The Little Guardian
Babadac, Mt. Pulag
Benguet, Philippines
Let Your Photograph Speak Your Name
As photographers and artists, we take pleasure looking at the most striking and compelling photographs. Photographs that convey powerful stories that prick our souls and inspire us in many ways we can imagine. These are photographs made and shot from the heart, photographs that are carefully composed, details and colors blended beautifully, and stories delicately told.
But what bothers me sometimes is that instead of looking at the whole scene in a photograph, or instead of admiring the gorgeous sky and dazzling seascapes of a place you can only imagine exists, and worst, instead of establishing a connection to a portrait of a stranger and deliberately understanding the story behind those eyes, you can’t help yourself but stare back at the photos’ huge watermark. Yes, those gigantic-colorful-shocking watermarks that take at least 10% or more of the entire picture.
As you grow in this craft, you’ll eventually learn the basics of composition and the importance of elements that you include in taking pictures. Normally, if you’re shooting a scene and you find some distracting elements, you tend to remove them out of the frame because they are distracting and they don’t contribute to your story. So why would you do that and later stamp your photo with not-so-eye-friendly watermark, anyway? It’s all the same. It is distracting.
The reason why I wanted to be a photographer is because I wanted to share to others what I see through my very own eyes. To record and capture compelling stories and messages taking place around me, as artistic as possible through the images that I capture. But not really to tell everyone that I am a photographer through my watermark. Why become a photographer in the first place and share photos if the viewers are actually seeing bold texts with distracting colors instead of the photo itself?
We put watermarks on our photos commonly for security. To give us at least something to hold on to in case our photos are stolen, a peace of mind, or at least a warning to others that this photo belongs to you. But as a photographer and if you consider yourself a true artist, you know the drill… respect copyrights and never steal artworks of other artists! Therefore, it is okay to put watermarks on your photos; I do this in every photo I post online and sometimes in prints. But please KNOW that YOU ARE SHARING PHOTOGRAPHS AND NOT WATERMARKS! Create your personal style so that when a viewer sees your photo he’ll be able to identify that it’s your work because of your style, your approach, your identity. Don’t let viewers identify your photographs through your watermarks; let your photograph speak your name.
