How To: Embed Signature Stamp On Your Images

One of my favorite past time hobby is to look at what other photographers are doing with their pictures, styles, and techniques. Anything I could learn and help me improve my pictures is a plus to me. While browsing at other great photographer's images, I often come across their unique stamp on the image. I've search far and wide on how it is done. Today, I would like to share with everyone two techniques on signature stamping.

Method #1: Signature Stamp
It is a simple process where you create your signature as an image and manually stamp it on each pictures. This method allow you flexibility to stamp the signature anywhere you would like on the image and regardless of image size. As you have full control over the sizing of the stamp. However, this method limitation is, the stamp result will only be in one single color. If you design the stamp multi-color, you can only stamp one color.


1) Let's start by creating a blank transparent file in Photoshop. I usually start with 6 in x 3 in @ 300dpi.

2) Once you have a blank transparent page, start to explore how you would like your signature to look like. Explore various font styles and layering to your liking.

3) Once you are done, use the selection tool and select the signature area. Go to "Edit" and select "Define Brush Preset"

4) Now that you defined it as a brush. On the tool bar, select Pattern Stamp Tool. Adjust the size of the stamp to best fit the image you have open. Now stamp away. 

Method #2: Signature Embed Export (Watermarking)
This method involve you the embedding of the signature during an "export" function in either Photoshop or Adoble Lightroom. In the example below, I will use Lightroom 3 to demonstrate the process. The benefit here is, since your signature is an image, it will embed as such. With all the colors and styles. The draw back on this method is, once you define the size of your stamp, you define it based upon the size of the image you will be using it on. So the image size is "fixed".

Similar to Method #1 above, you will start with step #1 and #2. In step #2, when you design your signature and choose a font size, try to copy and paste it in a few images to make sure that is the font size you want. Keep in mind the standard image size you are going for. For example, standard max 1000 width or max 1000 height. (This is usually what I use for export to use for blog or web sharing).

3) Differ from Method #1 above at this step, you save this image as a PNG file.

4) Now in Adobe Lightroom, go to Edit -> Edit Watermark. This area you define the watermark location, size, proportion, and image you will use as watermark.

5) Once you have that all define, you can easily select one or more image to batch export from Adobe Lightroom. These batch images will automatically have the watermark imprint and they will all be approx the same size proportion.

6) Notice the image above, the selected box on image resizing. Remember earlier, I had mention in step #2, you  need to test out the font size to against a standard image size you will be working on. This mean, adjust all images I am export to be no more than 1000 width or 1000 height (which ever comes first). With that, I selected the watermark I created earlier. In my case, due to different background color, I created two kind of signature images with different color. So I can easily export with.

Lovely! Signature embeded!

Let me know your thought and continue to share knowledge. Pass it on. That is how we all learn!!

Thanks to http://neilvn.com/ for the watermark embed method!!!

     

Lightroom: Image Sharpening

Earlier today, I came across an update on Facebook from Lightroom group titled "Have you ever held down the alt key while sharpening?.." As a Lightroom user, I love their noise reduction feature and sharpening tool. This trick makes it so much better! Check out the video below or from the source website (LINK)

     

Winter Wonderland - So Cal Style

What do you do when you flip through every channels only to listen to the news giving update to blizzard, snow storm, flood, and cold weather? This is when I say to myself, it's good to be living in Southern California. This past weekend, in the middle of January 2011, we had beautiful weather. Only to be helped by a recent Santa Ana high pressure system to clear the air, the weekend was lovely. Temperature was averaging low 80's F.

With some good companies, wonderful weather, and mother nature outstanding curves, I packed up my usual suspect equipment and go for a nice hike up Giffith Park Observatory. It is a nice 3-4 miles trail that goes up from Griffith Observatory to the top where you have a wonderful 360 view of Greater Los Angeles. On a clear day, like today, you can see Catalina Island, Santa Monica, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Inland Empire, and of course, our lovel downtown Los Angeles.

Panorama Shot Of Los Angeles Basin. Over 40 NEF file stitched together to produce this image.

It was an organized fun hike with some friends at the company I worked for. I highly recommend this for anyone who live in the area and also to visitor from afar. This is the best way to see all of Los Angeles without having to sit in Los Angeles traffic to see the view. Who knows, you might be lucky and it will be clear for you as well. On most days, you'll be lucky to see downtown with the smog we get. :-)

All shots were taken with

• Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 VR
• Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm F2.8

Griffith Park Picture Gallery: http://www.photographybykevin.net/p814218493