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FadeToBlack

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 27, 2005
1,843
5
Accoville, WV
I always see a lot of cool desktops on MacDesktops and other places and a lot of them have watermarks on them and I was wondering how I could remove them in an image editing app? I have Graphic Converter. Thanks in advance.
 

FadeToBlack

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 27, 2005
1,843
5
Accoville, WV
retasi said:
The whole point of a watermark is to acknowledge the creator and it cant be removed so no.

Yeah, I know the purpose of them, but the images look so much better without them. :D

It's not like I'd be reposting them somewhere and claiming them as mine or something. No ill intentions here.
 

stevep

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2004
876
4
UK
If I was the creator of the image in question, I'd remove the watermark for you myself. And then you could buy it from me.
 

FadeToBlack

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 27, 2005
1,843
5
Accoville, WV
Wow, I see this is a pretty sensitive topic. I never really figured it was that big of a deal. Mods, feel free to delete this thread.

EDIT: I noticed that most of the desktops on MacDesktops have the watermark where the Menu Bar is, so it isn't even visible. That's really cool and if I would have noticed before, I wouldn't have even considered removing them.
 

stevep

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2004
876
4
UK
Don't get too upset about the replies, I don't suppose many people are all that bothered about an image being used to adorn your own desktop. But, having acknowledged that there are some good desktop image designers out there, why not be inspired by them to create your own? Then you won't have a watermark to worry about, and imagine the satisfaction when someone asks where you got 'that cool desktop' from.
BTW, if you'd have asked how to remove, say, a telegraph pole from a landscape scene, I'd have suggested the clone stamp tool in Photoshop as quick as a flash..........
 

ITASOR

macrumors 601
Mar 20, 2005
4,398
3
I'll give you a real answer.

I don't think you can do it in Graphic Converter. You would need a more sophisticated graphic editing program such as Photoshop. In Photoshop, you could try and use the clone tool.

However, if it's just a solid color, you could just cut that part of the layer out, use the eye dropper to copy the color, and fill it in the square you removed. I doubt they would put it on a solid color though...

If it's a type of pattern, you could select a small part without the watermark, create a new layer (copy, not cut) and then drag the new layer over the watermarked area and flatten the two layers together.

Perhaps if you give me an example of a watermark, I can give you a better answer.

Knowing how to remove a watermark isn't illegal or bad....doing it is. :cool:
 

Seasought

macrumors 65816
Nov 3, 2005
1,093
0
I'm thinking that this watermark spans throughout the center of the image, correct? Otherwise just crop it out if it's on the bottom, top or sides and stretch the image to fit your desktop.

If it does span the majority of the image I don't think it would be worth your time to go through and try and remove it. Some will argue against this but you might just want to try emailing the creator and asking for a lower-res version without the watermark. Good luck. :D
 

Les Kern

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2002
3,063
76
Alabama
Lets see it. Might help.
If it's an image for sale, as long as it's not used for commercial purposes (that is, privately) you can take any image or photo and do what you want with it. For instance, I can take a stock photo of Ann Coulter and make her a human. Tricky, and not worth the effort, but you get the point.
 

puckhead193

macrumors G3
May 25, 2004
9,570
852
NY
on macdesktops.com their normally on top and the menu bar hides it...
But if you photoshop ( i use elements) you can use the healing brush and it works pretty good.
here's an example... it works better on lighter colors
 

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FadeToBlack

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 27, 2005
1,843
5
Accoville, WV
puckhead193 said:
on macdesktops.com their normally on top and the menu bar hides it...
But if you photoshop ( i use elements) you can use the healing brush and it works pretty good.
here's an example... it works better on lighter colors

Yeah, I was talking about on MacDesktops and the Menu Bar hides the watermark, so I'm not really worried about removing it. I can understand why whoever made the image would want the watermark on there. I just didn't think about it when I posted this thread.
 

OutThere

macrumors 603
Dec 19, 2002
5,730
3
NYC
I thought you were talking about digital signature watermarks, which, fortunately and unfortunately, are extremely difficult to remove....I find a combination of the clone tool, the healing brush, and a bit of smudging can get rid of ugly wallpaper watermarks pretty effectively.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
I almost always do my retouching on a separate layer, sometimes on more than one. Non-destructive, that way. :)
 

bobsbarricades

macrumors regular
Feb 4, 2007
206
0
can I get in on this thread?

I have an image that a photographer took of me playing paintball. I just want to remove the watermark. for myself. is this bad? how can I do it? I don't have photoshop, but can use pixlr.com? any cool programs?
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

No you can't is the simple answer! The photographer holds the rights to that photo not you!
 

wpotere

Guest
Oct 7, 2010
1,528
1
can I get in on this thread?

I have an image that a photographer took of me playing paintball. I just want to remove the watermark. for myself. is this bad? how can I do it? I don't have photoshop, but can use pixlr.com? any cool programs?

This is a 7 year old thread....

As for the watermark, call the photographer and ask him if you can have a copy without the watermark.
 

THX1139

macrumors 68000
Mar 4, 2006
1,928
0
This is a 7 year old thread....

As for the watermark, call the photographer and ask him if you can have a copy without the watermark.

Yeah, he might give you a copy of the photo without watermark if you pay his rent or buy a bag of groceries for his family.
 

wpotere

Guest
Oct 7, 2010
1,528
1
Yeah, he might give you a copy of the photo without watermark if you pay his rent or buy a bag of groceries for his family.

Or you tell him he no longer has the right to use your image for any photos....

If he asks, he may likely simply give it to him.
 

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
can I get in on this thread?

I have an image that a photographer took of me playing paintball. I just want to remove the watermark. for myself. is this bad? how can I do it? I don't have photoshop, but can use pixlr.com? any cool programs?

A lot depends on the circumstances. If you were playing in a facility, and you signed any kind of paperwork (I'd be surprised if you didn't have to sign a waiver, for instance) as part of getting in then it's possible you may have also signed a model release. This simply means that the photographer/facility is now free to use the image of you in any number of ways (promo, selling cards and posters, etc depending on what was included on the model release). In this case it's likely that the photographer will want to be paid for an unwatermarked copy. Unless they are making a $mint out of selling posters of you doing a massive bellyflop into the mud, in which case they will likely be feeling generous.

If there was no model release signed, then it's probable (depending on where you live - slightly different laws in different countries) that they can't use your image in any "commercial" way - that is to sell a product or service, or as a card or poster. In this scenario there are two probabilities.

1) The photographer knows what they are doing, and makes their money from selling customers like you a copy of themselves doing paintball things. Pay up, and be happy - because you aren't going to get an unwatermarked image from the photographer without paying. And honestly, this is their job and to try and circumvent their copy protection is analogous to stealing from them. If you like the photo, be happy that someone with a decent camera who knew how to use it was in the right place at the right time. This is their job and it would be respectful to pay them. In all likelihood the facility is not paying them to be there, they only earn what they can sell.

2) The photographer doesn't know what they are doing, is worried (or should be worried) about infringing on privacy rights and will give you the photo to just make you go away.
 

Leetut

macrumors newbie
Jul 27, 2012
17
0
so has anyone found a way to auto-remove watermarks?
just see lots of comments of bla bla here and no solution
im already using the clone stamp tool but doing 500 wedding photos is a nightmare!
and the (greedy) photographer has already took one and a half THOUSAND POUNDS!!!!!!! off me for an album and a few photos, so dont even go there lol
and the digital watermarked photos are only approx 600x400 its not as if i have the original 18 mega pixel images

if i was a photographer you could have all your masters for free after i'd fleeced 1500quid out of you

it would have been cheaper to pay a burgler to steal his hard drive!!!
 

R1PPER

macrumors 6502
Oct 1, 2008
360
62
In a world a infinite wallpapers...why dont you just google wallpaper + whatever your search critia is and use a wallpaper that doesn't have crap all over it.
 

Dambuster43

macrumors member
May 20, 2013
83
0
Yeah, I know the purpose of them, but the images look so much better without them. :D

It's not like I'd be reposting them somewhere and claiming them as mine or something. No ill intentions here.

The images will have terms and conditions tagged to them...possibly in the meta tags within the image data....what you suggest is tantamount to theft. Do you take things from shops without paying?
Do you fill your petrol tank, and drive away without paying.....I guess your answer is No...so why ask others for ways to help you steal somebodies work.
 

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
so has anyone found a way to auto-remove watermarks?
just see lots of comments of bla bla here and no solution
im already using the clone stamp tool but doing 500 wedding photos is a nightmare!
and the (greedy) photographer has already took one and a half THOUSAND POUNDS!!!!!!! off me for an album and a few photos, so dont even go there lol
and the digital watermarked photos are only approx 600x400 its not as if i have the original 18 mega pixel images

if i was a photographer you could have all your masters for free after i'd fleeced 1500quid out of you

it would have been cheaper to pay a burgler to steal his hard drive!!!

Unfortunately it's a stupid question. It's just embedded raster data. The program doesn't even have a way of telling precisely what existed behind that watermark. As for the photographer, policies vary. I wish you found one whose policies aligned with your interests.
 
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