Wedding photography, business logo design

[ar_fonseca]

a while back, (perhaps last fall??) there was some discussion on the

importance of a good logo for your business, a few people had

mentioned the names of their web-designers, others mentioned graphic

artists. Well.....I've tried searching the archives and I've come

with nothing...well a few things, but it's not what I'm searching

for. maybe it was Mark W., Mary Ball, or Derek...I can't recall.

Could anyone shine a little light on this subject???

or at least point the way to someone who does this for people in our

line of work..loads of thanks in advance

Al

[Cire Llissat]

Al,

 

Here's a place that does logos inexpensively

 

http://www.72-hour-logo-design.com/

 

There are many others like them....some even offer unlimited rework--until youre

satisified.

 

Eric

[rich_taylor____mequon__wi]

I'm just beginning to launch my wedding/portrait business and have also faced the question of how to obtain a logo. There are different ways to do this, and you can go from inexpensive to making a hefty investment. I'll share my process and perhaps something in here will be helpful.

First, I figured that since I'm a visual person and somewhat creative, I'd come up with my own design. After a while, I realized that people are graphic designers for good reasons, one of those reasons being that they are worlds better than the average "creative" person who wants to put together some clever combination of initials, or whatever.

 

I found a graphic designer in my area (online search)who, fortunately for me, is also a photographer, so he knows what I'm trying to do and he knows the market I am trying to target. More than just coming up with an attractive logo design for a business card and letterhead, I wanted someone who would help me develop a "brand" image for my services. This can only be achieved after some long and detailed discussions (Starbucks) about how I feel about myself and my work, who I'm looking to target, my philosophy, how I envision my business and my clients, what I want people to feel or think about when they see my logo and/or ads and website.

 

It's a much more complex project when approached from a branding and marketing perspective than from just the perspective of designing a logo. We went through many steps (actually, the process is not yet complete, but we've finalized some design concepts and have a pretty good idea where it's going) and I reasoned that it was an investment in how I am perceived in the marketplace by the people whose weddings and events I want to shoot and whose families I want to photograph for years to come. I'm not looking to just do lots of one-shot events with people, but want to follow up and be part of the families' ongoing life experience - births, birthdays, graduations, engagements, etc. What I'm going to try to accomplish is a little different from what the typical wedding shooter is doing, at least in my market.

 

Bottom line, it will cost me a few thousand dollars when all is finished, but, as I mentioned, I consider it an investment, much as the expense of renting a studio or buying a new lens.

 

Everyone's situation and goals are different. This works for me, and I am fortunate to be in a position to be able to afford it (I'm not a kid out of college; those days ended a real long time ago). Whatever your situation, I suggest working with someone who is a dedicated graphic designer, and maybe that will be a design student who will be happy to work for very little. The point is, unless you know you are really good at it, designing is better left to designers.

 

I would imagine that many of the people on this forum have designed their own cards, and that's great. I'm just sharing what I did because I needed more than just a logo on a card. BTW, if you want to see what the current incarnation of the design is, go to my website (which is actually just a web page at this point until I build the galleries) at <www.lifejourneyphoto.com>. I'd be curious to hear what you all think.

[m_p7]

What Rich has said about it being an investment in creating a brand is right on. Don't think of it as just a logo. I ended up using someone online, and while I'm reasonably happy, if I had to do it over again, I would have spent more money and used a local graphic designer. It was somewhat difficult to convey things via email. Also, I recommend using somebody that can explain how to USE what you design. For instance, a logo needs to maintain color consistency, and my designer wasn't the greatest at conveying "use this in this way for this purpose".

[derek_c.]

I do not have a logo.<br>

I don't need one.

[jewan_runhaar]

A logo is indeed inferior to your design. Make your design consistent and it will be remembered. An original design can make people remember you. A logo can fit in nicely, but is part of your overall design and should be designed as such.