Do you sign photo-art that you give away or sell?

Do you put a copyright notice on it?

Do you apply these electronically to the print or physically sign the print?

Do you embed signature/copyright info in your photo-art? If so, how?

Need some more info on this. Are you selling digital images that will be given to the customer on disc or are you selling individual prints as art, advertising, portraiture, etc..??

Chris

I was mainly thinking about prints for framing and hanging in a home or office.

I have learned that originally fine art prints were signed in lead on the back of the photo which has lead to the discovery of valuable pieces by collectors because they knew to open the frame up and look. Then it went to signing in lead on the bottom right of the print itself, either within the frame or just under the border. Some people sign the matt which I consider useless as the matt could be removed at any time. If I am signing nice digital prints or giclee's I tend to sign in the bottom right hand corner with acid free inks (black almost always) but it has become acceptable to sign just about anywhere on the print, some people sign huge, some small we can all interpreted that however we wish. I hope I helped.

Chris

Do you sign photo-art that you give away or sell? No.

Do you put a copyright notice on it? No.

It's just a matter of personal taste. I find sigs to be distracting because to me they look out of place compared to the style of art I do.

I respect that an artist would not sign the work they produce but.......

In rebuttal (not disagreement) ...............

I have work in markets all over the country and some out of country. I have found the value of a piece is increased by being signed and then increased once again if signed and numbered. Signed originals even more. I have reached a point in my career where money is no longer the issue but if a person buys one of my pieces be it photo or painting, they want to have signed work and in cases of numbered or originals, certificates of authentication can sometimes make the sell. People want to feel like they are getting there money's worth, ie: all of my pieces are presented to the purchaser in nice, archival boxes etc.. When people hold something tangible, something they can feel I believe it pushes that last button in the mind, being (we love the work, we know the name, it's signed and presented in a manor that makes it look important.) Of course, I feel like these are my children that are being sold so all purchasers are asked to provide contact info. I then follow up with a thank you and I know where my kids are. "It's 11:00, do you know where your children are"?
That in no way means disrespect to a person who would not sign or whatever. I mean hell, how many famous poets wrote in all lower case letters?
Chris

When I'm really happy with a digital piece, I sometimes embed my John Hancock, but most of the time no. I also sometimes put a sig in to make it look like a real painting. I don't do watermarks though. :)

I sign every piece of art that I give away or sell. I rarely sell art now just because I like giving it away better. Selling it made me feel dirty. Most people who receive my art demand a signature - always on the back.

Do you sign photo-art that you give away or sell? No.

Do you put a copyright notice on it? No.

It's just a matter of personal taste. I find sigs to be distracting because to me they look out of place compared to the style of art I do.

+1

"message you entered was too short....."

A friend of mine in another forum recently had his/her "identity" stolen via the internet art forums. This person is an extremely talented artist. The results of that "theft" are devastating. As a result of this person's experience, I now sign my digital art work with a HUGE ugly watermark...not that I have anything valuable or exceptional...just as a matter of saying, "Hey that is mine. Not yours."

Janet

That is so sad Janet. Crazy that people try to take credit for work that they didn't do. A pet peeve of mine too. :(

The work that I do for my profession gets so heavily marked it's rediculous. I found out that people were taking credit for our company's work - so now our samples are all marked clearly with the company name. Keeping things from being STOLEN is very important to me.

I sign mine so nobody can steal them. I usually just put a smallish sig in the bottom right hand corner, it doesn't take over the picture. It is MY work and I am proud of it.