Signing Your Prints --Digitally

Why Sign Your Prints?

This blog article, says it all… It's on a web site named Epic Edits, a resource and community for photography enthusiasts.

Making Fine Art Prints: Signing!

Here's how to add your signature to a print.

1. Use the Studio Print Action. The action adds a blank space around the image, fakes a matt and adds an electronic version of your signature.

2. You can leave the signature area blank and actually sign the print in the blank area. Many photographers use a pencil do do this! Some photographers mount the photograph on a mat and sign the mat after the print has been mounted and matted. If you choose this method… Practice! Your signature, Practice writing on a mat, Practice first!

3. Some folks buying a print prefer to have the actual print signed!  If you are buying a print, don't be afraid to ask the photographer to sign it the way you want!… I purchased a print from Michael Reichmann, and since it was a photo he took in China, I asked him to sign it with his "chop." He did! Nice!

Here's how to do it electronically!

Step 1: On a good piece of white paper, write your signature with a good pen!

Step 2: Scan it at the highest resolution possible. If your scanner has the setting "Line Art" choose that and save it as a .tif file

Step 3: Load the scan into photoshop and paste the signature onto a blank layer.

 

 

Step 4: Use the color selection tool to select the white background. Click okay.

Step 5: Invert the selection

Menu

Select > Inverse

Step 6. Copy the selection to a new blank layer

Command + J (Mac)

Control + J (PC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 7: Delete the layer with the white background

Step 8.

BTW Crop the signature as small as possible...

Then save the file as a .psd file for the next step, and save the signature as a .png file to paste as a "watermark" on your "signed" photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fancy Electronic Signature

If you have a logo, or a symbol or your own "chop", you can use that...

I'll use my chop...

Step 1: Scan the chop, make the background transparent and arrange the chop and signature on a new blank layer

 

Step 2: Merge the layers and select fx at the bottom of the Layers Panel and choose "Blending Options"

 

 

Step 3: Play, fiddle until you get something nice...

Step 4: Save a PSD version for future editing and save a .png version for Digitally Signing your prints!

 

 

Next up: retouching your Portraits...