7) When you drag your cursor over the image at this point you will see your Copyright/ID (watermrk) move over the image as well. Click your mouse to drop that Copright/ID inside the new layer, 'Layer 1'. (NOTE that 'Layer 1' is sitting up-above the 'Background' or picture layer and, as 'Layer 1' is transparent – save for what you just stamped – you see your picture below the 'watermark'.)

That's all there is to it. Now go mark your photos. It's really quite simple after your first go-round.

Some things to keep in mind:

    - Double-click on the layer you have just stamped your identifier/watermark on ('Layer 1'). Rename the layer '©'.
This is primarily an organizational suggestion. Naming the layer you just stamped helps you remember in the future what that layer contains! Look at the screen capture just above. That '©'-labeled layer looks empty, right? It actually contains my ID/satermark. Without the '©' – or, say '©locationswest.com', I might think I just have an empty layer there and eventually drag it to the trash. Then it's gone. Remind yourself in the future by renaming the layer now!

    - Another reason to have your Copyright/identification tag on its own separate layer is that you can choose in the future to turn it off and then turn it back on again. Layers are a key component for controlling your work in Photoshop.

    - Control the size of your ID stamp: By using the Left Bracket key ('[') and Right Bracket key (']') you can decrease or increase the size of your saved ID brush.

    - Play with layer Opacity and Fill. This is important!
Your identifier is there to make sure those who have the image know where it came from. (It is also a great way to make sure someone else doesn't appropriate your work as their own!) However, you don't want this element to detract from viewing your image. The eye should 'see-past' your stamped watermark.

Here is an example of using this branding technique in a group of pictures used as a presentation. The images in this page are not 'locked' into a Flash module so viewers can either Right-click the pictures to save them into a folder on their Mac/PC or simply drag-and-drop them onto their desktop. Fortunately, because I went through this process of stamping each image first my ID stays with the images!

Now, how about building a Photoshop Action to speed up the process of watermarking a series in advance of building a web gallery?