Name for my Photography business

<p>I'm a photographer just starting to do a decent amount of commercial work. I've started a business, but have not yet finalized the name. I live/work in Sacramento, CA, and do still-life, food, and portrait (mostly corporate/editorial) work. My main focus is and will be still-life (products and food).</p>

<p>I'm still developing my style (I'm only 23), but my vision is clean, simple, images with great detail in my compositions and lighting. I'm a Graphic Design student, and want my work to show a design influence through strong knowledge of color, tension, and strong but simple composition.</p>

<p>The two names I'm debating between are Josh Lewis Photography, and Wojo Studios.</p>

<p>Josh Lewis photography is of course the most obvious solution, and Wojo Studios is more interesting but would also require people to remember not only my name, but also Wojo Studios. Wojo was a childhood nickname of mine, and I thought it appropriate because it's interesting, catchy, easy to remember and also a conversation starter. It's a very simple 4-letter word, which could relate to the simplicity of my style. It's also very simple, and pretty graphical looking.</p>

<p>I hope to eventually go to a larger market such as San Francisco, or if I do stay in Sacramento I would hope to be the top commercial studio in town.</p>

<p>I'm eager to start creating my business identity (logo, colors, business card, website, etc.), so I really need to finalize a name.</p>

<p>So is it a bad idea to choose a name other than your own for your photography business? What are the pros and cons of this. Advice? </p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>Not using your own name: makes it easier to sell the business later, or to continue to own it while other people do more of the work and become (to some customers) the <em>face</em> of the business for them. But if you're not using your own name, then the business name should do something to help with positioning and selling the business. Wojo doesn't say or mean anything to most people, though it's at least short and relatively memorable. It's the sort of name you'll have to reguarly spell for people on the phone, though.<br /><br />Using your own name: keeps that personal artist-customer connection more in the foreground. Says to the customer that it's you, and not some intern you got for minimum wage, that will dictate the way the gig goes.<br /><br />Hate to say it, but you might want to explore available .com domain names first, and see what can dovetail with you that way. It's such an important part of a business identity at this point that the .com choice can be the tail that wags the dog on this subject.</p>

<p>Not using your own name also leads to legal issues: you will need a business license or similar to get a bank account in that name, many states require the filing and publishing of a "notice of ficticious name", and your taxes become more complicated.</p>

<p>There's nothing wrong with "<your name here> Photography" or "Photography by <your name here" unless someone in your city is already using <your name>.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

<p>If you operate under your own name, it makes it easier when it comes to finances. You can just open another checking account for the business, and you don't have to file any DBA papers and have special checking accounts. But you will still have to file sales tax forms and do a Schedule C at the end of the year. Also it helps people remember you if your business is your own name.<br>

On the other hand if you operate under a business name, it will help diferenciate your personal life from your work life. People would be hiring ABC Photography instead of Josh Lewis. Also if you get big enough to hire other photographers, they would still be hiring ABC Photogrphy and not the photogrpher you send. Also if you intend to incorporate the business, you can have a better shot when you use a DBA instead of your own name. Some thoughts on names could be;<br>

Josh Lewis Studios<br />Lewis Commercial Photography<br />JL Photo<br>

Just as an example. It's best also to check on domain names. If you plan on building a web presence, matching your domain name to you business name is another way to help people remember you. I personaly operate a commercial photography company but use my own name. I've been doing photography as far as nature and event work for over 20 years, and I just got into promotional photography recently. I have not used a business name just because for me it's easier.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thats great advice. I already have a fictitous name statement for Wojo Studios, and I've purchased the domain name wojo-studios.com. If I choose Josh Lewis Photography, I can get the name joshlewisphoto.com.</p>

<p>I have considered that wojo studios would make it easier to expand my services or hire other photographers later, and take more of an owner role than and artist, and I like that aspect of it. I definitely consider myself entrepreneurial (whether I can spell it right or not), and I may some day want to have a space that I rent or hire other photographers or even designers.</p>

<p>I wonder if it's asking too much for a client to remember both Wojo Studios, and my name as the photographer?</p>

<p>All excellent advice. I would add that "trendy" names often have a way of becoming a little, well, "odd" as time passes and the trend is over.<br>

Imagine a business called Lorien or some other Elvish name today.</p>

<p>Maybe part of it is asking yourself what name would most appeal to your prospective customers. Would Wojo sound a bit less than businesslike? I'm not taking sides, just suggesting you may want to question how customers would perceive the name. Or, it might not make any difference.</p>

<p>You will have many more options down the road if you don't use your own name. What if your business grows to multiple shooters? Clients will always be asking for Josh Lewis. And yes, if there comes a time to sell, Josh Lewis isn't very marketable without Josh Lewis...-Aimee</p>

<p>I picked a business name based on my last name. It means "blessing," so I picked Blessed Life Photography. Plus it connotates exactly what I want to capture among the families I photograph. I get asked all the time how I selected the name.<br>

I don't think Wojo sounds professional. But I lean towards a company name instead of a personal name because of all the reasons stated above.</p>

<p>The biggetst criticisms I've found of the name Wojo Studios so far is that it's not the most professional sounding name. Considering that, I would say that I'm not a financial consultant, or a medical doctor, I'm a photographer. Shouldn't I sound a little more creative and outside the box. And as a photographer, many of my clients will be designers, who are generally speaking good humored people.</p>

<p>Using the name Wojo Studios, I'd be sure to use a contemporary san-serif typeface, and non-goofy colors. I'd want the visual of the name to say that I'm conpetent and professional, to compensate for the name a bit. Wojo written in squigly orange lines says one thing, but wojo written in blue with studios written in dark brown might say contemporary hi-end photography studio.</p>

<p>I think I will go with josh lewis photography. I am conserned with a name like Wojo Studios loosing it's cleverness after a few years and sounding immature. I guess Josh Lewis Photography is just the safest choice for longevity.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the advice.</p>

<p>Im not sure if this helps Josh, but I have two names and they both come in handy. I started out as Photos by Shell; doing beach portraits and annual sporting photos. I am currently opening a studio which will be Pink Ink Photography, I am hoping to specialize in "boudoir/glamour" photography in the studio, but will continue the sporting/outdoor photography under the Photos by Shell banner, as people know me by this. I am currently looking for a wedding/event photographer who will work for me from the studio, whereby the Pink Ink Photography name will work well. I'm not sure if I will eventually keep one over the other, but in photography I have found that you never quite know where the next job will take you. </p>

<p>Allen, I'm writing some helpful notes on Branding for photographers at http://blog.livebooks.com/2009/09/do-you-have-a-brand-or-do-you-just-have-a-logo/#more-14154<br /><br />You can ask me any questions you have there. In the mean time here is Part 1 of my blog notes:<br /><br /><br /><br />Do you have a brand - or do you just have a logo?<br /><br />Posted by Steve Coleman<br />There aren’t many photographers who are also branding consultants or art directors at a successful design firm. Since Steve Coleman is all three things, we thought he’d be the perfect person to help photographers understand and strategize their branding efforts. First question: What exactly is a brand anyway?<br />With the rapid change happening in the photography industry, we photographers are becoming part of a much larger, more competitive, more sophisticated global economy. Potential clients now have access to innumerable choices, and any photographer is now just one option in an overwhelming smorgasbord of photographic options. To compete in this economy, photographers need to have a new skill set that includes the ability to define, express, and manage their brand.<br /><br />A well defined brand strategy can improve your profits, your reputation, and the likelihood you’ll be considered for future jobs. It may even effect whether your business succeeds or fails.<br /><br />But I’m not here to convince you that you need a brand strategy, nor to tell you what it should be (I’ll discuss those another day). Rather, I want to take a step back and help you understand what a brand is. Unless you understand that, it will be difficult to ever build the most effective brand possible.<br /><br />If we asked most people what a brand is, their answers would likely be tangible things like logos (the Nike swoosh) or colours (the red of a coke can) or words (BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine”). Likewise, when people set out to build their brand, they usually focus on the same tangible things. “I need a brand” translates to “I need to build a ‘look’ or ’style.’”While these are important elements or expressions of a brand, they are not the brand itself.<br /><br />So what is a brand? A brand is a promise. It is whatever people think, feel, trust, and believe you, your business, or your product will give them if they buy from you. It exists inside people’s minds, out of your reach — yet it’s a big part of why they buy from you.<br /><br />So what is a brand? A brand is a promise.<br /><br />Logos, colours, fonts and words are simply how you try to convey your brand’s promise to people. Thus a “brand” is a promise and “branding” is all the tangible things you use to express that.<br /><br />Confused? Let me give you an example. If you mention the name “Hasselblad” to photographers and ask them to describe the brand in a single word, you’ll get similar responses: expensive, quality, icon, fashionable, professional, reliable. Many photographers will express a deep desire to own one. That’s the sign of a great brand.But this deep desire to own a Hasselblad, and the positive way photographers describe the brand, does not come from a logo, website, or colour. It comes from a brand promise, which many photographers believe and which Hasselblad has spent decades cultivating.<br /><br />What has helped make the Hasselblad brand so strong and effective? For starters, Hasselblad has clearly defined the promise it makes to customers. What’s more, it is a promise they make sure they keep. It is based on a truth about who Hasselblad is and what its customers need.<br /><br />Does this mean that Hasselblad is the best camera of its kind? Not necessarily. In fact, successful brands are often not the “best” products in their category. But within its market, Hasselblad is one of the best at managing its brand. This has lead them to a better understanding of how to effectively express and communicate that brand to people. The result is that Hasselblad “owns” a position in the minds of a lot of people, which in turn has lead to success where other businesses have failed.<br /><br />So why is this important? It’s important to understand that your brand is not decoration. It is communication. It’s important because your brand will become the platform from which you will position yourself and your business in the minds of potential customers. It’s important because what people think and feel and believe about you will influence their buying decisions. It’s important because you and your business need to live up to the promise your brand makes.<br /><br />But before you put your brand to work for you, you need to define it and deeply understand it.Don’t race off and start designing a logo … stop and think.<br /><br />So, what should your brand be? How do you build a brand? How do you manage your brand over time? And how do you find the best expressions of your brand so that it makes an impact in your market place?<br /><br />I’ll answer those questions with a few more:<br /><br /> • Who are you?<br /> • What makes you different?<br /> • What are your strengths and weaknesses?<br /> • Why should people buy from you?<br /> • When your name is mentioned, what do you want people to immediately think?<br /> • What is your promise to them?<br /> • Can you live up to that promise?<br />The most important thing to remember is that your brand cannot just be anything you want it to be — it needs to be credible and believable, it needs to be true</p>

<p>Steve, I found your response to be exceptionally well-stated and right on the mark.</p>