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I’ll be honest and blunt: Crafters and companies that steal other crafter’s photos suck. And unfortunately, this runs rampant in the craft business world.
We, as sellers, need to try to protect our product photos. One way to protect photos is using a watermark. However, not everyone likes to use watermarks.
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3 Reasons to Not Watermark Your Product Photos
- Easy to Remove. In our technology driven world, there are Facebook Groups devoted to removing watermarks, apps to remove watermarks, and tutorials all over the internet on how to remove watermarks.
- Limits Visibility. If you use a watermark on photos while selling on certain marketplaces it can affect your ability to advertise, as well as the visibility in the search results.
- Requires Photo Editing. Adding a watermark to product photos takes additional time and photo editing skills.
3 Alternatives to Watermarking Product Photos
Rather than use a watermark on your product photo, consider including a branded product in your product photo. This could be as simple as putting your business card near the shirt you are photographing or creating a customized background with your business name and logo to take product pictures in front of. Let’s look at a few examples.
Example 1 – Use a Branded Background
Instead of a watermark, invest in a branded background. There are a few ways to accomplish this.
Use a Digital Background
For this, you would take your product photo, remove the background (or use a green screen), and use a photo editing program to digitally add your branded background.
Use a Custom Printed Background
You can create your own branded background by ordering custom fabric with your logo on it. I’ve previously used Spoonflower, but you can order custom fabric online from several vendors.
Then, photograph your products in front of the background.
Example 2 – Use a Business Card or Branded Bag
Another way to protect your product photos without a watermark is to put a business card or branded bag into your product photo.
Example 3 – Using a Branded Product
If you make and sell similar products often, make a product with your logo on it and put it behind your product for sale. For example, in the photo below, I’m selling the coffee mug in front but have my logo on the coffee mug in the back.
Do’s and Don’ts of Watermarking Product Photos
If you’d prefer to watermark your products, read this article: Do’s and Don’ts of Watermarking.
In case you are wondering, many of the mockup examples shown above were made with a generator called Placeit.
Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also enjoys teaching other crafters how to create digital SVG designs, available through the Design with Me series.