How to Annotate Copyrights on Photos ~ Enhance Photography Skill

Piracy, easy downloads and many other factors brought on by the Internet make it easier than ever for your intellectual property, such as photographs, to be used without your permission or credit. Luckily, the United States Copyright Office allows citizens to mark their images with "the intent to copyright." Doing this allows people to add copyright notations to their work without preregistering with the Copyright Office. Popular photo editing programs, such as Photoshop, Aperture and Lightroom, make it simple to add copyright annotations to digital images.

Instructions

Open a new document in Photoshop by clicking "File" and then "New." Select "Document" and use the presented window to customize the file. Make it 6 inches wide, 4 inches tall and adjust the resolution to be 300 pixels per inch. Select the "transparent" option in the drop-down menu labeled "Background Contents."

Select the type tool on the toolbar or switch to it by typing "T." Change the foreground color to black by typing "D." Type the copyright information including the copyright symbol, the year of the photo's creations and your name or company name. Type the copyright symbol on a Mac with the key combo "Option-G." Make the symbol on a PC by typing "Alt-0169."

Move the text box to the portion of the image where you want the copyright information to appear. This is up to preference; some will want to put the copyright information in the corner of the image, while others will want to spread it across the entire frame. Press "command + T" or "control + T" to access the free transform tool. Adjust the size of the copyright using this tool. Hold down the shift button to keep the notation proportional as you adjust the size.

Navigate to " Image Menu" and select "Trim." Select transparent pixels and click "OK."

Click on "Edit Menu" and Select "Define Pattern." Type "copyright" into the presented field or something you will remember when you need to add the copyright to the image. Close the copyright image.

Open an image that you would like to copyright and click the "New Layer" icon in the layers palette. Select the new layer and click "Edit" at the top of the screen. Select "Fill" and wait for a dialog box to appear. Select "Pattern" from the drop-down menu Labeled "contents."

Select a custom pattern for the copyright notation in the lower portion of the "Edit" dialog box and click "OK."

Select the copyright layer in the layers palette and change the blend mode to "Overlay." Lower the opacity to 50% to make the copyright notation less distracting.

Open Aperture and click "Import" in the top-left corner of the screen. Drag the images you wish to copyright into the import field.

Click the "Import Settings" drop down menu in the top-right section of the screen. Select "Metadata Presets." Select "Edit" in the presented "Metadata" dialog box. Click the gear icon in the dialog box to make a new preset. Name the preset and click "OK."

Scroll down to the "Copyright" filed of the dialog box. Fill in any copyright information that you wish to add. Type "(C)" to type the traditional copyright icon. Add your name or company name as well as the year that the photograph was made. Click "OK" to leave the dialog box.

Ensure the new preset is selected in the metadata drop-down menu in the column in the right portion of the screen. Choose "Append" or "Replace" under the drop-down menu. "Append" will add the copyright data to any existing metadata in the images. "Replace" will erase any other metadata in the images before adding the copyright data.

Select the images that you wish to copyright and click "Import."

Enter the "Library" module in Lightroom and select more than one or multiple images. Click "Export" and customize the export location, filenames and image format to your preferences.

Scroll to the "Watermarking" field and click on the corresponding checkbox. Select "Edit Watermarks" from the drop-down menu to edit the copyright.

Open the "Text Options" field to adjust the font and style of the copyright watermark.

Select left, center or right alignment in order to determine which part of your image holds the copyright notation.

Customize the opacity, proportions and size of the copyright notation with the corresponding sliders under the "Watermark Effects" section.

Add or edit copyright text in the box at the bottom of the screen. The word "copyright" is already typed in the text box, however you can change this to the traditional copyright symbol by replacing the word with "(C)."

Click "Save" to keep your copyright for other images.