What Should I Name My Photography Business?

I had a great question come in today from a photographer that’s starting up a new business, and contemplating name choices. “What should I name my photography business?” As I was typing up the answer, I began thinking about how many of you may also be thinking of similar things, and thought I would post about it here as well.

The first question I would have to you is, “How do you want to grow?”

For some people, it’s all about the art. They have dreams of becoming a household name with their photography. Think Denis Reggie, Anne Geddes or Annie Leibovitz.

For some people, it’s all about the business. They have dreams of building a large studio in which they can hire multiple photographers, and offer a variety of services using multiple talented people.

Both are great business models. However, both should be named differently.


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If it’s all about the art form, and you’re goal is to have your art recognized instantly, your name should be incorporated into your business name. Jane Smith Photography or Smith International would work well. The key is to build the business with you as its leader. You are the heart and soul of the business.

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If it’s all about the business, your goal should be to have a recognizable name that talks about your specialty as opposed to the art form of one individual. Creative Weddings International or Children’s Portraits tell people what to expect as an outcome, and speak to the business side as opposed to an individual. (Yes, these names aren’t the most creative by any means, just using the names to show you how to think.)

Let me give you another idea.

When Andrew and I first started our photography studio a long eyes on photography logo time ago, we chose the name Eyes On Photography without thinking much about it. We used it for almost ten years before we decided to take our business international. So we added a tagline to our name – two little words.

Worldwide Imagery

With this one change, our business changed 180 degrees. When people called us they would ask where our other offices were in the world. They would ask how many people worked for us. They expected our fees to be high – wouldn’t you pay more for artists that worked anywhere in the world?

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About Virtual Photography

We're the co-founders of VirtualPhotographyStudio.com and have been writing on this blog since 2004. We started Virtual as a way to help photographers stretch beyond a part time income, and develop strategies to become a Five Figure Photographer or a Six Figure Photographer. Ultimately its all about lifestyle, and if your goal is to live as a photographer 24/7, we think you should have the knowledge and the tools to do so. Welcome!

Comments

  1. I Want to be a photographer and i wanted to like make a fanpage, on like facebook or something and my friend wants to upload some of her pictures to. But we both are at a stand still with a name. My name is Keirsten and hers is Michelle. I’m 15 turning 16 in October and she’s 16 turning 17 in April. I know our age doesnt help much but Its what atleast i’m doing after highschool. I was wondering if you could help me atleast be put in the right direction of coming up with a name. Thank you in Advance

  2. Hi Keirsten

    At this point I would stick with your name. Since you are young, your main goal now should be to build up your portfolio, and you can do that easily with a page on Facebook (or a blog, whatever you choose to use). Then once you’re ready to do more with it, you can transform it into anything you choose. Your name will always be with you, whether you run ABC Photography or not. By building up your portfolio now, you can use it to do whatever you want in the next few years.

    Lori

  3. Gilberto says:

    First of all I want to say terrific blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.

    I was curious to know how you center yourself and
    clear your thoughts prior to writing. I’ve had difficulty clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I truly do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints? Thanks!

  4. Gilberto – I write so much now, I usually don’t have trouble. But one thing that has always helped me is to calendar out what I will be talking about. So you can set up months for different things – May is wedding month, June is high school senior month. Then you can break it down from there to a weekly basis. Monday’s are “how to” days. Tuesday’s are client days where you talk about a specific client and what you did for them. Wednesday’s are resource days where you provide a great resource for your readers. Etc.

    If you narrow down your topic for the day, you are more focused in on what to write about. You’ll also have it in the back of your mind as you go through your week, and you’ll find yourself saying “This is perfect for my how-to post”.

    Lori

  5. family photography says:

    This is probably the best way to get some natural lighting in your studio
    setting. It may require multiples shots, each using a different focal point, to
    fully document an object in pictures. People have made big decisions and paid large sums of money for a wedding and they want it to
    go smoothly and be a total success from A to Z.