Online Picture protection help required

I have recently upgraded my camera kit to a Canon G9 with ikelite housing and DS125 flash. I've just come back off a trip with a great improvement in my photos, I want to show all, but a bit concerned over them getting copied by people without my knowledge, should they be deemed any good of course! Not that they may be, but I feel they may eventually get better and feel I should start off on the right foot. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

First rule: If you shown them someone else can use them

Second rule: you can't avoid it, you just can make it harder or not worthwhile.

Options:

- Use 'water mark' on each image, the problem: if you'll use big mark its will be disturbing,, small - easy to remove.

- Publish small images, then even if someone will used them its won't be good to any commercial issue.

- Disable the save option of the image by java script, not a real problem to someone that really want your image but prevents some downloads.

- Use flash gallery, its also makes the download a little harder.

- Images that you want to be shown only by specifics put in private area in your site that require authentication, I'm doing it at my site for private shots.

- Copyright Registration, wont disturb downloading and private using but can help if your images where used for commercial purpose.

Posting your images can also lead to pleasant surprises. I post my images on FishDB and was once contacted by a writer who wanted to use some of my images for a book on animals and their behavior. I ended up with a free copy of the book, enough money to buy 5 new FishID books, and my images with name in print. For a professional that is just peanuts but for a hobbyist you have to love those peanuts!

Bart

Thanks guys,

What would stop me just inserting text on a photo in photoshop, and using that as a watermark, and keeping another copy without the text?

I came across a program a few years ago that made it very hard to grab a pic from a web page.

It locked off certain keys on the keyboard/mouse and no matter what I tried I could not get it off the screen.

Even screen capture would not work.

It was abit over the top though