A batch photo editor that’s an efficient powerhouse.
I work with hundreds of image files per day. Sometimes they are RAW files and other times they are just large JPEGs. Whatever the file type or size, I always end up having to resize them to make them uniform to a specific style I’m going for. Resizing images — especially for web use — is important as it makes it easier to share the files. When you are going to share files you need to make sure you are protected, too. One very easy way to do this is to add a watermark to an image. This distinctive symbol or text identifies you as the image’s owner/creator. So, no matter where it is shared, you will get the credit for it. If you are editing photos one-by-one, this process can become very tedious. This very reason is why I sought out a batch editor — like PhotoMarks.
DETAILS
PhotoMarks is a fully-featured application for adding visual watermarks and other filters to your images in a batch mode. It works with both desktop and mobile devices and while it is offered for $29.99 through the Mac App Store, you do have the option of downloading a free trial from the PhotoMarks website. This app is designed for users who have photos that don’t need extensive touch-ups and who want to add watermarks to their photos. PhotoMarks works with both Mac and PC operating systems and the app allows you to customize your images with the use of watermarks, resizing, rotation, or graphical frames. The app takes advantage of using multi-core processors in order to finish the batches quicker and more efficiently. Users also have the option to save their settings for later use.
MAIN FEATURES
- Batch Processing with support for multi-core processors
- Customizable Text & Logo watermarks
- Smart Resizing filter
- Auto Rotate filter
- Graphic Decorations like frames and shadow effects
- Customizable names for images
- Upload to FTP & Flickr available
- Previews of edits available
- Support for more than 50 image formats including RAW
USER EXPERIENCE
Installation and set-up for PhotoMarks were very minimal. There was a very small tutorial that walked me through the steps of how the app works that showed up when I ran it the first time but the app is very self-explanatory. PhotoMarks was developed with the idea of being a design wizard for batch images. There are four steps to the process including Adding Photos, Editing Photos, Setup, and Process. After you’ve added your photos (I used a batch of 10 for testing), you move to the ‘Edit’ step. This is where you can add any edits or filters you need to the group. It’s important to note that any edits or filters you add in this step will be applied to the entire batch of images. The nice thing about this step is that you have the ability to not only preview the image you have selected, but you can also preview every photo in the batch. This is very helpful to see how the changes you are adding will affect each image.
For testing purposes, I added a simple text watermark and moved it to the bottom left-hand corner of the image. The app gives you the option to automatically move the watermark based off of alignment commands (i.e. Bottom-left, Align Center, etc.) or you can drag it to the location you want it to live. I utilized both tools. After I added the watermark text, I decided to resize the batch, too. The original images were 5472 x 3648. I constrained the aspect ratio so that the images wouldn’t become stretched in weird ways and then I changed the dimensions to 1200 x 800, which is a much more manageable size for more web-based images. You can see from the info panes below (the left is the edited image and the right is the original), resizing the photo in this manner really makes a huge difference in file size.
As far as quality goes, it does not look like the quality suffers at all. After examining the photos side by side in Preview, I really cannot tell a difference. Resizing also does not seem to alter the photo’s original makeup. All the stats are exactly the same with the exception of the size dimensions.
CONCLUSION
PhotoMarks is a very easy to use batch photo editor. I do want to note that as wonderful as this app is, it’s not a replacement for more advanced editors like Photoshop, Affinity Photo, or even Alien Skin’s ExposureX3. Each of those apps does have the ability to add watermarks quickly and easily, but it’s always nice to have a batch photo editor available — especially one as easy to use as PhotoMarks. As much as I admire the functionality of this app, I do think the interface could use some polish. It’s just not as sleek looking as other Mac apps are and it reminds me of something from the late 90’s rather than something that’s coming from the App Store. Even though the app could use a facelift, the features and functions are there and I won’t let the look of the app keep me from using it.
For more information, visit photomarksapp.com.
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