Copyright and Signature on photos

[sjarrett]

I already have my own site (http://www.suejarrett.com) and a sales site for weddings, sports, events (http://www.printroom.com/pro/suejarrett). Very happy with printroom.com and still tweaking my personal site.

I want to set up another sales site for my wildlife photos. Until now I have been ordering prints, signing, mounting, matting and sometimes framing and selling at local art shows,etc. I want to sell more.

My question is:

If the prints sell directly to the client, how do I "sign" the prints? I see photographers website portfolios with the copyright notice and name and at first thought this was just to protect from right-click downloading. But now I also think it means the finished print has the photograper's "signature" printed on it. How do I do this?

Thans!

[Mitchell]

Well you could get A pen tablet that you conect to your USB Port and you can sign your pictures on a photo program like photoshop.. There about $60 to 1000 dollars

if thats what u mean?

[bob_r]

If you're using Photoshop, you can add text with the the type tool (The Capital T on the toolbar).

Bob R

Edited to add a sample pic - I added "Bob's Photography" with the type tool.

BTW, I haven't been around on the forum lately because I've been too busy trying to buy my granddaughter a horse.
This was one that we looked at in KY, but didn't buy. We finally found one and it's supposed to be delivered Friday.
Maybe I'll get a little time for photography after this weekend. We'll have to see how the new horse adjusts to the herd.

[gldiana]

if you're looking for a real signature there's no way other than getting the photo yourself. When clients request signed photos I will have the lab ship them to me and I'll ship to them after signing. Usually I place the signature on the mat (I mat my own photos so that's a little extra revenue). Any other case I'll have the lab ship to the client directly (drop-ship). I wouldn't type-write on the photo or add a copyright notice for something that is going to be framed.

[sjarrett]

Thanks for the replies!

Bob R, I know how to put in the PS type, I just didn't know if there was something "better."

Mitchell, the pen idea is quite interesting. Then my signature would look more like my signature.

Gldiana, I prefer your idea, but a lot of my buyers like to choose their own mat colors and frames to match their decor. When I mat I go with a black double mat with a thin white line around the image to set it off. If I sign the mat and the client doesn't like my mat choice and goes for another one, then my signature is gone. Painters sign their paintings, not the mat around them, so that is why I like to do that.

I'm also hoping to start selling nationally and direct sales from a site would make it alot easier for my clients and me.

[gldiana]

I carry a selection of mats and ask my clients what color they would like their mat so that I can provide their choice.

[Edd]

This is just a thought off the top of my head but could you not sign a piece a paper and scan it in then add it in PS as the top layer ?????

Not tried it so don't know if it would work.

Ed

[gldiana]

If you're selling photo as art, I frankly discourage you from digitally signing the photo, it just looks tacky and diminishes the value of the print, and people don't want to pay for a photocopied autograph. I'm not a big fan of signing the photo itself because with time the ink can ruin the print. Photos are usually signed on the back, or on their mat.

[hw771230]

I agree with Luca here. I sign my prints on the back, unless requested to do different. Then it's usually the mat (and I'll sign the back of the print anyway), and once I used a paint pen to sign the print itself on request of the person who purchased the print. I typically do not sign the front of the print. I'll never sell a print with a PS signature b/c it is really tacky IMO! If someone wants that they'll download my really low quality jpgs from the web and print it!

Caleb

[Edd]

When you guys refer to "the mat" which part of the picture are you talking about????

Is it what I call "the mount", thats the piece of card that goes between the picture and the frame.

Ed

[Mitchell]

The "MATTE" is somthing that goes around the Picrues, it can be 3 inches bigger or however big you want it Then that goes into the frame..

[gldiana]

Is it what I call "the mount", thats the piece of card that goes between the picture and the frame.

Yes Ed, it is.

[sjarrett]

So you sign the back of your photo -- then it is mounted, matted and framed by the client -- later who knows who took it? Signing the back doesn't sound like a good idea to me, and I have never seen a photographer or painter do that. That's my point. Artists/painters sign their work, so why not photographers.

As far as having a selection of mats to offer my clients, that's a good idea if I want to spend a whole lot of money on stuff to just have sitting around that may never get used/purchased. If a client wants to buy directly from me, I have suggested mats and frames, and often times mat and frame my photos for display and sale at shows.

I don't like the digital signature either. In artwork, a reproduced print sells for more if it is "handsigned" by the artist next to the printed signature. I have bought a reproduction before and asked the artist to sign it again.

I just wanted to make it easier for my customer to find my work on line and order it, and easier (and less expensive) for me to sell the work straight on to the client. As it is now, I order the print, sign it and give to the client. If my client lives elsewhere I am paying twice for shipping and making the client wait longer to receive the photo. I can always have my copyright printed on the back, but that isn't signing it.

[slowmotion]

I know this is an old discussion that has not been used in a few years, but I found the information relevant to something I had run into myself. When I have prints up on the web I keep the size small so if people steal the images they are very low quality and can not be used for anything. I am getting ready to sell some prints out of a local gallery. Thankfully I came across this discussion, because god knows I would never have signed these wanting to keep them pristine. I even checked some trademark litigation laws with the copyright of my signature to figure out more about what all of my signature rights intail. But, now I am thinking I will need to sign them. I looked into some archive inks, and I think that is what I am going to use. I am just going to sign in the bottom corner of the image. The more research I have done the more I have learned it is actually pretty common for a photographer to sign there works, unless say they are for postcards or invitations.