NM CliQ Magazine August 2015 | Page 39

Copyright Your Images Right In Your Camera
By: Dave Stabley
Allow me to preface this article by saying I am a Canon 5D II & 5DIII user,
and although I am certain this same kind of feature is available in Nikons
and other brands of DSLRs, I have no direct knowledge of how to effect
it in those brands. I have included Nikon information I researched on the
subject, but have no means of verifying its accuracy.
If you are a photographer who likes to post samples of your work online, and on social media sites, you
run the very present risk of having your images hijacked and used in places, and for purposes your never
intended...and completely without your knowledge or consent. It happens all the time!

©

Including a copyright notice with the photos you take with your DSLR is a reasonable first step to take if
you want to prevent people from using your pictures without permission. Obviously, that won’t be enough
to completely prevent unauthorized use of your images. And technically speaking, you hold the copyright
to your photo whether you take any steps to mark it with your name. But if you ever come to the point of
pressing legal action, you can at least show that you did your due diligence in letting people know that you
hold the copyright.
By using the Copyright Information option on
the Setup Menu, you can load copyright data into
the camera’s brain. Then, whenever you shoot a
picture, your copyright information is added to the
metadata (extra, invisible data) recorded with the
image file. You can view the copyright information
and other metadata in the free Canon software, and
many other photo and graphics editing software
packages.
Anyone who views your picture in a program that
can display metadata will see your copyright notice.
To turn on the copyright function, take these steps:

1. Set the camera Mode dial to an advanced
exposure mode. You can create or modify copyright
information only in P, Tv, Av, M, or A-DEP exposure
mode. Rest assured, however, that your copyright
information — after it’s created — is stored in all
images you shoot in either the advanced or fully
automatic exposure modes.
2
 . Display Setup Menu (#3 on Mk II and Menu #4
on Mk III) and highlight Copyright Information.
3. Press Set.

Remember these text-entry tricks:
• Use the Quick Control button to alternate between
the text box and the character-selection area below.
• The cross keys walk you from character to character
in the list.
• Press Set to enter the current character in the text
box.
• To delete a character, move the cursor just pass the
letter and press the Erase button.
After you finish entering your name, press Menu.
You then return to the Copyright Information screen.

Highlight Copyright Information and press Set to add
additional copyright data.

You might want to add the word Copyright and the
year, for example, or your company name. Just repeat
the same text entry process you used to enter your
name.

Press Men