I’ve always wrestled with adding a watermark or signature (or whatever branding) to my photos that I post online. First off, my name is so long that it’s always been difficult to make a watermark that looked good. And I hate cheesy copyright symbol watermarks. It’s like taking this great looking photo, and putting something totally generic on to it (and they serve absolutely no legal purpose in protecting your photo, other than making it ugly).
NOTE: This blog post has absolutely nothing to do with protecting your photos and the legalities around it. It’s purely meant as a “hey, it looks cool!”, and a means of branding your name.
What About My Signature?
I’ve seen signatures on photos that I thought looked cool and elegant. Unfortunately my signature sucks. It’s basically just scribble. So why does that matter? It makes me think of a recent situation where I sent my brother a few framed prints for his new house. Had I signed them with my normal signature, nobody would have been able to read it. But I signed it with a cool looking font signature that I made in Photoshop (just like I did in my video here) and you can actually read it. Now… it’s a conversation starter. People see the name when they visit his house and “Oh… your brother is a photographer?” comes up… and so forth.
Method #1 Create Your Own Photographers Signature / Logo / Watermark
One of the first ways to add a good looking and unique signature would be to find a great looking font. You wouldn’t believe how many good fonts are out there that are free to use. In my free video, How to Create Your Own Logo / Watermark, I covered a couple of websites. One of them is the site called Dafont.com and the other is Adobe Fonts that comes free with your Creative Cloud subscription.
If you’re the type that likes to roll up your sleeves and get creative to make something your own, then this method could be the best for you. By using a font and Photoshop, you have a ton of customization abilities, and can create some really beautiful (and unique!) signatures styles and watermarks.
As a quick side note, if you’re interested in this route, check out my Photographers Logo and Watermark Toolkit that includes 90 minutes of video training and templates and fonts to help you out.
Method #2 – Have a Logo Made for You
Another option is to have a logo made for you. Years ago I came across a site that does this (PhotoLogo.co) for you. They create a signature style logo and I have to say they look really good. I ended up buying one at the time, but I don’t use it much anymore. As time went on, and they became more popular, I started feeling like everyone else’s looked like mine and somewhat repetitive. That said, if you’re not going to spend the time to make your own, I think this is a great alternative.
Is This Cheating?
I was talking to a friend of mine and they asked if it was cheating. After all, it’s not really my signature. I told them I thought of it more as a logo of sorts, but also a signature that I wish I had and I may even try to replicate with my own for things I do sign (books, prints, etc…). So… no… I don’t think it’s cheating. I do want a little bit of branding on the photos I post, and I think this gives me a good balance between my ugly signature and paying a professional to make a great looking logo (that I’m not even sure I need or would use).
But Is A Signature Really Important?
In this day and age, I personally don’t think so. First, off, whether you use your a copyright, or signature or anything over the top of your digital photos, you should know that it doesn’t mean it’s protected. Now, the moment you press the shutter (in most cases), your work is copyrighted. But to really give yourself an added bit of security/recourse for your photos, you should register your photos with the US Copyright Office (for US readers). But this article or this signature, at least for me, was never intended for any legal purposes – it’s purely aesthetic. So please don’t think of this as a way to protect your work – it’s not.
Next, most of you reading this blog probably aren’t selling a ton of prints. In fact, nobody I know is selling a ton of fine art/landscape prints these days. Maybe someone besides Peter Lik is making a killing at it, and if they are, I haven’t heard of it 🙂
And again, for most people reading here, I don’t even know that everyone needs an official logo. I’m not sure that makes much of a difference these days.
So the signature isn’t super important in the traditional print signing way of things, and it’s not going to protect you. But now that most of our photos are being shared online, I can see how a signature could add a little something to the photo (if done well), as well as some branding (like a logo).
Thanks for stopping by. Have a good one!
How To Create Your Own Photographers Logo or Watermark
I mentioned earlier that I have a video on creating your own logo / watermark right here. Also, if you like that and want more, check out my Photographers Logo / Watermark Toolkit / course that covers much more. It includes 40 templates + fonts to help get you started, along with instructions on how to use and adjust everything.
Thanks for stopping by!
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
please what is the name of your font logo
sorry for bad English
Hi Matt, superb video, sorted some questions, but can you tell me why there are different sizes and what their use would be.. Received my logo today and am pleased with it….
Hi Matt,
Do you recall when you placed your logo order, what did you choose for the thickness option (Any, thin, medium, thick)?
Thanks for your info on this!
I really like your logo but was curious to know the thickness you chose.
Hi Gary – there was no option for thickness when I did mine.
Dude, get sponsorship from the software company. As long as you’re giving your honest opinion, there’s nothing wrong with it. In fact , I expect a good blogger to have sponsorship. It’s what let’s me read it for free. Go for it.
I love Photologo i also saw it as sponsored post too but also noticed other photographers using it so i thought i’d try it! i used it to then make my own logo but i absolutely love their work. i did have a revision however as I’m super fussy! Love yours it really suits..
Just ordered mine. Don’t do nearly as much photography as I used to or would like too, but I do have thousands of images that I will go back and tag. Thanks for the info.
karina: I don’t know why they haven’t replied to you. My experience has been different. I have e-mailed them several times, and each time (except one) I have gotten a prompt reply.
very bad customer service unfortunately. They never replied to any of my messages, emails via contact form etc. After this unpleasant experience I will definitely not trust them with having to pay prior to even seeing a draft.
This is the e-mail address I have been successfully using:
support@photologo.co
Hi, Matt, I purchased a logo from photologo.co too, but do you recommend using “Photopolish” as suggested by them? I have both Lightroom & Photoshop, so do you think it is necessary to purchase? Overall, I trust your honest opinion as I have purchased filters & such from your website in the past several months. Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi Jon – Personally I think it’s kinda silly if you already have Photoshop and Lightroom. It’s a logo graphic, and a pretty simple task if you know Photoshop and Lightroom.
I believe the difference is that PhotoPolish allows you to work directly with JPG files without having to re-export JPGs from Lightroom. It also looks as if the workflow of changing the size, position and orientation of the Photologo may be faster in PhotoPolish. I haven’t tried PhotoPolish yet, but I’m considering it.
I bought PhotoPolish and it makes putting your logo on photos fast and simple. Photologo made a signature logo for me that I was very happy with (I took the one revision)
Is there an app that will allow me to use the photologo signature on an iPhone before uploading photos or I can only use this watermark with Lightroom or photoshop?
Hi. I don’t know of an app for it.
Yes … use the multi-image feature in Snapseed, and start with a alpha layer of any signature, either white or black. It’s free.
I am happy with the signature provided by P
hotologo. But I cannot open the PNG file in Photoshop CC. Can anyone help please?
Photo logo video says you can change to any colour with paint bucket.
I have just received my logo. One reason I wanted to put my name on photos I s to stop sooooo many friends and family asking “did you take that picture?” Now they will know and also can go to my web site, which is printed under my signature.
Happy bunny 😉
I tried the Photologo product. The folks at Photologo indicated the product could work with Picasa 3. The signature was okay, but nothing to write home about but most disappointing was the fact that I could never get the product to work with Picasa. I could not get Picasa to recognize the PND. I am sure it is a fine product for those who have a considerable investment in software but for the old do it youselfers like myself it does not work. Anyone with insight to the issue short of buying an expensive software product let me hear from you.
PNG sorry, typo.
Do you have to be a professional photographer to put a logo on photos that you take from home ? Also do I need to fill out a copyright form from my photos so I can put my signature on my photos?
Hi. There are no rules on who and how you can put a logo or signature on your photos. It’s totally up to you. Just know that, legally, putting one on doesn’t protect you. You need to register your photos w the copyright office.
Matt can this be done using Photoshop Elements 13?
Hi Richard – I don’t have it to try out but it should work similar.
Thanks Matt , I ordered my logo and got it the next day. Unfortunately I’m one of those few who did not like the signature. It was very sloppy looking and masculine for me. I’m hoping they will redo it for me.
Robyn, Did they redo your logo & if so – did you like the revision? I just ordered one and I did NOT like one thing about it. Now I am waiting on a response because their website indicates 1 revision + they didn’t add what was included in my summary (that was sent via confirmation email).
You had mentioned Photologo before so I ordered my logo. Graphic looks great. I figured out adding the logo watermark with a lot of trial and error on my own. You should include the adding of the logo procedure in the Lightroom and Photoshop courses.
Thanks for the suggestion of the company.
Looks like everyone will have the same style logo LOL
They do look good though.
I created a transparent logo in Adobe CC to attach to my images
Matt:
I sent an email to you with questions about your logo service. It has been at least three days and you have not responded. Do you check your email? Are you still doing this?
Hi James. This is not my logo service. I have no affiliation with them. You’d have to contact them directly. Thanks.
Thanks
Thanks for this Matt! I ordered mine a few weeks back and I love it. I have tried, without luck, to set it up in my Identity Plate in Lightroom with no luck. I have tried importing both the white and black version but I am not getting anywhere. Can you advise?
Great write-up of this service. Just placed an order with them and provided an imgur link with something I use for common signing (packages, forms, etc.) so they have a sense of my personal style and don’t do something just out of this world different.
Just so everyone is aware about a very critical mistake this article has:
You DO NOT have to register your images with the US Copyright Office for them to be protected. The only thing this does is give legal proof of ownership to award statutory damages. If you aren’t a huge name in the photography industry, odds are no one with enough money to pay the statutory damages is stealing your work.
Do understand that under US Copyright Law the moment you press the shutter button and capture an image, no matter what that image is, you are the rightful and legal owner of the image unless you have contractually agreed in a work-for-hire situation that all images within a set provided to a client under payment will become theirs. This is usually the case by default. However, if you are freelance or own your own business, you can still sue for damages for ANY reproduction or posting that you have not given explicit written permission to, you just have to prove those damages now. This includes your clients posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Should they withhold money from you and you released the images before final payment, and they post them, you can sue them for the money they owe you and unauthorized use of your images.
Additionally, I hope we all have copyright information set up to go into the metadata of our images. A watermark is a small form of nuisance editing for someone who plans to steal your images. It doesn’t protect you at all, but it does help claim ownership and make it harder for someone to steal without choppy editing or cropping.
Copyright law for photographers is paramount for everyone to understand. Please, please read the law. It’s very short and simple as to what rights photographers have. We are taken care of very well under copyright law. Know the law!
Matt,
I’ve watched your video on producing the signature logo in Photoshop and read most of the comments after it. Also in this section I’ve seen questions about adding color to a signature logo. What I’ve done with my logo (which I had designed back in the 1980’s) is made a brush (.abr) out of it and apply it to photos wherever I want to use a logo. As to the color issue, I’ve found that if I create a layer and apply the brush logo in that, I can apply styles and have all sorts of control on how the logo looks. Without using a separate layer, I can only make it black or white.
Just ordered mine! Can’t wait to see it! Thanks Matt for all of info!
Thanks for the info, you read my thoughts..
Hi Matt, I ordered and received my logo. Where do I save it and how do I apply it to my photographs.
Hi Mona – there’s a couple of videos I did linked above that talk about signatures in general. But if you need to know the specifics of the PhotoLogo you’d have to contact them directly, as I’m not affiliated with them.
This looks preety cool, I think it has more of a fine art feel to it, almost more personalised than my current sans serif rubbish logo. I’ll be giving this a try!
” I do want a little bit of branding on the photos I post, and I think this gives me a good balance between my ugly signature and paying a professional to make a great looking logo (that I’m not even sure I need or would use).”
You have paid a professional by paying “them” to design something would make “them” a professional designer would it not?
Thanks Matt
You are rite , a touch of class on these images we all have worked hard on creating these images , i believe gives a polished feel and look .
Lets face it a Rolls Royce would not be complete with out its ornament on the bonnet –
, called the. ‘ Spirit of Ecstasy’ !
And so a classy signature on ones work i would call ‘ The Spirit of Excelence ‘ !
Have a good day
Just that I would add my two cents worth. Had one created for me about two months ago…it was exactly what I wanted. Ordered one to give as a gift, and am being told that it is an unsafe site. The connection is not private. Hackers could attack your computer…so, guess the money is down the tube. Have contacted them about this situation..zero response… 🙁
While “it has ZERO application toward legally protecting your work” it does help you if the photo is registered with the copyright office – removal of a logo/signature/watermark ups the amount you can collect because it shows willful intent.
It also helps with any copyright case that you added it (as well as adding copyright info in the metadata) as indication you are the copyright owner.
And for those of you that do not register with the copyright office, sending a DMCA take down letter showing the original with the logo/signature/watermark can help get it removed by either the hosting company or the thief.
Matt, upon reviewing your write up and seeing the results of the work they did for you, I signed myself up. I received my logo from them last night, and I was very disappointed with it. It lacked any form of creativity or elegance. In fact it pretty much looked like some off the shelf font that I could have easily done myself. I notified them of my dissatisfaction, and have yet to hear back. Perhaps over the Thanksgiving weekend they received a larger volume of work, and just put out results as quick and with as little thought and effort possible. I’ll have to wait and see. If they come back with a much improved logo I will be sure to praise them. As of right now I cannot in good conscious recommend any form of their services.
Malcolm have you received any word back from them so many months later?
I did something very similar, but I used someone on fiverr. Great results and a fair bit cheaper 😉
So curious to know if they backed that truckload of cash up to your door sense they are using your blog as a sponsored ad now. Curious minds want to know
Do you sell prints?
Does this work with Corel Paintshop Pro?
Matt. I purchased and am happy with the result. The logo will not display in my identity plate, but can be used as a watermark on photos. I know how to change the identity plate and it works with other graphics, just not photo logo. Any ideas? I have contacted the company for help, but still don’t have a solution. Thanks
Why is it not considered a water mark and I’m assuming the opacity can be adjusted? Right?
Hi Matt, I am interested ! Let me know how you work, how many designs you propose, price, etc… Thanks !
Marie-Pascale
I think it would also be nice to use on my business cards
Can it be auto loaded somehow to stamp photos taken on a cell phone? Since most of us upload to FB. Thanks
I think that is very classy Matt! Thanks for passing on. Judging by all the sign ups, maybe you should have had an affiliate link. If I ever get good enough to even post a photo, I will definitely look at it. Thanks, Mary
Looks great but there is not much protection without having this on the signature © even if it looks cheesy as you wrote. All images post it any where online should have this “Photographer’s name ©”
“And I hate cheesy copyright symbol watermarks.”
It’s not meant to “protect”. It’s meant to brand. Signatures don’t protect your photos (regardless of whether it’s your real one or a fake one).
Don’t think it is a good idea to have my CC number and signature on file at a company I’ve never heard of no matter how many people say it’s OK.
I too have an indecipherable signature. And I love this idea. But I have done more than a few shows and have sold a fair amount of pieces and prints. People have asked for my signature/autograph in the past. My concern is that my real signature would not match my photologo. Any thoughts?
This really is just a aesthetic thing. I thought it was cool looking which is why I wrote about it.
To me the whole point of it is that it doesn’t look like my real signature. I don’t sell enough prints to warrant worrying about it. But if you feel your clients (and print purchasers) will get mad at you if your signature changes then probably not something to get.
Thank you for your reply. The signature on the photologos looks so good, I should probably get one, then practice signing my name that way!! lol
Lightroom already has this capability without going to photoshop. You just type in your name and you can pick your favorite font, including a very elegant script. No need to go to PS!
Well Mett it’s time to claim your commission from the logo company
Great article and I’m getting mine done. Thank you again
.
Got mine today (based on your post) – Love it
Give them your credit card and they’ll live your life better for you!
Hey, Matt…I’ve been trying to access the PhotoLogo site now for a couple of days. First, I would get all the way to the payment page and it wouldn’t accept payment. Then after a day or so, I tried again and the whole interface of the site has changed and I wasn’t able to proceed again. I sent them an email…but was wondering if you knew of any problem with the site?
Hi Patrick – I’m not affiliated with the site in any way so I’m afraid I won’t be much help.
I hope it is safe. I haven’t gone through the process myself but my fear would be that if you are required to send them a copy of your legal signature they now have that in their possession and identity theft is a booming business nowadays. If your signature is used illegally you might be held liable for losses incurred as you didn’t do your part of keeping your personal information safe. Just beware.
Gladys – did you see the note at the top of my post? It has nothing to do with your legal signature.
I don’t use light room or photo shop. Is there a way to add one using a mac computer?
Hi. Not that I know of.
Try Watermark Sense by VepriT
Which style did you select?
I need something like that
Matt – is this something that you would use if you were printing a photo for someone for sale? Or would more likely sign it personally? I’m trying to figure out when to use this service? Which I already paid for….ha ha.
Honestly Tom, I just think it looks cool. I hate my signature, so I thought it was a nice way to add some style to my photos if I want a “signature” look. If I signed them personally, all it would look like is scribble. As for printing for some one for sale, I wouldn’t use this because most people want an actual signed photo. This would be digitally placed there which defeats the purpose. But in this day of digitally sharing, I think it’s a cool “look” to add to a photo sometimes. My thoughts, for what they’re worth 🙂
Cool. That’s what I figured. Makes sense. Thanks. I really like mine.
I only use my tablet and phone to post photos will this work?
Not really. Mostly works with apps that have layered features in them so you can overlay the signature on the photo.
Hi Matt
Love the idea of the signature logo. Thanks for providing the information about Photologo, I am going to try it. Matt! do you know where this company is based, there web site does not have much information about them. By the way I love your work very much, I have been following you since KelbyOne.
Best
Late to the show, but I love this too. I’ve been using a script font of my name, but it still looks generic. Especially with landscape photos, and how many people steal them for wallpapers, etc. (Though a corner logo is easy to crop out – it’s still my brand!)
Great idea I love the look of this!!
Is there a way to drop the signature logo onto images in Apple’s Aperture product before exporting images?
I will do the same process for $25.00 with a 2 day turn around.
Thanks for the tip Matt. I was going to give it a go, I think the price is now $39 (discount)
I got to the point to click pay now, and nothing happened. I emailed them and was told its a problem with Firefox and Internet Explorer web browsers and I needed to download Google Chrome or Safari.
I thought it strange that they claim it doesn’t work with 2 of the most used browsers out there, so for now, I decided to not purchase.
Will this work in PSE?
Hi! It Works the same as it would in Photoshop.
My name’s even longer than yours and I was even more skeptical than you were when I engaged them (a few months back) to produce a signature for me. I requested a couple of modifications – they responded promptly to my requests and I now have an excellent signature. Totally impressive service.
Matt can this be done in Photoshop Elements 14
Yes, it work exactly the same as it would for Photoshop.
Thanks Matt, I went to the website, and they were having a sale right now. Got it for $39.99 ! Fantastic deal I think
I wouldn’t put my real signature on work – too easy for someone to learn it an repeat it on something formal in a fraudulent way. Stylize something else and use it, especially for things that roll around the internet.
That’s why this is perfect. It’s not your real signature.
Matt, when you sent in for your signature, did you request the tagline information showing below your signature as well, or was that a bit a creative leeway on their part?
Nope, they added it. It’s easy enough to erase and add/remove in Photoshop though. A quick Layer mask and it’s gone (or not) 🙂
That does look nice. Matt, it doesn’t look like you even know how to spell your name!
Lol! I just scribble. I think I got that from learning to forge my dad’s signature on detention slips when I was a kid 🙂
You can do very easily in Apple Preview in any MAC
Thanks for sharing!
Yesterday I’ve ordered mine, I’m pretty curious how it will look like…
If you have photoshop, you can make a ‘brush’ that is your signature. You can resize it.. color it… fade it.. apply it to a photo or on a layer of its own.. Plus, you can also apply bevels, shadows, etc. Not that difficult to do either.. I really like the new signature PhotoLogo made for you.. it’s very professional looking..
Matt,
I already have an interesting signature style, thanks to my father, and like the idea of adding the branding to my photos. Can you hold my hand a little and give me a quick tutorial on how to do that? What format do I want to scan the signature into my computer and where do I go from there either in Lr or Ps CC?
By the way I bought your landscape series from CreativeLive and am getting a lot of great tips and tricks I have used to improve my landscapes, thanks.
Jeffrey, Walla Walla, Wa the town so nice they named it twice.
Hey Jeffrey – It’s probably easiest to take a photo of it rather than scan. Then try out this tutorial: https://youtu.be/0VolZdjuRDw
It seems that Photologo.co just raised the price from $35 to $49 after your blog post. 🙁
Thanks for sharing Matt. Just ordered mine!
I had PhotoLogo create a signature logo for me and it turned out Simply Incredible!
It has arrived – took a little longer but I guess they are busy at the moment!! Wow – really impressed – great recommendation Matt!! No more boring watermarks created by yours truly!!
Matt K – attended your class at Out of Chicago and then joined the live broadcast on Creative Live – just ordered a signature from PhotoLogo – great recommendation – I will share once I receive it!!
Thanks Matt – love your Photologo signature so couldn’t resist signing up! Just need some patience now while I wait! Cheers Andy
Thanks for this tip! I recently received mine and love it. I want to practice actually signing my name like this now!
Thanks Matt. I just looked at the order page–they don’t seem to use a copy of my signature as a template to base the graphic on. Yet yours looks similar to your actual signature. Just luck or am I missing something where they get a copy of your signature? Personally, I would be more interested in a fancy/embellished signature that looks more like my own.
Hi Neil – they don’t use a copy of your signature. They create their own version for you.
Thank you, Matt, this is brilliant and simple. I’m looking forward to replacing the ugly copyright on my photos.
Thanks for Sharing Matt. Just placed my order.
Thanks for the heads up on this Matt! My new PhotoLogo files arrived today, and I’m already putting them to work. They’re fantastic. Like you, I don’t really like how I sign my name. This is a perfect solution.
Awesome! glad it worked.
thanks Matt, I have received mine but having trouble opening them. Has anyone else had issues.
I’d contact them if you’re having problems
Matt, I thought the same and a solution I found was to create a new signature on my Ipad with apple pencil, then capture it through Adobe Capture and transform it into a shape. It worked well!
Good idea. Only problem for me is I hate my existing signature so where ever I capture it, I don’t like it. Plus, WOW, that pencil is pricey! $99! 🙂
Thanks!
Just got mine. It’s perfect! Thanks again Matt for sharing the site.
Matt-
Did Photologo put the Matt K Photography on the bottom of your signature as well?
Yep.
Just ordered mine. Looks to me that they should be giving you a commission. Do you think we can add this to a photo as a watermark in Lightroom or will I always have to us Photoshop?
Thanks!
Hey Bill. You could do it in PS or LR. I’ll whip up a video next week on it.
Thank’s Matt
Great suggestion for me. I purchased it and am hoping to receive it soon …..
Just ordered mine! Can’t wait to see what they come up with. Thanks for sharing this Matt!
Thanks Matt!
I just placed my order and hope my signature comes out as nice as yours!! Next problem is deciding when to use it!
Jim
OMG I was just searching online for a company or artist to make a logo for me, and then I got distracted to my email and saw your newsletter about overprocessing which led me to the “signature” blog post. Thank you so much. I will definitely check it out!
There was a question above about changing the color. You said you didn’t think so. Well, yes there is! I have created my own signature in Photoshop and saved as a PNG file. I also create paintings with my photos and I just use a color overlay (FX feature in layers). It’s super easy and you can make it any color you want!
And just to add…super cool signature, Matt!
This works great…thank you for sharing this tip!
Just curious, does PHOTOLOGO give you a few choices of your signature, or only one?
I really like yours Matt as well.
Only one from what I can see.
Thanks Matt for discover us PHOTOLOGO, is really fabulous work they do with your signature.
My photographs have a different air with the firm that gives an extra plus.
Thanks for your fantastic web.
Greetings from Pamplona, Spain.
Matt, like you I have been wrestling with this problem for years, I have an unrecognizable personal signature, and I was looking for something that would work with any photograph I am working with, at $35.00 for one of these designs…I mean really how can you beat that price! I have already order my design and I can’t wait to see it.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with this company and the background of your own personal struggle with this branding issue. I’m sure this idea will help out a lot of folks like us! All the best, Jim
Hi Matt. Just ordered my signature from Photologo.
I have been a follower of yours many years.
I use On1 and LRcc6.
I am not very techie and it takes me a while to figure these things out.
Would you help by explaining how I can apply the signature to my processed images.
I would appreciate your help.Many thanks
Serge
Same experience, found on FaceBook decided to give it a try. They did a great job and turned around in 3 days. Now if they could only build me a website as quickly, cleanly and cheaply….
Jeff try 500px.com
I did and I am super happy
I do think that this is a cool idea, but why not take a few minutes and teach all how to do this themselves. If you have Photoshop lets face it it is easy.
Mostly I use a Wacom tablet and just sign it myself.
By the way, I do like the way yours turned out.
Hey Phil – there’s probably about 100 tutorials if you just google it, on how to make your signature in Photoshop. The reason I brought this up is because my signature sucks – I have no desire to capture it and use it since I don’t care for the way it looks. I’d have never personally thought to sign my name like this, which is why I think it’s worth the money I spent on it. Thx.
I agree. Sometimes a good signature is best when done by the right artist!
The logo does look really cool however, I would advise against posting your legal signature. Identity theft is a booming business nowadays, and if your signature is used illegally you might be held liable for losses incurred as you didn’t do your part of keeping your personal information safe. Just beware.
You brought up Lik, and I thought Id share this incredibly insightful article about the business behind the salesman that is Peter Lik:
http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/art/why-the-new-york-times-took-australian-millionaire-photographer-peter-lik-to-task-20150224-13ngdc
Interesting article to say the least. A guy that sold a photo for $6.5 million is selling logos for $35 a pop?
I don’t think Peter Lik is involved in Photologo
Jason, that was a great article. What a character, Peter Lik – I couldn’t decide whether to like him or despise him. Marketing genius laughing all the way to the bank, that’s for sure. Thank you for sharing the link!
I followed a video of yours a while back on making my signature a watermark. I never came up with a good one though. This seems to be a better way.
Good idea and very helpful. Have you ever looked into have a “chop” made for your signature? Did Photologo have that option? Check out this article about creating a chop http://creativepro.com/illustrator-how-to-creating-your-own-chop/#comments . I going to contact PhotoLogo about creating a chop. Thanks
Will do!! Should be interesting as I have a rather long name. Excited about it.
Just ordered mine. Like you, I have a lengthy, hard-to-decipher surname (especially when missing the hyphen) and my actual signature, while consistent, is mostly just a scribble. I’m also not sure I’d want my legal signature to be widely accessible. An artistic rendition makes so much more sense. Thanks for the tip.
Matt, I do like your new signature logo. It seems to flow quite well. Not distracting and yet recognizable and rememberable.
A while back I wrote a post on marks and signature and their history. It was in answer to the fact that schools are doing away with cursive training and how would people sign documents. The point made was that marks were used originally to indicate a document was a true copy of the original and signified by a known authority’s mark. Signatures were invented with the utilization of the quill. To be unique people adopted their name in lieu of a mark.
One should know that your signature can be any representation you choose. It need not be anything connected with your name. However, it should be something that can be recognized by others as your having put your mark there.
i did it a few weeks ago and im totally over the moon with the results , nice one for passing one the site Matt!
Got mine last week and people have said how professional it looks.
I saw the same promoted post on Facebook and saved the link. Your blog just reminded me to check it out. I did and I just placed my order. Thanks for the info. I think your PhotoLogo looks great! Looking forward to seeing how mine turns out.
Awesome. Share it if you get the chance. I’d love to see it.
Matt –
As usual your advice is spot on…Thanks!
Very cool logo you now have Matt. Dumb question so bear with me. Can you change the color of it say in photos hope if you want to blend it more in the photo? I like to create photos that look like paintings but would like to change the color beside just black and white.
Hey John. That would be tough to do in Photoshop but I think you could do it with Hue/Saturation. That said, if you know Illustrator, it comes with the .AI file which would be super easy to change and then save in a format you can use.
I used to do this frequently with quotations I had created as PNG files with transparent backgrounds — I would drop those on top of photos or different textured backgrounds. With the PNG on its own layer (and assuming it has a transparent background), just use the Magic Wand tool to select the signature, then use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, clicking on the Colorize box first, then you can play with the Hue, Saturation and Lightness sliders. Hope that helps!
But if you don’t have illustrator these logos are difficult to use.. I had to have friend change the color for me in illustrator as I have lightroom and photoshop cc. I thought it would be in layers so I could change the size and opacity and color. I had to go through 4 revisions and gave up with their designs, finally had to send them my signature and then they did a great job. Nice guys but I guess we get what we pay for. It’s a great idea, just wish it was more user friendly.
Hey Janet – I changed the color of mine in Photoshop with the Hue/Saturation dialog. Give it a try, it’s super easy to do. As for the signature, I guess everyone is different. If you read the post, I hated my signature so that was the last thing I was going to do. I welcomed a totally new look for my name 🙂
Its far easier than that to change a png logo to a color…simply right click on the layer, check color (in the box for doing text type stuff like drop shadows etc), and use picker to pick your color. Done in 5 seconds. 🙂
Looks great!
If you made one using 50% grey as the base color, then yes hue/sat using colorize
I created my logo in PS, made it a brush. No prob scaling or coloring, and when I want it to blend better with the shot, I just change it to ‘overlay’ mode. I like the signature thing, especially having a long last name like I do, I’ll check it out. Thanx, Ron.
Might give this a go. IOd been wondering about a proper logo…
Sounds very interesting… and worth a try. I too will be looking forward to a video of how to apply the logo.
Thanks Matt
Cant wait to get mine back What a cool idea!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LzNNNFqHU&t=137s&ab_channel=MattKloskowski
Thanks Matt! Received mine this morning and am very pleased.
I agree with a previous post requesting a video on how to apply these logos.
Thanks Matt! Ordered mine too!
Have you created a video showing how to apply the logos?
Matt K using a watermark/logo…..I’ve seen it all! Thanks for sharing, yours turned out pretty cool.
It’s not a watermark! 😉
Thanks Matt. I sent my order in yesterday (Saturday) so it might take until Tuesday to get a reply. I have previously fooled around trying to create something really good to use and wasn’t very successful. Maybe this will be the solution and for $35 it is worth the try. Hope things are going the way you want them to at On 1. Miss your contributions on KelbyOne and your live training sessions.
After reading the post and scrolling down, it was funny to see my son’ Gregg’s comment here. I was thinking I’d forward the post to him, but he’s already been and gone. And ordered. LMK how you like yours.
That’s very cool. I really like your “new” signature/logo. Off to check it out. thanks, Matt.
You’re welcome. Hope it turns out well.
This signature is also cool to be printed on black tshirt
lol. I’d feel kinda silly walking around with my own signature on my own shirt 🙂
Embossed signature on stationary (Crane & Co) is the way to go… I’m going to do this
I guess you’ve never had your tshirt stolen from you !!!!.. lol..
Thanks! I’m going to give this a try!