Can I change the watermark on images I already uploaded?

Since watermarks are baked into the preview images during upload for better security, you cannot change them with a single click. You will need to re-upload the images using the Replace feature, which will update the previews while keeping all your metadata, prices, and gallery settings intact.

How can I make my watermark stronger against AI removal tool?

Removal tools work by “imagining” missing parts of an image. To make their work more difficult or ineffective, we recommend to make sure a large and important part of the image is fully hidden by the watermark (for example a rectangle watermark with a fully opaque background).

Why is the watermark visible on my high-resolution downloads?

PhotoDeck never applies watermarks to your original files. If you see one on a delivered file, it is likely because the watermark was already embedded in the image before it was uploaded (for example, via a Lightroom export setting). You should check your upload workflow to ensure you are sending clean files to PhotoDeck.

Why does my watermark look cut off in my portfolio gallery?

Some gallery styles use automatic cropping to make images fill the screen for a full-bleed effect. If your watermark is too close to the edge, it might get clipped. You can fix this by adjusting the cropping settings in your gallery style or by moving the watermark closer to the center of the image.

Customizing and changing watermarks

What is this for?

Displaying images online always comes with a bit of a dilemma: you want people to properly see and appreciate the content, but you also need to protect your intellectual property or your income. While simple tricks like disabling right-clicks can slow some people down, they don’t stop someone from taking a quick screenshot. Visible, permanent watermarks are the only real way to protect your images from unauthorized use.

A robust deterrent

With PhotoDeck, watermarks aren’t just a layer on top of your website. Instead, they are embedded directly into the preview images and videos during the upload process. This makes the protection permanent and impossible to remove through browser tools or by digging into the site’s code. PhotoDeck gives you settings like opacity, sizing and tiling that let you control the balance between legibility and protection, against manual editing or AI-based removal tools.

For an event photographer who might upload hundreds of shots at once, this means every single preview is automatically secured the moment it hits the gallery.

If you are managing a large library for a marketing team, this ensures that internal drafts or unreleased media can be safely shared with stakeholders without the risk of them being used prematurely in a live campaign.

A branding opportunity

A watermark is more than a security guard: it’s your digital signature. By using your logo, you can turn your protection into a branding tool. Every time an image is shared or seen, your visual identity stays front and center. And because you can set a default watermark for your account, you don’t have to remember to apply it every time you upload.

Imagine a commercial photographer who needs a subtle, professional logo in the images’ corner for their portfolio, but a bold, centered mark for client proofing galleries. PhotoDeck lets you keep multiple watermark templates ready to go, so you can pick the right level of protection for every project.

Seamless delivery for a professional experience

One of the biggest pain points with watermarking is the fear of accidentally sending a marked file to a client or a print lab. PhotoDeck solves this by only applying the watermark to the website previews. Your original, high-resolution files remain untouched and clean. When a client downloads a high-res file or buys a print, they get the unmarked version automatically.

This automated workflow means you spend less time managing files. You can confidently offer instant downloads or direct lab fulfillment, knowing that your clients will always receive the professional, high-quality results they expect, while your online presence remains fully protected.

Watermark combining a wide, subtle text with legible copyright information

A watermark is the only real protection against image theft and screen captures.

Watermarks and their settings are accessible via the Upload window. You can use multiple watermarks, and choose for each upload what watermark should be applied.

Watermarks are embedded directly into the previews

To offer a robust protection, watermarks are embedded directly into the preview images (or videos) displayed on your website. The watermark is therefore applied upon initial upload.

Watermarks don’t know about galleries: if an image or video is present in multiple galleries, the same watermark will be visible in all the galleries.

Watermarks are not applied to delivered files or files sent to labs for printing

Watermarks are only applied to the previews on your website, and therefore no watermark should be visible on the images delivered to your clients or sent to labs for printing. The only exception is the 1-click low-res download, which offers for download a preview image.

If you see a watermark in images delivered to clients or sent to a lab, it is most likely that you accidentally uploaded an image with an embedded watermark (for example by applying a watermark in Lightroom as part of the upload process). You can check the uploaded file by downloading it from your account.

Changing the default watermark

The default watermark is used when importing images through FTP, Lightroom and Photo Mechanics. It is preselected when opening the upload window.

To change the default watermark, open the watermark in the image upload window, and click on the Use as default watermark checkbox.

Customizing your watermark

You can either use the tools provided by PhotoDeck to create and customize a text watermark, or for best branding and flexibility (depending on your subscription level), use your own watermark image.

If you use your own watermark image, for best results use a PNG format with transparent background, and upload it in a large size (500 to 2000 pixels wide depending on how wide the watermark will be displayed). The watermark image must be under 3 Mpixels and its file size under 1 Mo, otherwise the import with message “invalid file format”.

My watermark appears cropped (or doesn’t appear) on my images!

The gallery display styles include an option to automatically crop preview images so that they appear bigger on the screen, especially for the Portfolio styles (for example for a full-bleed effect).

Depending on the purpose of the gallery in question, you can either reduce the amount of cropping allowed (via the corresponding gallery style settings) and keep the watermark (recommended for client and ecommerce galleries), or not use a watermark (recommended for Portfolio galleries). Alternatively, you can also center your watermark on the image.

My watermark does not appear on all images!

Please make sure your watermark of choice is set as “watermark by default” in its settings. This way, you won’t have to remember selecting it each time you upload new images, or when uploading from Lightroom, for example.

Applying a new/different watermark to previously uploaded images

Changing watermark on existing images requires the images to be re-uploaded, using the Replace feature to keep their metadata, pricing, etc…

If your files have unique file names and they have not changed, you can easily re-upload many files at once using the Replace option in the upload window.
If the images where uploaded via Lightroom’s PhotoDeck publish plugin, set the new watermark as “default watermark” in PhotoDeck, open the plugin’s settings to re-upload also the images files on update (don’t forget to disable it when you’re done), then republish the files from Lightroom.

Please note that when a file is replaced, a version number is added to its file name.

Right-click protection of images

Right-clicking on images is disabled in the galleries (and not on content added through the free editor), but it is mostly a small inconvenience for people wanting to grab an image from your site. For example, a screenshot is an effective and easy alternative, and slightly more sophisticated users can easily access the files of the preview images displayed on the site. An opaque watermark is the best protection.

FAQ

Can I change the watermark on images I already uploaded?
Since watermarks are baked into the preview images during upload for better security, you cannot change them with a single click. You will need to re-upload the images using the Replace feature, which will update the previews while keeping all your metadata, prices, and gallery settings intact.
How can I make my watermark stronger against AI removal tool?
Removal tools work by “imagining” missing parts of an image. To make their work more difficult or ineffective, we recommend to make sure a large and important part of the image is fully hidden by the watermark (for example a rectangle watermark with a fully opaque background).
Why is the watermark visible on my high-resolution downloads?
PhotoDeck never applies watermarks to your original files. If you see one on a delivered file, it is likely because the watermark was already embedded in the image before it was uploaded (for example, via a Lightroom export setting). You should check your upload workflow to ensure you are sending clean files to PhotoDeck.
Why does my watermark look cut off in my portfolio gallery?
Some gallery styles use automatic cropping to make images fill the screen for a full-bleed effect. If your watermark is too close to the edge, it might get clipped. You can fix this by adjusting the cropping settings in your gallery style or by moving the watermark closer to the center of the image.