P: "smart" watermark to include data (location/name/date/lens/camera - EXIF/metadata etc.)

[acaurora2]

Is there a way to create a watermark in either Photoshop or Lightroom that is "smart" in that you can customize it to pull data from the metadata of the photo (date/time image was taken, lens used, camera body used, etc.) or file information (folder, subfolder, etc.) ?

[Sam Shimota]

Nine years later, still seems to be an issue. I'm just getting into Lightroom and finding this exact issue to be a right nuicance.

[JMarkTurner]

The place where I most need custom data (the year, in particular) in Lightroom watermarks is in the Web module. Today I'm creating a fairly large group of individual galleries for the editor at a publishing client with photos created between 1996 and 2021. Best practice is to have the date the photo was created in the visible watermark I put on each photo. Creating these galleries in Lightroom's Web module is the fastest, easiest way to do it but I have to settle for putting the same year in the watermark of all photos.

I use LR/Mogrify and have created export presets which pull from metadata, including year created. But doing that means exporting the photos, with watermarks, and then using another tool to build my web galleries. My Mogrify export preset includes the filename, a copyright notice with the year created, and my web address.

I can also export "naked" files into a folder and use Breeze Browser to build my web galleries. That's a program I've been using since long before Lightroom came on the market and it works well. But again, it's two extra steps, a whole bunch of intermediate files, and more chances to make an error.

It seems like it should be relatively simple to add this functionality to the watermarking function in Lightroom. Certainly easier than the complex masking recently introduced in the Develop module.

[Nickolas23073338v6l7]

I am finding it very complex and time consuming for my customers to be able to identify what photo they are looking at after it has been posted online. When there is a group of photos of a set theme, it becomes hard to explain what is being looked at in one photo compared to another.

We need the ability to not only have a generic watermark across all photos being exported at the same time but be able to have things like the file name used as well.

Having the ability to input up to 4 separate watermarks would solve most issues and help us be able to accomplish things much easier.

I looked online and even spoke to the Adobe staff, there is no way to have a watermark that is different for each image unless you input the information and export 1 photo at a time. This is way too time consuming and in all fairness a complete joke considering what computers are capable of doing today.

This problem has now slowed down my ability to upload my images online for my customers to see and be able to identify clearly what photos they are looking at so much that it will now take me several days to accomplish a task that a computer can do in a few minutes.

Please make it so we can have different types of watermarks on photos at the same time.

[Ian Lyons]

You might want to have a look at this Lightroom plugin while you're waiting for Adobe to consider/implement your feature request

https://www.photographers-toolbox.com/products/lrmogrify2.php?sec=main

I'm sure that there others that offer similar options, and some may even offer what you're asking for. Try Googling 'Lightroom Watermark Plugin'

[Nickolas23073338v6l7]

Thank you for the reply Ian.

I have had a look into LR/Mogrify 2 and it seems like a decent app.

However to use the full version a donation must be made to the developers. This is a disgrace and Adobe will be billed for any charges that are incurred.

If Adobe wants their customers to use third party apps, they should have the decency to at least provide a full version of the app itself to their customers.

I already pay for Lightroom, now I have to pay for an app to do something Lightroom should handle no problems?

This is yet another reason I am totally unsatisfied with Adobe in general. If anyone knows of another program out there similar to Lightroom please let me know. I will use that instead of paying for crippled software provided by a company that has no respect for its paying customers.

I don't know why Adobe keeps holding back on the implementation of this watermark feature. Let me shine the light in their faces for a change:

CLEARLY IF A THIRD PARTY APP HAS BEEN CREATED THEN IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THIS FEATURE IS IN HIGH DEMAND.

[Rob_Cullen]

Yes, agree, "in high demand", and would be a useful addition to the Export module.

There is a Freeware option to add a metadata watermark and that is Faststone Image viewer-

https://youtu.be/TKUyQV5xsnM

[Jacob thePhotographer]

Add an EXIF option to create a Watermark:
In my specific Timelapse workflow I would set the creation date & time as a Watermark, resulting in a 'Ticking Digital Clock' as an overlay in the resulting video.
But I can imagine many other watermark options pulled from EXIF adta as well:
Camera / Lens / Settings or just the Creator name or the location / GPS data .
Ideally it should be able to combine it with a custom text or Logo.

[Jacob thePhotographer]

Unfortunately the mentioned Metadata / FastStone app is Windows only. Like many graphic art creators I use MAC . . .

[Roland_Rick]

@J453 , a how to would be fine, not only a "it should be possible", that doesn't help anyone - thanks. Step bu step for those who are new to this, not interested learing full scripting, just quick and dirty adding Exif/Metadate in text style watermarks. 

[Jacob thePhotographer]

As you say ' a how to ' would be nice - but with all the subscription money flowing into Adobe's coffers it should be so easy to have a dedicated team work on this for a few days. It wuld also consolidate Adobes position as market leader. There are more and more top quality graphic app makers providing us wuth excepional imaging apps. The time will come (not if but when ) that there arrives an app that is as functional better as Lightroom . That day might be the day I leave Adobe products after 23 years of continous usage.
Wakeup ADOBE this simple request to include EXIF option in the watermarking might be more decisive to your revenue as you might think ... !

[Kramliw]

He wants to put the file name as a watermark, not learn about something else. I cannot beleive that its 2023 and lightroom seemingly cannot display the file name or other metadata on the image itself. When you say "Add the filename the same time" do you mean manually for each photo? Is there a way to make the Text watermark dynamic ? Google Baird said to use something like {filename} and when that didnt work it claimed that $FILENAME$ was a work around, needless to say - none of these work.

[Marcus5ED2]

I miss a feature to use exif data as variables in the watermark function in the export module. It's easier for customers to select pictures by name if this is part of the watermark 

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this Idea:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-ideas/p-quot-smart-quot-watermark-to-include-data-l...

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this Idea:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-ideas/p-quot-smart-quot-watermark-to-include-data-l...

[Shipp]

Ability to add metadata to watermarks for image output. Workarounds using Slideshow or Print module do not have the functionality to make this seamless. I just want to be able to add metadata tokens to the watermark text. 

This is important because clients sometimes rename files which can cause chaos, or for easy reference for clients who are IT challenged and need a quick visual reference for the filename. Clients can also randomly place images in layouts that causes them to lose the filename. There are many reasons why this is useful and is included natively in other professional software like Capture One.   

I've been relying on LR/Mogrify 2 for this functionality and it currently is not working with 13.5.1, with no support from the developer anymore.

I think it is now irresponsible to recommend LR/Mogrify 2 to people in these forums when it is no longer supported by the developer.  It is only a matter of updates when it will stop working for others.

For something so critical to my professional workflow I feel this should be feature within Lightroom, rather than outsourced to a third party that no longer supports it. 

[Shipp]

Also for anyone that has suggested, the PT Watermark plug-in is for Windows only. 

[gnits999]

Adobe need to make metadata available in the Watermark feature...

But also in 1) The Print Module (ie incl the Slideshow features. 2)In the Slideshow allow the user specify the font size.

[Doug_E_Fresh]

I would like to see the option to add to an image the file name as part of the watermark options.

I use Behance to post photos, and I would like to show the file name so if someone is interested in a photo, they can tell me the file name and I can work on it, or have it printed for them.

LR keeps adding all these nice features, but I would like to see this one added, and it wouldn't be that hard to do.

What are your thoughts?

[Matthew249224202mcs]

It's 2025 and it still hasn't been fixed.  All I want is to watermark each image with it's filename.  This is a stone age level fix. 

[AxelMatt]

If this feature is important for you create a new thread as an feature request (idea section) of this forum.

[Jim Wilde]

FWIW, the Lr/Mogrify 2 plug-in, mentioned earlier in this thread, still works on the latest version of MacOS (I believe it also still works on Win11). 

See attached screenshot of a file exported today using the plug-in, it contains Watermark, internal border with Title, Caption and Filename printed on it:

[cmgap]

Thank you Jim!

[gnits999]

I have just got LrMogrify working on my Win11.

This plugin uses an underlying app called ImageMagick.  I had difficulties getting this configured. See post no. 3 here.

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/lr-mogrify-plug-in.52633/

It may be prudent to update ImageMagic to the latest version if the plugin is crashing.