I am curious how photographers identify their work as their own before posting on Web sites (your professional Web site, flickr, facebook, picasa, zenfolio, photosig, etc, etc)? Some people apply a watermark on the image itself. Do others add it to the exif data? Do you batch process in PS/PSE,/Lightroom, other software? Other ways of marking the image as your image? For myself, I only upload low-res images but some still end up on google-image-subject searches with no credit or exif data. Thanks. Eric

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From karin2007/Karin (19,610) on March 10, 2012 8:31:42 AM CST Adding your name into the Exif data is certainly necessary when using your image on Websites or if you sell your work professionally. Having your copyright in the EXIF data is unfortunately no guarantee that your image won't be used illegally by somebody else, as it could be removed very easily. I witnessed though that some people who do copyright infringements totally forget about the EXIF data altogether, and then it is very easy for the photographer to proof the theft - I do add my name into the EXIF data when I think it is necessary - but I always keep the original RAW file, IMO thats the best proof that you are the owner of the image. Reply

From farradhim/Jacline (43,542) on March 10, 2012 11:12:11 AM CST everything I shot so far I have on CDs, DVDs, and lately, on external HD, so I do too have proof of ownership but as I do not earn my life with my photos, I only ask to give me credit when using them (when not sold) , as in local newpaper and such, and they do. Jacline Reply

From swanda/John (1,023) on March 10, 2012 4:56:29 PM CST I have my Nikon software set to add my name and copyright data on the Exif of every file as it is downloaded from the memory card or over the tether. Then I don't have to worry about adding it later if it is to be put on the web or delivered to a client. I know the Exif can be stripped and the image stolen anyway, but what is the downside of always having it on files? Reply

From ericnla/Eric (1,496) on March 10, 2012 9:06:49 PM CST Thanks for the replies on this, everyone. John: I use Faststone to download from memory card and as an organizer, and PSElements to edit. Cameras are Sony. At a minimum and ideally, I will find a way to start automatically adding copyright data to Exif as I download from memory card. Thanks again. Reply

From steveheap/Steven (173) on March 13, 2012 5:36:43 PM CDT I have my name, copyright status, year of copyright in the "metadata" section of Lightroom. When you import images, you can select "Apply during import" and select this metadata. That way, all my images already have the information stored with them from the start. When you later export JPEGs, it gets written into the file. As previous posters have remarked, the copyright is yours from the moment you click the button. To make this really clear, you can send your images to the Copyright office (in the USA) but for many people that is overkill. Steve Reply

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