Watermarking and branding photos

[basschick]

i like it for free galleries and the tour, but i would reduce it for the member area. it's true that it would make it easier to steal, but it will also increase your member satisfaction.

[BritishTwinks]

Thanks everyone!

Is the photo itself a good size? That's the size we've (almost) decided on for all member area pics.

[Xstr8guy]

I personally think members are pics should be a little bigger than 750 on the long side.

The logo does look good in that location. And you managed to pull off red in a jpeg which I find incredibly difficult. I always get some weird artifacting unless I barely optimize the jpeg or use a gif.

[BritishTwinks]

It took quite a lot of work to get the red not to go weird, but it's ok now as long as the pics are not heavily compressed.

What size do you like for the members area? 750 is the biggest I can fit on my screen. If I make it bigger, the browser resizes it (and makes it look weird) but maybe my screen resolution isn't average.

What size pics do you prefer? What do you guys use in your member areas?

[lottatoys]

ImageMagick is a really cool (powerful) tool, once you get the hang of it..

With watermarks, you can set opacity, location, etc.. of the watermark.. which can be another image, or generated by the program as text (e.g. domain name in black using verdana)

From the command line, you can churn through complete directories..
Resize the pictures based on dimensions- e.g. max size 750px while keeping proportions correct
generate the thumbnail - 80x120 or whatever
watermark the original with another image at a certain opacity
place a border around the entire shot
alter the quality (if jpg)...

Did I mention ... It's free..
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php

[Xstr8guy]

What size do you like for the members area? 750 is the biggest I can fit on my screen. If I make it bigger, the browser resizes it (and makes it look weird) but maybe my screen resolution isn't average.

You can disable that in IE by going to the 'tools' menu and selecting the 'advanced' tab and under 'multimedia' deselect 'allow automatic image resizing'

I guess image size is relative. If you think that most of your members are on dialup and have 14"-15" monitors than 750px is fine. But if your members have 17" of larger monitors with high resolution then 750px is starting to look pretty small on their screens.

[jIgG]

I think the logo is good. Perfect size. I'd even make it bigger if your putting uncensored stuff beyond the members are.

If you make it transparent, say 75% ... it would be less detracting from the photo.


If you really want to watermark your pic, you can always create a custom brush or stamp in photoshop, load your photos and just stamp the logo anywhere on the model like a tattoo

[CanShakeit]

Just an idea here.

But I use photoshop myself. What I do is this. I made a canvas and saved it as a template. I just put different logos on it and saved it as a psd. That way when I open photoshop all I have to do it open the template and slide it over to the side. Then once I have the photo fixed the way I like it I just slide the logo over onto the photo where ever I need it. Plus, that lets me resize the logo how ever I want it for the finished product.