Photojournalist launches watermark app for iPhone photos
Image © John D McHugh.
"I developed the Marksta app because I was tired of people stealing my work on the web," says Marksta's founder, John D McHugh, a photojournalist best known for his work in Afghanistan. "I often work in incredibly dangerous situations to show the world the stark realities of war and revolution. I can't describe how frustrating it is to find my images online without any credit or byline."
Rather than fight what can't be fought, he says, "I've tried to adapt my thinking to the cold hard reality that as soon as I post a photograph online it will be copied, shared and posted around the world. If I want people to know it's mine, whether for payment or just kudos, I see no way other than to write my name on it."
To do so, McHugh enlisted the help of a developer to create an iPhone app that would streamline the process of adding a watermark to images. "Obviously, I can put a watermark in Photoshop on my laptop, but that means I have to have my laptop, I have to be able to download my pictures to my laptop, and I also need a fairly expensive programme and a certain amount of knowledge to do that – my wife can't do that, and a lot of my friends can't do that," he tells BJP. "Why can't I put my copyright information on images on my phone? Some developers have done it already, but you can tell these applications have been created by developers, not photographers."
The idea was to create an application for photographers, he says. "It's not just about protecting the commercial value of their photographs, it's also about protecting their moral rights. What I hope is that when you use the app, you feel it's just easy."
The app allows photographers to add any text they want to their images, with a choice of different fonts, colours and sizes. They can also add borders, without affecting the aspect ratio of the image.
Marksta is available now from the App Store, retailing at £1.49. However, for the first few days, the app will be free, says McHugh.
For more details and to download the app visit Apple's App Store
Image © John D McHugh
Image © John D McHugh
Comments
Thank you for creating this app but how can you make the watermark font size smaller? I just downloaded the app.
In reply to SDVA's question, you can change the font size with the pinch gesture. If you press the "i" icon at the top right, it gives you a concise summary, based on your current context, including how to resize the font.
Well done John,
Instead of joining the throngs online whinging about Instagram's terms of service etc. you've actually done something about it.
Kind regards,
Andrew Quilty
This looks great. I am looking forward to using it. Thank you for being proactive and creating a useful app!
Well done and huge thanks to John D McHugh. Easy to use and very timely App that actually works.
Woohoo, thanks! I've avoided sharing photos for this reason, so very glad this is now available. Well done Marksta.
Now we need something similar for those of us who don't use an I-phone... :-)
Would be great if there was a general PC application doing the same things as well. This could revolutionise Facebook and other social networking sites.
Great stuff, I hope this generates a bit of income for its creator - well deserved.
Pete J
You can't steal images online, you can only copy them, hence the term 'copyright infringement'.
If the images were actually 'stolen', a watermark won't actually be of much use.
Please, oh PLEASE....you or someone out there make this for android?? I love this idea, and would use it in a heartbeat....but I do not use iPhone/Apple.
+1 Andrew Quilty & Stacy — hopefully those who use and appreciate the app will remember to leave feedback in the app store and continue to support your efforts. Namaste!
I just bought the app, and it is great. However, it states in the description that you can resize images. This does not seem to be the case when saving to the camera roll. I'd like to be able to save smaller size(s) to my camera roll to post later to various sites/services. What am I missing?
Pete J, look into Irfanview, GraphicsMagick or ImageMagick, among others, for use on a 'puter.
Sounds great. Will app apply the watermark to all my photos or just the ones I choose for © ? Thanks!!
Sounds great. Will app apply the watermark to all my photos or just the ones I choose for © ? Thanks!!
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