How to Remove Watermarks From Photos

Are you a photographer or artist? Then, you already know how challenging it is in these digital years to save your photos from pirating. Today, anyone can download your pictures to share them online without giving you credit unless you copyrighted them.

Watermarking is an instant cheaper solution for a lengthy, expensive copyright process. Unfortunately, it can’t prevent photo theft since anyone can remove a watermark effortlessly. However, the watermark reduces the photo’s appearance and distracts the view.

Imagine you lost access to your photos and were left with only watermarked photos to retouch for an urgent project. You can’t deliver watermarked photos. What will you do?

Doesn’t it sound like a nightmare? In such cases, you have to remove the watermarks from photos to end that horror. Keep reading the blog to learn How to Remove Watermarks From Photos.

To sum up: Removing the watermark is an effortless process. The blog will cover the details of watermarks and How to Remove Watermarks From Photos without losing their original quality.

Table of Contents

What is a watermark in photos?

Watermark is a visible logo, brand name, or signature imposed transparently on an image representing the genuine owner.

Usually, the watermark is overlaid transparently to avoid distraction and protect the image from theft or use without permission. Moreover, it boosts brand awareness.

Watermarks in photos, alternatively known as digital watermarks, have different categories based on the purpose of use. A few of them are-

Visible: Logo, text, or any sign are visible at high opacity on the picture as watermarks.
Invisible: It is steganography watermarking where you can’t see the watermarks with open eyes but are hidden in the image.
Public: It is a noticeable watermark that anyone can modify through algorithms.
Private: It is a secured watermarking that none can remove or modify.
Fragile: It is a breakable watermark that anyone can remove through editing or resizing.
Robust: Such a watermark stays intact during editing.
Invertible: Such watermarks function like encryption and are reversible.

How to Remove Watermarks From Photos

Removing a watermark from a digital photo without proper permission is illegal. If you want to remove the watermark from your images or others with appropriate permission, you can follow the below methods discussed under 3 points. Here I have discussed the Step by Step Guide For how to remove watermarks from photos.

Part- 1: How to Remove Watermarks Using Desktop:

Method-1: Remove Watermarks Using Photoshop

Photoshop is the most dedicated photo editing software to remove watermarks on a desktop. It is complicated software since it requires a learning curve, even for a simple action. However, using Photoshop, you can remove the watermark in several ways. Here are the steps to remove a logo from a photo using Photoshop:

Using Selection Tool-

Open the image in Photoshop.

Select the watermark using the ‘Rectangular marquee tool’ from the left side panel under the selection tool. Select the Lasso tool if the watermarked edges are not a straight line.

Select the ‘Fill’ option by clicking the mouse’s right button or from the ‘Edit’ tab above.
A pop-up dialogue box will appear. Select ‘Content-Aware’ under the Content option to fill the area with the required color, and press ‘OK’ to see the magic.

Repeat the ‘Content-aware’ process for each watermark to remove the watermark successfully.

Using Magic Wand Tool-

Open the photo in Photoshop by dragging or going to File>Open.
Select Magic Wand Tool from the left side toolbar and outline the watermark. Hold down Ctrl+ to zoom in while selecting and Ctrl (PC) or Cmd (Mac) key to select multiple elements.
Go to the Select tab, choose Modify, and then Expand from the appeared options to get the perfect selection. Input 2-5 Pixels and press OK.
Now move to the ‘Edit’ menu and select ‘Fill.’ Choose ‘Content-Aware’ in the Contents drop-down option from the popped-up dialogue box.
Unmark the box named ‘Color Adaptation’ and click ‘OK.’
If there are still a few leftovers, choose the ‘Clone Stamp Tool ‘ toolbox and set the size.
Holding down the Alt key, select the remaining watermark that will erase the watermark.
Continue until all watermarks are removed. Save the file.

Method-2: Using Photoworks

PhotoWorks is a user-friendly editor that can do more than remove a watermark. The steps are as below:

Start PhotoWorks and open the photo.

Select the healing brush from the Retouch tab.

Resize the brush size and paint over the watermark to delete it completely.

Click Apply and save the picture.

Method-3: Remove Watermarks Using Apowersoft

Apowersoft is the best software for removing watermarks since it requires no learning curve like Photoshop. You can access it online and offline both. The online version performs most satisfactorily in Google Chrome. The steps to remove watermarks are as below:

Open the software on the desktop or open it from online

Import the photo by clicking on the ‘Add Image’ command. You can select multiple photos now.
Choose any watermark removal, Regular or Al, from the above tab.

Select a selection tool from the top right corner and outline the watermarked portion in the photo.

After selecting the watermarked portion, press ‘ Convert.’

Wait for a moment while processing and save the file.

Method 4-: Using HitPaw Watermark Remover:

Several tools compromise the original quality during watermark removal, whereas HitPaw Watermark Remover concerns the photo’s resolution. It comes up with the inbuilt tech to detect and erase watermarks automatically. Here are the steps to go for watermark removal:

Download and install HitPaw Watermark Remover software on your PC.

Open the software and click on the ‘Remove Image Watermark.’ tab

Drag or choose a file to import photos into the software for removal.
On the right panel, you will find 5 different watermark removal modes. Select any one of those.

Make a selection on the watermark by moving the popped frame that will erase the watermark.
Click ‘Remove & Export’ to download the image.

Part-2: Remove Watermark from Images Online

What is the easiest way to remove a watermark? Using watermark removal software is only a piece of cake for some. That’s why online watermark remover tools come into play. Let’s know a few online tools to remove watermarks from photos.

Using Aiseesoft: To remove the watermark from photos with Aiseesoft, visit the official website and follow the below steps:

Upload an image by clicking the ‘Upload Photo’ button.

A popped tutorial will show three available modes of removing watermarks- Polygonal, Lasso, and Brush. Click ‘Got it.’

Select one mode to outline the watermark. After tracing all watermarks, click the ‘Remove’ button from the top bar.

It will start processing the watermark removal.

Finally, save and download the image.

Using Inpaint: Inpaint lets you remove watermarks online from various image formats, including Webp, PNG, and JPG. It also can remove watermarks from multiple images simultaneously. Follow the below steps:

Visit the official website of Inpaint.

Open the image with a watermark.

From the left side toolbar, select the ‘Marker’ tool.
Adjust the brush size by sliding left or right.
Outline the watermarked areas. Using polygonal, lasso, or eraser tools, you can also outline the watermarked part.

After tracing all the watermarks, click the ‘Erase’ button from the top. The watermark removal process will start.

Download the image to save.

Using Fotor: You can remove multiple watermarks from photos fastly and flawlessly using Fotor by the below steps:

Visit the Fotor website and upload the image.

Brush over the watermarks, and Fotor will remove those automatically.

It’s done. Download the photo.

Part-3: Remove Watermark on the Phone

You can also remove the Watermark from your photos using Android or iPhone. Numerous apps are available in the Play Store and iOS app list store. Here’s a short brief on that.

Using PhotoDirector on Android: PhotoDirector is a fantastic watermark remover app for Android users. Follow the steps to remove watermarks-

Download PhotoDirector from the Play store.
Import the picture into the app.

From the tool option, click the Removal icon.

Adjust the Removal area and download the image.

Using Snapseed on iOS: You can solve the watermark removal problem using the Snapseed app on your iPhone. The steps are simple as below:

Download Snapseed from the iOS app list store.
Upload the picture into the app.
Select the healing tool to remove the watermarks.
Zoom in to enhance the watermarked portion.
Download or save the photo on your device.

Part-4: Cut Out Image to Remove Watermarks From Photos

Cutting out the image is the most effortless way to remove watermarks from photos. It works best if the watermark is placed at the bottom of the picture or near the edge. In this case, you need to cut the watermarked portion and save the remaining parts.

You can use Photoshop, Photoscissors, or any photo editing softwares and apps to cut the photos.

Important Link: Check out my blog, How to Cut Out an Image in Photoshop, to learn to cut out the image.

Is It Unethical to Remove a Watermark?

Watermarked pictures symbolize ownership. Removing a watermark without the authority’s concern is legally prohibited. Though some debate removing watermarks is not a crime, it is a punishable crime under ‘Digital Millennium Copyright Act.’

“No person shall, without the authority of the copyright owner or the law, intentionally remove or alter any copyright management information.”- section 1202 (b) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Unauthorizedly removing the watermark for personal or business purposes is like stealing another person’s work. So, before you jump to remove the watermark of another’s work, you should ask for permission from the owner first. Otherwise, it can be booked as ‘Willful infringement,’ charging you vast amounts of money.

However, there are still some cases when removing the watermark is allowed. Here are those-

You are the owner of the pictures
You have permission to use the pictures
If you have the legally justifiable reason
If the original images are destroyed or

Why Remove Watermarks?

Watermark is not a strong protection against photo piracy. I already shared How to Remove Watermarks From Photos. So, anyone can remove Watermarks at the edge of the photo even if it is all over the image. That’s why a simple watermark cannot safeguard your image. Moreover, watermarking does more harm than good.

Accordingly, here I am going to share some reasons why you should remove the watermark-

Reduce Quality: A picture tells a thousand words, but applying a watermark can prevent it from being expressed correctly. Moreover, it downsizes the overall photo quality, which creates a less satisfying view experience.
Ruin Composition: consumers always prefer clean photos to check product details. Watermarks divert viewers by blurring the main composition’s features, quality, and artisanship, often making it difficult to understand the product. You might have spent time and money with the skill to get a perfect shot; why would you ruin composition by adding watermarks?
Decline Engagement: Photographic watermarks contain company or brand names, but people prefer to avoid promotional images. Therefore, Watermarked photos generate less engagement resulting in decline in sales.
Troubles Updating Logo: The logo evolves with the brand over time. If you continuously add a watermark to the logo and, after a certain period, you change the logo. Then you must update the logo in all the photo watermarks; otherwise, your brand becomes frail. Imagine the stress of re-watermarking old photos with a new logo. Isn’t it painful?
Downsize Promotion: Bloggers, social media channels, or digital creators often use photos to promote a product. Unfortunately, they can’t use watermarked images since these aren’t ideal for such a promotion. Moreover, being recognized as plagiarized watermarked photos reduce photos’ effectiveness on search engine result pages.
Unprofessional: Many businesses, photographers, and artists wrongly think watermarked photos look professional. But to be accurate, the watermarked image looks unprofessional because a professional photo should be jumble-free.

“Having consistently high-quality work is what makes you appear professional—not a watermark.”— Kirk Mastin.

Conclusion

Watermarks can be a pesky and overblown distraction for product photos. Reading the blog, you already know why you shouldn’t use watermarks. Moreover, in this blog, you have learned several easy and practical ways to Remove Watermarks From Photos using software, online tools, and apps that will help you ensure photo quality.

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