Why do you watermark your images?
This question recently came up from one of my IntimateXXpressions clients. There are several reasons why photographers watermark their photos. I will go through and identify the reasons why I watermark my photos, hopefully this will help to dispel any issues people might have with watermarks.
Promotion
My watermark serves as a signature. I am proud of the work I do.. especially when I display it online. Think of my watermark as an artists signature. I am proud to have done such great work, and I hope that you are too. Additionally I hope that you are happy to have worked with me, and are proud to display that we have that working relationship. When you display my watermarked photos on your social networks, you don’t need to worry about giving me credit (something that many people forget to do) or promoting me… the photo speaks for itself. It is my hope that your friends will see the photos, and ask about who did them, what your experiences were with me… but maybe they will be so impressed they will simply seek me out and contact me for a session. I keep my prices affordable so that just about anyone can benefit from my work… I’d like to be able to spread the word around.. name recognition is everything in this business.
Identification
Many of my clients or models have many photos in their portfolio’s or online galleries. By having my watermark on my images, it identifies which images are shot with me, and which are not. Imagine someone asking you who shot a certain particular photo… if you’ve worked with many different photographers over the years.. it can be struggle to remember who shot what.. I’ve seen cases where models have had to inquire publicly about an image to see if anyone knew who shot a particular photo. That has to be embarrassing for the model, but also for the photographer… was the session not memorable enough for them to remember? The reality is.. time erases a lot of details from our memories.. by having a small identifying mark… you’ll never have to remember.
Security
With the ease of internet, image theft has become a common thing in this industry. There are “phauxtographers” out there who will grab your image off the internet and claim it as their own. Now this might seem like a relatively harmless behavior, except that they might use that image to make money with, sometimes on questionable websites. Another way these people use stolen images, and this is perhaps more frightening.. is to add those photos to a “portfolio” that they then use to attract models or clients to work with them. In most cases they lack the skill to actually reproduce these images, and at the very least someone is going to be ripped off, however, in some cases models or unwitting clients have actually been harmed by someone who never had any intention of photographing their lured victims. ALWAYS check out your photographer before putting yourself in a compromising situation with him. Ask for and check references. Schedule a meeting with him in a public place before your session. Never go alone for a first session, any photographer who will not allow a chaperon has no regard for your safety, and should be avoided.
I do my best to keep my watermarks small and fairly unobtrusive, but the smaller you make the watermark, the less security it provides as it can easily be edited out of an image. I strive to balance between security and not defacing the beauty of the image.. it is a struggle at times.
Any image that is going to be placed on the internet, be it in a private gallery, or public display for the reasons outlined above, should be watermarked. For the most part photos shot under the MJDigitalArt brand or the IntimateXXpressions brand, the expectation is that these images are going to be shared online, so by default, I watermark them. Unmarked images are available upon request.
I hope this helps you understand a bit more about why I leave my mark on your photos. I am always open to discussion about watermarking, and would love to hear your comments or requests.. especially from my clients.
This is one of a few sets that never made it on to Zivity as they were in my edit queue when I was removed. This set was for the “Every Song Tells a Story” Prize. In this set our lovely Leidi Dartania tells the story of how growing up, our parents have expectations and demands of us.. and are guiding and directing us to a future they want for us… that future may not necessarily be the future we want for ourselves.
At times it can reach an almost oppressive state to where we begin to feel numb.. it is her opinion that this is the message the song “Numb” is trying to convey.
This song as real meaning for her, because she very strongly felt that her family was manipulating her future to a point where she rebelled.. and ended up being what she wanted to be. In the end she erases the labels placed upon her by her family, and writes her own labels..
It is VERY sad that Leidi Dartania lost her opportunity to get this message out. I don’t know that she would have won the prize or not.. probably not.. but now we’ll never know.
Leidi Dartania and I are giving access to this set in it’s entirety for those of you who would like to see it. If you would like to see it in HiResolution you can buy a download for $20… if just 5 of you buy it.. we’ll split the earnings on it. Details on the site.
I’m very excited about this one.. and I couldn’t wait to share it with you! This is from a session with the lovely Michele Renatta. We got some great material for one of two upcoming Art gallery displays I’m putting together.. this one will make a lovely addition to one of those collections…
Here is another one from AJ’s intimate session, and is a great example of the sensuality that AJ expresses. We love working with AJ as she is incredibly beautiful, and sexy.
Part of a recent session by a model who simply goes by “AJ”. We shot an entire session based on intimate and artistic nude “parts”.. This is a part of an entire collection of photos that we will be submitting for a two month Gallery display. I’ll be posting more here in the coming days/weeks.
Here’s one of the more “sensual” photos from yesterdays IntimateXXpressions session.
Upcoming projects…
I am in the process of working on a couple of projects that will hopefully lead to some gallery displays in Portland in the coming months. We are in the process of conceptualizing and shooting some photos that tend a bit toward the Erotic Art spectrum for a specific gallery that specializes in that type of artwork.
I have two gallery contributions that I am currently working on… the first one being a collection of our best works shooting out IntimateXXpressions promo clients.. obviously we won’t be using their photos without their permission, but we already have a few really great entries like this one… 
Both ourselves.. as well as our promo clients are very excited about the idea of using photos that are taken with regular folks for an art display that will be seen by thousands of visitors!!
My other project is going to be a more specific study… that will basically be a more artistic nude type of study that primarily focuses on bodyscapes and parts.. it is my hope that both of these exhibits will be well received and accepted as artwork in this gallery.
I am currently seeking a couple of models for the latter project.. if this sounds like something you would like to do.. please contact me so we can discuss arrangements and schedule a date.
It's definitely upsetting, and many people have posted on your Zivity wall upset about your banning. As soon as I heard about you being deleted, Gwen and Craigman were deleted, too. Zivity has changed so much since I joined. :/
Its all good… I’ve moved on… if Zivity is going to be the kind of presence that wants to help destroy a persons reputation over lies and innuendo, I don’t care to be a part of it anyway.
» Asked by elexastar
What’s Up??
Some folks have been inquiring, so rather than respond to everyone individually it would seem that this would be a great opportunity to write a post and let you all know what’s going on.
I am very much emerging from a deep depression as a result of the personal attacks against me from people I cared very deeply about. I think by far the most painful part of those attacks were simply the fact that they were accusing me of being the person that I fought so hard to warn my models to avoid. I am very much not that person… and the accusations were completely false.. sadly.. if you get enough people to cry wolf.. people listen.
To make matters even worse, not one.. but two of my models threatened legal action against me for using photos that they had signed releases for. My use was legitimate.. and well within my legal rights to use. After consulting an attorney on the matter.. the legality stands.. just a question of whether or not it is worth it to pursue legal action…. since my days of working with models was drawing to a close.. it would seem pointless…
In every cloud there is a silver lining.. and once the distraction of model work was removed.. I looked for where I was headed next. Lori and I redoubled our efforts on our client work. We’ve been busting our tails to get our client site rebuilt. (I’m happy to say its done now) and a part of that process was getting all of the model work off of the client site.. and into its own site. I am happy to say that change is complete.. and the model work now has its own place. Whats more it is a landing place for both my work.. as well as Lori’s work with models. Be sure to check out our new site… pour yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy the best of our work… over 500 images in a continuous slideshow http://mjdigitalart.com
We’ve gone through some marketing tactics, and have found a few things that work.. and thrown out a couple things that weren’t.. and I’m happy to say we’re finding some success… not paying the bills yet… but it is showing promise..
One of the things we have done.. is we’ve started really looking at where we are targeting… I’ve discovered two areas of specialization… one is babies.. particularly Newborns.. we’re pretty good at shooting them.. and we seem to get a fair amount of referral and return business from them. Of course.. this is all on the client side.. and unless you become a client.. you’ll never see that stuff here.
The other direction we’ve gone, and area of specialization I guess you could say.. is intimate photography. Through our glamour work with models we’ve always done things a bit on the racier side.. but I think the key thing is the fact that I have an easy manner in the studio. I am respectful and discreet (in spite of what you may hear from my haters) and I have also been told that I’m pretty good at working with average people.. and making them look amazing. This new product line is called IntimateXXpressions. Feel free to look it up yep.. we have a website for it too. Actually its a branch of the MJDigitalArt website. We’ve already shot our first promo shots for it.. and have a few more people scheduled. It is showing some promise…
As a part of the unveiling of our new product we had an opportunity to shoot with the beautiful and sexy Leigh Fox as our cover model… she is an absolute delight to work with, and she will represent our site well. Here’s a sample.. 
We’re also working on a new project that will have me working with models again soon. I am in the process of putting together a collection of images that will be displayed as a gallery submission. This will be a collection of photos that will fall short of Erotic Art.. but a little more than Glamour Art.. it will highlight my work as MJDigitalArt.. but also at the same time promote IntimateXXpressions (some of the artwork will come from shoots with clients with their permission of course) We’re excited to be getting back into the saddle again…it’s been too long.
You’ve heard me using the word “we”… by we I am referring to Lori and I. Lori shoots under the name of Ellie Photo. She had just started shooting with models when all of this went down. Apparently she has been paying more attention than I thought because she already has some knowledge of the lights.. and she has a great eye for composition. This is working very well for us now because she assists me with my client shoots, and even takes a few shots herself when the situation allows. She has a great eye for what is sensuous and beautiful and together we get different looks and shots which will give the client more variety.
I will try to make sure that I keep this blog updated a bit more with what we’re up to… and post images when and where I can. I’m glad that some of my Zivity fans have continued to follow me even after my departure from Zivity.. it means the world to me..
Thanks so much!!
MichaelJ
