We present a method for digital image watermarking based on the modification of certain subsets of the wavelet packet decomposition. These subsets are determined both from a secret key and an image dependent procedure that chooses a best basis from an energy criterion. The mark is set by imposing a parity constraint at each level of the decomposition. We elaborate on the choice of some of the parameters of the model, showing how they can be tuned so as to obtain good resistance to attacks. Examples are displayed to assess the validity of our approach.