Watermark Tips: Best Placement, Opacity and Size

A good watermark credits your work without distracting from it. A bad one either gets ignored or ruins the photo. These practical tips on placement, opacity, size and colour help you find the balance.

Text or logo?

Use a text watermark, such as your name or website, for a quick credit. Use a logo if you have a recognisable brand. For logos, a PNG with a transparent background gives the cleanest result.

Where to place it

• Corner: the least intrusive option, but also the easiest to crop out.
• Centre: the hardest to remove, but it covers the subject, so keep it subtle.
• Over a detailed area: harder to erase cleanly than a plain background such as sky.

The Watermark tool offers nine positions, so you can try a few quickly.

Opacity, size and colour

• Opacity: around 40 to 60% usually keeps the watermark visible without hiding the picture.
• Size: start small and increase it until it is readable at the size people will actually see the photo.
• Colour: use white on dark images and a dark colour on bright ones. If your photos vary a lot, pick a neutral tone.

Add a watermark in four steps

1. Open the Watermark tool and upload your photo.
2. Choose Text or Image / logo.
3. Set the position, size and opacity.
4. Click Apply and download the result.

Be consistent, and know the limits

Use the same style and position across your work so people start to recognise it. Remember that a watermark discourages copying but cannot fully stop a determined person, so publish web-sized versions and keep your originals safe. To understand the bigger picture, read Why (and How) You Should Watermark Your Photos.

Frequently asked questions