Add Watermark to Photos
Add a text or image watermark to your photos.
By Syed Mubashir Ali · Last updated
Corner mark or tiled wall: picking your defence
A single watermark in a corner is the polite option. It credits you without ruining the photo, which is right for portfolios, social posts and anything where the image itself should be enjoyed. The trade-off is obvious: anyone can crop a corner off in ten seconds. It proves authorship; it doesn't protect the whole frame.
Tiling across the whole image is the protective option. Repeated diagonally at an angle, the text or logo sits on every part of the photo, so removing it means reconstructing the picture itself: far more effort than the photo is worth to a casual thief. It's visually louder, so it suits proof sheets, listings and drafts for client approval more than finished art. Start with 15–25% opacity for tiles; at that level the photo stays fully viewable while the watermark is unmistakable. Neither style stops a determined Photoshop user, but the tile stops nearly everyone else.
Watermark settings, and the verdicts
Every setting here has a job. The preview shows each one live, so treat this as a starting point rather than a rulebook, but most people land near these values.
| Setting | What it does | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Size (% of width) | Scales the watermark relative to the photo | 8–12% for a corner mark; 5–8% per copy for tiling. Small photos need the larger end. |
| Opacity | How see-through the watermark is | 30–50% for corners, 15–25% for tiles. Never below 15% on photos you'll share. |
| Position | Where the single mark sits | Bottom-right, almost always: it's where people look last and crop least. |
| Angle | Rotation of the watermark | 0° for corner marks (readable); 30–45° for tiles (harder to clone out in one stroke). |
| Colour | Text or logo colour | White at ~40% opacity works on nearly everything. Match brand colour only if your photos are a consistent tone. |
| Tiling | Repeats diagonally across the whole image | On for listings, proofs and drafts. Off for portfolios and art. |
How to Use Image Watermark
- 1Upload your photos (JPG, PNG or WebP), one or a whole set. They never leave your device: the watermarking happens on a canvas in your browser.
- 2Choose Text or a Logo. Text is your name, website or © notice in a sans, serif, typewriter or script font, with an optional shadow so it reads on any background; a logo should be a PNG with a transparent background so it sits cleanly on any photo.
- 3Set the size as a percentage of the image width, then dial in the colour, opacity, angle and position. Percentage sizing is the point: 10% reads the same on a 4000-pixel camera photo as on a 600-pixel web image, because the watermark scales with the picture.
- 4Decide the placement. One mark in a corner is subtle and fast; 'Repeat across the whole image' tiles your text or logo diagonally over the entire photo, spaced so the copies never overlap, which makes cropping the watermark out mean cropping the photo itself.
- 5The preview is drawn by the exact same code as the download, so what you see is what you get, pixel for pixel; with several photos, click a file name to preview it. Click 'Apply & Download' when you're happy: one photo downloads on its own, a set comes as a ZIP. Each result keeps its original format at full resolution, and the size is shown under the preview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the watermark permanent?
Yes. It's drawn into the pixels of the downloaded image. There's no metadata trick to strip; anyone removing it has to paint over it.
Will the watermark look the same on big and small photos?
Yes. Its size is set as a percentage of the image width, so it reads the same on a 4000-pixel camera photo as on a small web image.
Can I repeat it across the whole image?
Yes. 'Repeat across the whole image' tiles the text or logo diagonally at the angle you choose, spaced by its real size so the copies never overlap.
What format is the result?
The same as your original (a JPG stays a JPG) at full resolution. The pixel size is shown under the preview.
Can I watermark a whole set of photos at once?
Yes. Drop in as many as you like and the same watermark goes on every one, sized as a share of each photo's width so it looks the same on all of them. Click a file name to preview that photo, then download them all as a ZIP.
Text or logo, which is better?
Text for most people. Your name or site URL is legible at any size and needs no extra file. Use a logo if you already have one with a transparent background; a JPG logo with a white box around it looks worse than clean text.
Can I put a box behind the text?
Yes. Tick 'Box behind the text' and pick its colour: the text sits on a rounded box that keeps it readable on busy or mixed backgrounds. The box takes the same opacity as the text.
What opacity should I use?
30–50% for a corner mark you want noticed but not dominant, and 15–25% for an all-over tile pattern. Below 15% it vanishes on bright photos; above 60% it stops being a watermark and becomes the picture. (Preview it: that's what the live preview is for.)
Will a watermark actually stop people stealing my photo?
It stops most of them, which is the honest answer. A tiled watermark is a genuine deterrent because removing it means rebuilding the image. A small corner mark stops casual reuse and proves authorship, but nothing stops a determined thief with cloning tools. Think deterrent plus proof, not padlock.
Which colour works on any photo?
White at around 40% opacity is the safest universal pick. It reads on dark and mid-tone areas and sits politely on bright ones. Black works the same way in reverse. If your photos are mostly one tone, matching the brand colour is nicer; the preview will tell you immediately when a colour fails.
About Image Watermark
You post a photo you spent an hour editing, and a week later it's on someone else's page with no credit. That sting is exactly what watermarks are for: a quiet signature baked into the pixels, saying this one is yours before anyone can pretend otherwise.
This tool adds text or logo watermarks with real control: size as a percentage of the image width, colour, opacity, angle, position, or a diagonal tile across the whole photo. Everything is drawn in your browser on an HTML canvas, so your photo is never uploaded anywhere. And the preview and the download are drawn by the same code, which means there is no 'it looked fine in the preview' surprise: what you see is exactly what you get, at full resolution, in your original format.
Photographers marking portfolio shots, estate agents listing properties, online sellers photographing products, designers sharing mockups for client approval: all of them watermark for the same reason: once an image is out there, you can't take it back, but you can make sure it carries your name. Skip the watermark on final client deliverables and prints (nobody wants your logo on their wedding photos); use it on anything shared publicly where credit matters.