Photography is an art in itself. Thus, this artistry should reflect soon as a client steps on your premise or lands on your web page. Your photography logo or trademark must stand out because business emblems speak for brands even in their owners’ absence.
Customers form impressions in the first 10 seconds of meeting a business. They consider factors like branding consistency, quality, captivating media, and reachability. Moreover, when checking “branding consistency,” a client inspects stuff like your trademark, website graphic design, and the general layout.
According to Facebook Stats by OBERLO, 200 million micro-businesses worldwide use Facebook. That means there are over 200 million professional symbols out there.
Even though most aren’t your competitors, it’s still crucial to design an emblem that prospects and customers can easily spot.
You also want to check out your rivals to ensure your trademark stands out without looking overly weird.
In this Discussion:
- Steps to Create a Symbol for Your Photo Studio
- Logo Ideas for a Photo Business
- Why Photographers Need a Business Emblem
- Trademark Mistakes to Avoid as a Photographer
Photography Logo: Steps to Create a Trademark for Your Photo Studio
Even with quality services to offer, it is not easy surviving a competitive market if you don’t have a photography logo.
Some mentors say you don’t need a business emblem when starting a photography business. However, at Bunny Studio, we advise you to have one.
The truth is, even if you ignore a photography logo at first, you’ll still need one down the road.
Here are a few ways to get you started:
a. Begin with what inspires you
What inspires your artistry? How does it stand out from others?
All these are excellent places to start. At this stage, you can explore various themes such as color, mood, specialization, etc.
But what if you are stuck coming with an original idea?
Not to worry. There are millions of logos out there as examples and pre-designed templates to psych up your morale.
b. Check other people’s work
Some of the best graphic design artists draw inspiration from other people’s work. Surprisingly, their designs come off as masterpieces, even way better than the source artwork.
For instance, we know that the eye is a popular theme for many studio logos. But adding your taste and unique perspective to it can trigger the X factor. Don’t rush. If it doesn’t work today, try tomorrow.
Note: It is advisable to check on the history of some of the themes. You don’t want to use a symbol that agitates the clientele.
c. Work with an expert graphic artist
It is okay to go DIY on your branding. But what if your skill sets are nowhere close to Graphic Design? Or everything you sketch seems to turn out a mess?
Graphic artists specialize in helping businesses stand out from the crowd. Just like a photographer, they value their job because every completed project can make or break their career.
These strategists work with you from concept creation to the end. They even double-check the final piece to ensure accuracy and make corrections to suit your needs. After all, two artists are better than one!
d. Create different logo sizes to support your marketing efforts
An emblem is not an heirloom to hang on your website or office door and smile at every day. These symbols are your best marketing agents.
Hence, create different sizes to use in various platforms and campaigns, i.e., social media pages, emails, eBooks, business cards, giveaways, etc.
In essence, your photography logo should appear throughout the customer’s journey and beyond.
e. Launch it in style
Part of today’s marketing and branding is making every moment memorable for clients.
Once you’re ready, prepare a memorable launch by taking free snaps, editing for free or organizing competitions with branded giveaways.
Photography Logo Ideas to Consider
As hinted earlier, inspiration is the mother of great logos!
Before starting the project, it’s crucial to check out what famous photo artists have done with their branding. You may have some sketches and ideas to explore, that’s fine. But it makes more sense to check your competition and seek help from a graphic designer.
Plus, logos speak to customers. So whatever you create, make sure it resonates with your audience.
Below are some photography logo trademark ideas to consider:
i. Flaunt the Camera
This approach seems obvious. Nevertheless, you can still twist it to develop a unique photography logo. Photo artists choose the standard camera approach because it speaks everything at a glance.
While a popular strategy for most, the camera is also easy to customize in many different ways: You can add a unique color palette to your camera, choose 2D or 3D or add retro features depending on your specialization or target audience.
That’s not all. You can also take a minimalist one dimension approach and add accompanying text.
ii. Focus on the lens
Suppose the whole camera is a cliché; then why not split it and focus on the lens. This is another popular approach among studio owners. Just like the camera, it sends an instant message to prospects.
Think of relevant additions to the lens to create an emblem that your audience will recognize and resonate with. For instance, you can add your brand name at the center of the camera lens using clear fonts.
iii. The Font-style emblem
Symbols are memorable, but a font-style trademark of your company name can increase brand awareness. This approach is beneficial for brands looking to attract attention through their names.
Using your name in the emblem can portray you as a confident brand. Still, you’ll need to consider some vital factors when creating a font-style logo:
- Pick a clean, easy-to-read font
- Keep words to a minimum. The best symbols speak for themselves; no need to be wordy.
- Use only a few colors. While it’s okay to pick a preferred color, you want to limit the palette to two-three colors.
iv. Draw inspiration from your specialization
Are you a wedding photographer? Do you specialize in travel?
Well, draw inspiration from your specialty. Whatever you develop must portray what you do as a photo artist.
Still, you can use one of the above ideas and add elements of your specialty to the emblem.
Why all Artists must have a Photography Logo
A studio logo should blend simple text with visual elements. These combinations tell prospects your name and form a business symbol that markets your studio.
Beyond these, they serve more specific purposes, as we are about to see.
1. Impression is King
The first ten seconds of an encounter with prospects can determine whether they’ll consider your services. With that said, your business symbol can be a put-off or motivator.
A best practice is to ensure that your color palette and images depict your specialization.
Remember, a hurried project can lead to a poor quality emblem. Type “bad logos” on your browser to see instances when branding efforts failed.
2. Safeguard your works
When building a portfolio, it’s crucial to add a watermark that identifies your works as yours.
For a music artist, adding a logo to your self-made album protects them from unauthorized use and copyright issues.
The photography logo acts as a trademark for watermarked photos. Thus, no one can use them commercially without your permission.
3. One symbol for all marketing tools
We create logos to represent our brands.
You can use the photography logo on:
- Flyers
- Your web page
- Business cards
- Emails
- eBooks
- Giveaways, e.g., T-shirts, Caps, etc.
All these crucial marketing materials should carry the same logo to maintain a consistent theme. A trademark stands for you on the top-three meeting points:
- the internet
- social platforms
- public
4. Get a good return on investment
Designing a business symbol and including it throughout the client’s journey is a costly project.
Fortunately, a professional emblem can increase customer interest in your business and convert prospects to buyers.
In the end, you get a desirable return on investment.
Photography Logo Mistakes to Avoid
Avoid the following mistakes when designing a trademark for your physical or online photo studio:
· Don’t complicate it
Blending in too many elements can lead to a weird-looking symbol.
Therefore, don’t mix fonts or use the whole rainbow on your trademark. Focus on one feature and develop an idea around it.
If you choose to work with a graphic artist, be sure to explain whatever you need in detail.
· Reduce words to a minimum
It’s okay to use text in your emblem.
However, be sure to include only a few words: don’t try to say everything about your brand on the symbol.
Remember, a photography logo should only attract people to you. Once you have their attention, you can discuss the details in depth.
· Avoid using stock logos
Stock symbols are a quick way to fail in branding.
You can easily find your trademark elsewhere, and this cannot be very clear for customers.
In the worst cases, it can harm customer trust and lead to a tainted name.
· Don’t go beyond three colors
We know that colors spark different emotions. However, overdoing it can send the wrong signal.
Hence, focus on two (at most three) colors and develop your idea around those.
· Separate texts from the image
Keep images separate from texts.
Though both play a vital role in building an impactful emblem, you’d want to blend them properly.
Be sure to separate text from images for a viewer-friendly look.
Finishing up
Even with the best ideas in mind, or sketches on a paper, you can’t go far without design skills. Hence, partnering with a freelance graphic designer can simplify the process and guarantee a quality trademark.
Make sure to insist on a captivating color or mixture of shades. Remember, an impressive 80 percent of clients spot brands based on color. Therefore, passing the relevant message can solidify your customer relationships. It also reduces the likelihood of mistakes that could harm your branding efforts.
You can meet these experts on freelance platforms like Bunny Studio.
