Why Every Photographer Should Protect Their Work Online with Credentials

Watermark or not watermark that's the question - protect your photography with your credentials

A few years ago, a trend swept through social media: photography “gurus” encouraging creators to share images without credentials, without watermarks, without logos. Many followed without question, believing it was about “cleaner presentation” or “trusting the audience.”

But let’s be honest — credentials are not just a decorative addition; they are your signature of authorship. Removing them makes your work just another anonymous file, perfect for feeding massive databases used to train artificial intelligence. The result? AI learned from your photographs, building visual libraries without crediting or compensating you.

Social media platforms are not safe archives — they are content-hungry machines. Once your unmarked photo is online, it can travel anywhere, stripped of context, ownership, and recognition.

As photographers, our images are our livelihood and our identity. That’s why every image you post should carry your credentials — your name, watermark, or logo. Not because it will stop theft entirely — it won’t — but because it keeps your name attached, makes you recognizable, and asserts your authorship.

At Camerapixo Press, we have always made it our policy to include full photographer credentials alongside every published image. We proudly show who the author is, we have always done it this way, and we always will. We care about quality, and we care deeply about respecting and protecting the ownership of every photographer whose work we publish.

Camerapixo Press Team