Why add copyright to your photos?
Your photos are protected by copyright as soon as you take them, but anyone who finds one online has no way to know it's yours unless the file says so. Putting your name and copyright notice in the file helps in three ways:
- People can find you. Someone who wants to use your photo can see who to ask and where to license it.
- Google Images credits you. It shows the creator, credit line and copyright notice, and a “Licensable” badge that links to your licensing page.
- Removing it has consequences. In the US, knowingly stripping copyright information from a photo to hide an infringement can cost $2,500 to $25,000 per violation under the DMCA, on top of any infringement claim.
What to write
Copyright notice
The © symbol or the word “Copyright”, the year the photo was first published and your name or business name, as in “© 2026 Jane Smith Photography”. A notice isn't needed for copyright to apply, but it removes any doubt about who owns the photo.
Usage terms
“All rights reserved” says nobody may use the photo without your permission. If you share your work under a Creative Commons licence, name it here and put the licence link in the licensing page field instead.
Website, email and licensing page
Contact details let people reach you, and a licensing page turns a would-be infringer into a customer. It can be a page on your site or your portfolio on a stock library.
Metadata or watermark?
A watermark is visible to everyone, but it covers part of your photo and is easy to crop or remove. Metadata doesn't change how the photo looks, travels with every exact copy and is read by search engines, but it can be stripped without anyone noticing.
Many photographers use both: metadata on every photo they deliver or publish, and a watermark on previews they don't want used at full quality.
Other ways to add copyright info
This tool is the quickest way to update photos you already have, but you can also add copyright info with software you may already use:
- In your camera. Most interchangeable-lens cameras have a copyright or artist setting in their menus, which writes your name into every new photo.
- Lightroom Classic. Create a metadata preset with your IPTC copyright and creator details, then choose it under “Apply During Import” so every imported photo gets it.
- Photoshop. Go to File > File Info and fill in the copyright fields. Saving a JPEG again re-compresses it, which lowers its quality a little each time.
- Windows. Select your photos, right-click, choose Properties and fill in Authors and Copyright on the Details tab.
What happens when you upload them?
It depends on the site. Some keep the copyright fields, but many social networks and websites remove some or all metadata when photos are uploaded, and screenshots never have any. To see what a site kept, download your photo from it and run it through the image copyright checker.
Copies whose metadata has been stripped can still be found with a reverse image search. Our guide shows how to reverse image search multiple images at once, and protecting your photographs covers what to do when you find a copy.
Frequently asked questions
Does adding copyright info reduce photo quality?
No. Only the metadata is rewritten. The image data is copied byte for byte, so nothing is re-compressed.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Your photos are processed by your browser on your own device and never sent to a server.
Which apps and sites show the copyright info?
Lightroom, Photoshop, Bridge, Windows file properties and most photo managers read it. Google Images shows the creator, credit and copyright notice, and a Licensable badge when you add a licensing page.
Will the copyright info survive when I upload my photos?
Not always. Many social networks and websites remove some or all metadata on upload, so copies of your photos can lose your name. A reverse image search can still find them.
Which file types are supported?
JPEG and PNG. You can add as many photos as you like and download them together as a zip.