A watermark is a faint name, logo or note drawn over a picture so that wherever the image travels, the mark travels with it. Photographers use one to credit their work, sellers use one to stop competitors lifting product shots, and anyone sending a copy of an ID card can use one to say what that copy is for. This guide covers the two layouts that matter - a single mark and a tiled pattern - the size and opacity settings that work for each, and a worked example you can follow in the Watermark Image tool.
Single mark or tiled pattern?
A single mark sits in one place, usually a bottom corner. It credits the picture without getting in the way, which suits photos you post publicly. Its weakness is that anyone can crop a corner off in seconds.
A tiled pattern repeats the mark across the whole image, usually tilted and faint. It is much harder to get rid of: any crop still contains several copies, and removing dozens of marks running over faces and texture takes real effort. That makes it right for client proofs, draft designs, marketplace product photos and document copies - images people need to check rather than enjoy.
Adding a watermark, step by step
- Open the Watermark Image tool and drop in a PNG, JPG or WebP photo. It is read on your own device - nothing is uploaded.
- Choose Text and type your watermark, such as your name, site address or a copyright line. Or choose Logo image and pick your logo file.
- Choose Single mark and click one of the nine positions, or choose Tiled pattern to repeat the mark across the image.
- Set the size (as a share of the image width), the opacity and the rotation. For a single mark, set the margin from the edge; for a pattern, set the spacing between marks.
- Check the preview - it is drawn by the same code as the download, just smaller - then pick PNG or JPG and download. The file keeps the photo's original resolution.
Settings that work
Opacity is the setting people get wrong most often. A mark at 100% looks heavy and amateurish; one at 10% disappears on a busy background. For a single corner mark, 50 to 70% is a good range. For a tiled pattern, go lower - 20 to 30% - because the repetition already makes it obvious, and a strong pattern makes the photo hard to judge. The tool switches between these defaults when you change layout.
Size works the same way. A corner mark spanning 20 to 30% of the width is readable on a phone without dominating; a tiled mark around 20% with modest spacing leaves the picture visible between copies. Because size, margin and spacing are all set as a share of the image rather than in fixed pixels, the same settings look the same on a 1,000-pixel web image and a 6,000-pixel camera original.
White suits most photos, with the soft shadow on so the mark stays readable across a bright sky or a white wall. On a product shot against white, a dark grey mark reads better.
Using a logo
A logo watermark looks best as a PNG with a transparent background, so only the logo's own shapes are drawn. A JPG logo brings a solid rectangle with it, which looks like a sticker pasted on; with only a JPG logo, a text watermark is often cleaner. The logo keeps its proportions and is scaled to the width you set.
A worked example: proofs for a client
Say you are sending a client a 4000x3000 photo to approve before they pay, and want it clearly marked as a proof. Load it into Watermark Image, type PROOF, and choose Tiled pattern. The tool sets the size to 22%, the rotation to -30 degrees and the opacity to 25%.
At 22% of 4000 pixels, each copy of PROOF is 880 pixels wide. In a bold Helvetica-style typeface the word is about 3.5 times as wide as the font size, so the font comes out at about 880 / 3.5 = 250 pixels. The default spacing is 8% of the shorter side - 8% of 3000, or 240 pixels - so copies repeat every 880 + 240 = 1,120 pixels along a row and every 250 + 240 = 490 pixels between rows, with alternate rows shifted half a step so they do not line up into stripes. The pattern is laid out across a square as wide as the photo's diagonal, 5,000 pixels, so it reaches every corner whatever the angle.
The result is roughly ten tilted rows of three or four copies each. Any crop bigger than about 1,120 by 490 pixels - a small fraction of the frame - still contains part of a mark. Download as JPG, and the original photo stays untouched on your device until the client pays.
Watermarking a copy of an ID document
When a landlord, employer or agent asks for a copy of your passport, Aadhaar card or driving licence, a watermark limits what that copy can be reused for. Type a line that names the purpose and the date - for example "For rental application only - 3 Oct 2026" - and tile it across the image at around 30% opacity, so it crosses the photo and the number without hiding them. A copy marked like that is far less useful to anyone who tries to submit it somewhere else. Because the tool runs in your browser, the document is never uploaded to do it.
What a watermark can and cannot do
A watermark is a deterrent, not a lock. AI fill tools can remove a small corner mark convincingly, and a determined person can clean up a tiled pattern with enough effort. What a watermark does reliably is make casual copying awkward and keep your name attached to images that get shared. For anything you cannot afford to have copied, the safer rule is to share only a smaller, watermarked version and keep the full-resolution original to yourself.
If something looks wrong
- The mark is hard to read on part of the photo. Turn on the soft shadow, raise the opacity a little, or switch to a darker colour.
- The logo has a white box around it. The logo file is a JPG or has no transparency. Use a transparent PNG instead.
- The file is much bigger than the original. You probably saved a photo as PNG. Choose JPG, or run it through the Image Compressor.
- You also want to trim or straighten the photo. Do that first with Crop Image or Rotate Image, then watermark the result, so the mark is not cut off.
- You need to mark a PDF rather than an image. Use Watermark PDF, which stamps every page of a document.
Watermark your photo now
Load the picture, type your name or pick your logo, and choose a corner or a pattern. Open the Watermark Image tool - free, no sign-up, and processed entirely in your own browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Where should I put a watermark on a photo?
- For a credit on a photo you share publicly, a bottom corner with a small margin is the convention - it is visible without covering the subject. If the point is to stop the image being reused, put the mark across the middle or tile it over the whole picture, because a corner can simply be cropped off.
- What opacity should a watermark be?
- About 50 to 70% for a single corner mark, and 20 to 30% for a tiled pattern. Much lower and the mark vanishes on busy backgrounds; much higher and it dominates the picture. A soft shadow behind light-coloured text keeps it readable on bright areas without raising the opacity.
- Can a watermark be removed?
- Sometimes, yes. A small mark on a plain corner can be cropped or painted out quickly, especially with AI fill tools. A faint pattern tiled across the whole image is much harder to remove cleanly because it crosses detailed areas many times. Treat a watermark as a deterrent, and share a smaller copy rather than your full-resolution original when copying is a real concern.