If you're looking to expand your reach with your photography (or simply to branch out), you'll need to sell your photos commercially. But what most novice photo sellers don't know is that logos and brand names are prohibited in commercial photos.
Why? Well, they're technically owned by those brands and rights-holders themselves. This means that you can't sell them for commercial use by others without express permission from the copyright owner. And unfortunately, logos really are everywhere — they sneak into your images even if you try hard not to include them. We have two options here: Ask the brand permission to use their logo or name in your images (pretty difficult) or to simply edit out the logo using a photo editing tool (easy as pie).
Logos and brand names can include things such as (but aren't limited to):
- Labels and brand names on items of clothing or accessories, even if they're tiny or barely visible (think the Nike swoosh on an athletic bag or the Lacoste logo on a polo)
- Billboards in the background of your image
- A logo or name on a company's building
- Anything in your image that denotes a brand or organization
Here are a few ways to remove logos and brand names for your images in under five minutes so you can sell them and earn more for your hard work. It might take some practice, but you'll get the hang of it quickly.
1) Photoshop
You should be able to retouch your photo on any retouching software, and one super-solid choice is Adobe Photoshop. We picked an example photo out to show you how to remove logos using this famous editing software.
Clone Stamp Tool
The Clone Stamp tool is used for pixel-to-pixel cloning in Photoshop. It can be used to clone a pattern or texture from one area to another, erasing whatever was on the initial area. In this case, it can be used to remove a logo from an image.
1) In the toolbox, select the Clone Stamp tool. Set the brush size and style.
2) Position the cursor over the area you want to clone and then Alt+Click (Windows) or Option+Click (Mac) to define the clone source
3) Position the cursor over the area where you want to paint the cloned pixels to start painting
Tip: When using the Clone Stamp tool for touching up images, try to resample from the source and paint over the logo as many times as possible until you have successfully replaced the pixels and the logo is erased without a trace. The surface should mirror its surroundings.
Spot Healing Tool
The Healing or Spot Healing Brush is another tool you can use to remove logos or brands from your photo. The tool is different from the Clone Stamp tool in that it automatically blends into the target area making it a better choice in some cases.
1) In the toolbox, select the Healing Brush tool, and set the brush size and style.
2) Position the brush tool on the logo area and start painting.
3) Repeat till the logo is removed and the area looks clean.
Tip: You can also use Adobe's Lightroom for this.
2) iPhone apps
Don't want to shell out the cash for photo-editing software? As long as you have an iPhone, you can edit logos out of photos with just a few taps. We think Snapseed is a great option because it's free, but you can also use a specialized paid app such as TouchRetouch ($1.99) as well.
Snapseed
Snapseed is a big part of the editing arsenal of serious Instagrammers everywhere. But did you know that its healing tool can remove unwanted logos from photos you'd like to sell commercially? Here's how:
1) Open your photo using Snapseed
2) Click "Tools" on the bottom menu. Select the "Healing" option.
3) Pinch to zoom on the area of your photo where you need to remove a logo. Press down on the logo with your finger, and the app will automatically remove it.
4) When you're happy with the results, export your final version
3) Android apps
Not an iOS user? Have no fear: There's also a host of Android-compatible apps you can use to remove those pesky brand names and logos in minutes. Our favorites include Aviary and TouchRetouch. Simply download these to quickly remove unwanted elements from your images.
Scopio submission by @collycollz. Submit your photos here for a chance to expand your audience and get featured.
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