Watermarks and logos..... good or bad

Hi

I'm sure it's been discussed before but here goes.....

I think that in general watermarks are a bad thing for the model.
Let's say a model does a tfp shoot so she can get nice pix for her folio, then she gets back a load of pix with a giant logo and text right across the middle obscuring half the image, it's not really that great is it?

Now.... there are times when it's ok to have this, technically if the photographed paid the model then it's his pix to do what he wants with, or if the picture is not the finished product but a sample shot, then I can understand it, but mostly it just looks bad.

I know why it's done, stop stealing/advertising etc, but sometimes it ruins the image.

I used to put a small logo in the bottom left of the border of my pix, so it didn't get in the way, but I've stopped that recently as it's a bit pointless really, it's more fun if people guess it's one of my pix without my name on it and it also helps the mood of the picture by not having any distractions.

I've seen some recently that take up half the picture, big text that just makes the whole thing look silly.

If it's subtle then it's not too bad (as in it's unobtrusive or faint enough to not be noticeable) but mostly it just detracts from the photo.

I don't think any of my pictures are worth stealing, and there are easy ways of finding out if someone did..... and to be honest what would they do with them anyway :) I've also seen how easy it can be to remove watermarks so if someone really wants to steal a watermarked image they'll do it anyway.

So, back on topic, if you do a tfp shoot with a model then it's bad form to watermark the hell out of it, how would you feel if the model turned up with a giant wooden board with her name on it round her middle, making sure it was right in your face in every shot :) actually that might look cool lol, . But you see what I mean.... I'm sure if you were to enter an image into a competition you wouldn't leave the watermark stuck across the middle of it so why lumber the model with some half assed picture with a big watermark proclaiming your name on it? It's just wrong.

Ok that's me done lol, and like I said, if you paid the model then fair enough, it's a different story, it's your pix to do what you want with, you own them and it's fair game to only give out the pix you want in any format that suits, but for tfp....... nooooooo
:)