It’s such a bummer how many people steal other people’s work, isn’t it? Sharing your work online is super fun but comes with the unintended consequence that others have access to your images.
Hey there! I’m Cara and as a photographer, I understand. It’s heartbreaking when you see other people using your work without giving any credit.
Putting a watermark on your images is a great way to avoid this problem. As you might imagine, Photoshop makes it simple to add even complex watermarks to your images.
However, maybe you don’t have access to Photoshop. Or perhaps you just want to quickly watermark a handful of phone images. Are there ways to put a logo on a photo without Photoshop? Of course, there are.
There are plenty of options actually. Take a look and see which option below works best for you.
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Option 1: Lightroom
Lightroom is a powerful photo editing solution also offered by Adobe. Photoshop gives you more control over your watermark, but I usually use Lightroom for watermarks because it’s easier for me.
You can upload your watermark in a PNG or JPEG file or create a text watermark directly in Lightroom. Adjust the opacity and placement how you like it. Then you can save your settings as a preset that you can use when you export images from Lightroom.
You can batch-export dozens of images at once and have the watermark applied to all of them.
However, if you don’t want to use Photoshop to watermark images, chances are Lightroom isn’t the alternative you are looking for.
Let’s look at some more options.
Option 2: Desktop Apps
Chances are, your computer already has a free app that you can use to watermark your photos.
Microsoft Paint
Windows users can use Microsoft Paint to put simple text watermarks on their images. Open your image in Paint. Then select the text tool, choose your font from the dropdown, and pick a size and color.
Click on the image where you want to place your watermark and start typing.
You don’t get a lot of customization options with this method, but it’s fast and works in a pinch.
Image Preview on Mac
The crude method for Mac users comes in Image Preview. Open the image on your computer and click on the Show Markup tool.
Click on the text option, choose your settings, and start typing to add your text-only watermark.
Option 3: Online Apps
There are also several online apps that allow you to watermark photos. Most of them have free options with extra features in the paid versions. Here are a couple of options
Watermarkly
Watermarkly allows you to create and place text watermarks or upload your own logo design. The free version allows you to upload 10 images at once but there will be a “Protected with Watermarkly” watermark added in addition to yours.
For a one-time fee, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans to remove the Watermarkly logo. Plus, you’ll enjoy other features such as a desktop app for watermarking photos and videos and watermark synchronization across devices.
Watermark.ws
Watermark.ws also allows you to create customizable text watermarks within their online software. You can upload your own graphics or logo as well.
The free access is pretty basic though. You can only work on one photo at a time, the font choices are limited, and the photo editing options are extremely limited. For a few dollars a month, you can remove all these restrictions when you upgrade to their subscription plan.
Watermark.ink
Watermark.ink has a super basic website but appears to offer most of the same features as the other online apps. You can upload your own logo, create templates, and work with various fonts for a text watermark.
The paid version is a super cheap subscription for only a couple of dollars per month. It offers a few more advanced options including unlimited watermarking for commercial use.
Option 4: Offline Apps
The downfall of online apps is that you have to upload your image to the Internet. For those worried about privacy, this may not be a good option. Plus, uploading multiple images over a slow Internet connection can take ages.
Downloadable apps are a good option in these cases. Let’s look at a couple.
Visual Watermark
Visual Watermark markets itself as an extremely fast watermarking program, great for watermarking lots of images at once. You can choose automatic positioning for working in batches or quickly switch to manual positioning on individual photos.
As an offline app, there are three one-time purchase options you can choose from depending on your needs.
Watermark-Software
Watermark-Software claims it can watermark 300 photos in a minute. It also allows you to batch process images with Smart Fit for proper placement. You can also create invisible watermarks with EXIF data.
You can download a free trial and then get the paid version for either photo watermarking or video watermarking.
Option 5: Apps for Mobile
What if you want to quickly add watermarks to your phone photos? Computer apps and even web-based solutions might feel clunky. Here are a few easy-to-use smartphone apps that make quick work of it!
iWatermark
iWatermark is a popular app that is available for Android, iPhone, Mac, and Windows. It allows you to create visible text or graphic watermarks as well as an invisible QR code containing all your information, including your website address.
There is both a free and paid version, but the paid version is super cheap and definitely worth the upgrade.
Watermark X
Watermark X is only available for iPhone but is super easy to use. Choose from a ready-made template to quickly create your unique mark. You can also add EXIF and GPS data.
Add Watermark on Photos
Add Watermark on Photos is a great option for Android users. Customizable templates make quick work of creating your unique mark. Plus, the batch processing feature allows you to quickly watermark multiple images at once.
Watermarking Photos without Photoshop
There you have it! Lots of options to add watermarks to photos without Photoshop. I hope you find something on this list that works for you.
Of course, if you are interested in learning how to make watermarks with Photoshop, check out this tutorial!
About Cara Koch