Watermarking

A leaked production still can derail a press strategy months in the making. One photo surfaces on social media before the embargo lifts, and suddenly you're in damage control instead of building buzz. If you've ever sent review copies over email and hoped for the best, you already know the problem.

ReelStorage applies watermarks to every review copy automatically. Your originals stay locked down until you explicitly release them.

The problem with manual watermarking

Most photographers and publicists handle watermarking the same way: batch process in Photoshop, export a separate set of files, upload those to whatever sharing tool they're using, then keep track of which version is which. When approvals come back, they dig out the originals and re-export.

It works, but it's slow and error-prone. Miss one file in the batch and you've sent an unprotected original. Forget to swap in the clean version after approval and your client gets a watermarked final. The whole process is a tax on every review cycle.

How ReelStorage handles it differently

Watermarks in ReelStorage aren't baked into your files. They're applied dynamically, on the fly, whenever someone views or downloads a photo that hasn't been approved yet. Your original files sit untouched in storage.

This means:

• You never manage two versions of the same photo
• Approvals automatically unlock the clean original
• You can change your watermark design without re-processing anything
• Every download, watermarked or clean, gets logged

Setting up your watermark

You configure watermarks at the project level. Upload a logo (PNG with transparency works best) or use a text overlay with your production name, copyright line, or whatever you need. Pick the placement, opacity, and whether you want it tiled across the image or placed once.

You can save multiple presets. A film production might use one watermark for talent review copies and a different one for press screeners.

Automatic application

Once configured, every photo uploaded to that project gets watermarked views automatically. There's no batch step, no export queue. Upload 500 photos from set and they're all watermarked within seconds.

This is particularly useful for same-day delivery workflows. The photographer uploads from set, the publicist shares watermarked proofs with talent reps that afternoon, and clean versions unlock as approvals roll in. No bottleneck.

Approval-driven release

Here's where it ties together with the rest of the platform. When a photo gets approved through the talent approvals workflow (or manually by your team), the watermark restriction lifts for that specific photo. Authorized users can then download the original, unwatermarked file.

No one needs to re-upload anything. No one needs to remember which photos were approved. The system tracks it.

Protecting embargoed content

For productions with strict embargo dates, watermarked review copies serve double duty. They let you circulate stills for approval and selection while maintaining a visual deterrent against unauthorized use. If a watermarked image does surface, the watermark itself identifies where the leak originated.

Combined with the activity log (which tracks every view and download), you get a complete chain of custody for every photo.

Watermarks and distribution

When you share photos through secure distribution links, watermark behavior follows the approval status:

• Unapproved photos: Always watermarked, regardless of who's viewing
• Approved photos: Clean originals available to authorized users
• External share links: You control whether shared links serve watermarked or clean versions

This gives publicists flexibility. Share a gallery of watermarked proofs with a talent rep, then share the approved subset (without watermarks) with press outlets, all from the same project.

Who uses this

Unit publicists protecting pre-release stills during the approval cycle. You're managing kill rights, coordinating with talent reps, and need every review copy watermarked until it's cleared.

Producers who need to circulate stills internally without risking leaks. Watermarked copies let department heads review without exposing unprotected originals.

Event photographers sharing proofs with clients. Watermarked galleries let clients browse and select, and approved photos unlock for final delivery.

PR agencies distributing embargoed photos to media. Watermarks protect content before the embargo lifts and identify the source if something gets published early.

What makes this different from Photoshop batching

The core difference is that watermarking here isn't a step in your workflow. It's a property of the system. You don't think about it, schedule it, or manage output files. Photos are watermarked when they should be and clean when they're approved.

For teams processing hundreds or thousands of stills per production, that's the difference between a smooth review cycle and a manual bottleneck that delays everything downstream.

Technical details

• Watermarks are applied dynamically — you never have multiple copies of the same file to manage
• Original files are never modified
• Supports PNG logos with transparency and text overlays
• Configurable position, opacity, size, and tiling
• Multiple watermark presets per project
• All watermarked and clean downloads are logged in the activity trail