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Srinivasan Venkatarajan

9 Years Ago

Name Or Signature In Photographs

Hi,

I would like to know if it is okay to have the photographer's name/signature imprinted on the photograph (say at the bottom right of the photograph)? If the photographer's name/signature is imprinted will deter people from buying that?

FYI, I am new to Fine Arts America and hence your suggestions/advice will really be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Srini

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Louise Reeves

9 Years Ago

It's no different than any other artist signing their work. It should be unobtrusive, not something that takes away from the point of view. I use a font that looks like handwriting and lower its opacity to about 50% on the lower right hand corner. It has never been a deterrent to a sale. I do know someone whose signature is so large, it's like she thinks that is more important than the image, something you should definitely avoid doing.

 

Nicole Whittaker

9 Years Ago

don't make it too large but certainly sign your work.

 

Kevin Annala

9 Years Ago

I don't understand how artists can sign there name to something that they will never see in person. Makes the signature have 0 value.

 

Louise Reeves

9 Years Ago

No signature has value (unless you're DaVinci), it identifies the artist, so not really sure what you mean, Kevin.

 

Mike Savad

9 Years Ago

sign it small and faint, something that would look good there. many make it huge and it won't print. i sign all my work.

---Mike Savad

 

Mike Savad

9 Years Ago

the way you have it signed now, probably won't print. it's too large, too yellow and the font is too thick, it looks like a watermark.

Sell Art Online
just to bring it up here, this work is far too noisy to print. in fact all the sunsets are.

---Mike Savad

 

Patrick Dinneen

9 Years Ago

Think about it this way- if you were buying some art and the artists name was in the corner would that put you off.
For me it would.

 

Val Arie

9 Years Ago

I sign everything...I look at it this way ...I made it so I will sign it. But I try not to make it jump right out at the viewer. I want to have to look for a signature...not have it be the first thing you see. IMO a signature that jumps right out at you totally ruins the piece....that said I still want to see one.

 

Joseph C Hinson

9 Years Ago

In the picture that Mike linked, the signature is the sharpest, most noise free part of the entire image. The copyright on it is also level while the picture is not. I don't put my name on my images as I don't feel people want to see that hanging on their wall. But I understand why people would. They want the world to know that "hey, this is my shot." You take pride in it. That pride should start before the signature goes on.

By the way, here is what FAA says about sigs.

1: Should I include a digital signature or copyright notice on my images?

Everything that appears in your images will appear in your prints.

Digital signatures are fine as long as they look "stylized". Think of it this way - if you were a buyer, would you want to see that signature on the artwork?

Copyright notices are generally frowned upon. No one wants to see COPYRIGHT 2012 JOHN SMITH printed across a piece of artwork that they want to hang on their wall.

http://fineartamerica.com/faqlinks.html?id=77

 

Thank you all very much for taking time to reply and for your suggestions. Appreciate it.

 

John Crothers

9 Years Ago

It is not a "signature" when it is posted here or done on the computer. It is, at best, a digital copy of the signature.

All it is doing is trying to say who created the work. If the signature isn't legible, it won't even tell people who created the work. It doesn't add any value because the artist didn't actually sign it. Fonts on an image is like the engraved tags you sometimes see on the frames of work.

You know, that would be a nice option for FAA to add. On framed prints they could mount the brass tags that list the title of the work with the artist name.

 

Joseph C Hinson

9 Years Ago

I had one photog tell me he would often sign the mattes of his prints from here and resell them. That serems a lot of trouble. I could see a digital signature being an option on the matte, but then not everyone gets a matte.

 

Kevin Annala

9 Years Ago

quote: "No signature has value (unless you're DaVinci), it identifies the artist, so not really sure what you mean, Kevin."

This is my opinion on it. If you are putting your signature on something, you are endorsing that item. It means that you created it, and have approved that piece. To approve a piece IMHO you have to see it to make sure it's as you want it...to make sure it meets your standard of quality. That does in fact have value. If a signature has 0 value then why do some collectors insist on one? Not all do, but some do and that means that to those people, it does have value. For me, I can't endorse my final piece without having seen it.

 

Kevin Annala

9 Years Ago

And before it comes up, yes the artist created the work, HOWEVER they did not see it through to the end and did not see the finished piece if the item was digitally signed and drop shipped direct to client.

 

Floyd Snyder

9 Years Ago

I sell a lot of opened edition prints signed by the artist and they do sell for more then the same image that is not signed. Usually the price is between $5 and $25 m orre, depending on the artist. Some, a very few, actually sell for a lot more then that.

 

Floyd Snyder

9 Years Ago

"I had one photog tell me he would often sign the mattes of his prints from here and resell them"

Has zero value. It is a simple thing to put the mat on some other photo. I would never recommend against it. It begs to have your signature exploited.

 

Mark Blauhoefer

9 Years Ago

I sign my paintings with both signature and secret cipher. On photographs the cipher is usually sufficient. In a composed shot, as distinct from something that just appeared (and/or perhaps taken an aeon in post-processing) I'll probably add my signature. Collectors, curators and galleries like to know the work is original from the actual creator. It would be remiss not to oblige them :)

 

This discussion is closed.