android.
• If you don’t like the idea of adding a watermark to your images, consider posting photos of your jewelry alongside or in packaging that has your logo or name on it.

Have your images or designs ever been stolen by a shady jewelry-related social media account or even a cheap copy-cat manufacturer? What actions did you take to remedy the situation? Do you currently use watermarks or other identifiers in your images? Please share in the comments below.

Featured photo by John Goode