Coming Up With A Name

[z0mbina80]

I just thought I would pick your brains as to coming up with a name. I've had a number of people ask me to do portraits and such for them so I thought I would make a website and begin to promote myself a bit, however I don't really have one of those catchy cute names like some people do that would make for a good "studio or photographer name" and unfortunately my initials are JC which.. well.. many would associate with Jesus and as a Buddhist this just isn't my thing lol. ( no offense to Christians of course, just not part of my interests) I was thinking maybe shutterbug because I'm quite a fan of nature photography and insects, but is that too vague and over used? How did you guys come up with names when you decided to "go professional" ? Thanks in advance for any advice ^^

[prince]

For me it was very simple. My initials However, some tips to come up with names is find names that are short, easy to remember and pronounce, identifiable with you and your style. Have lots of patience while brainstorming

[wsu_danielle]

I think using your full name might be good...though I don't know what it is. It brands you, ya know?

And funny thing is that Prince & I have the same initials, so I wouldn't go with that option anyway. Initials are very common, IMO. On Facebook I was forced to use my first initial (D. Bailey Photography) because Danielle Bailey Photography was taken. But for my domain, it's the full meal deal. For people who know me, it's easy to remember...and to make referrals to their friends/family.

Try your name with other words like portraiture, portraits, imagery, etc.

Just my $0.02!

[z0mbina80]

haha yeah... i guess I've just never been a fan of my name in general LOL. Unfortunatly patience isn't really my strong suit but I'll eventually come up with something haha.

Thanks for the input guys

[Helicity]

I got my name from a world of warcraft reference. It seemed fitting as I do alot of shoots that involve gaming and general geekyness. People who are geeks get the whole "Argent Dawn" thing. People who are not I tell that it's my middle name and my daughters name in french. Silver = Argent. I didn't plan it that way.

But when you find your name you will be like "Hey that's awesome and it fits" I just knew when I picked mine. I debated for a few weeks but always came back to it. So pick something that means something to you and imagine it in your head, as watermarks, as a website, as part of you. Mull it over and hopefully something will come to you.

As well it helps business having Argent Dawn Photography as my website where www.argentdawn.com goes to the world of warcraft site :P

[wsu_danielle]

Originally Posted by Helicity

I got my name from a world of warcraft reference. It seemed fitting as I do alot of shoots that involve gaming and general geekyness. People who are geeks get the whole "Argent Dawn" thing. People who are not I tell that it's my middle name and my daughters name in french. Silver = Argent. I didn't plan it that way.

But when you find your name you will be like "Hey that's awesome and it fits" I just knew when I picked mine. I debated for a few weeks but always came back to it. So pick something that means something to you and imagine it in your head, as watermarks, as a website, as part of you. Mull it over and hopefully something will come to you.

As well it helps business having Argent Dawn Photography as my website where www.argentdawn.com goes to the world of warcraft site :P

Clever! I like it.

[funcrunch]

I used my long-time online handle for everything, funcrunch, and tacked photo onto the end of it: funcrunchphoto.com. Easy to remember, pronounce, and spell, unlike my actual name. I scratch my head at the number of photography sites that are named [photographer'sfullnamehere]photography.com. Long and awkward in my opinion.

[Helicity]

Thanks Danielle

[z0mbina80]

lol world of warcraft.. i love it! My husband would be all for something like that haha I actually do have an online name that I use for digital work for a few games that I was thinking of using... maybe I'll go with that. Thanks for the input!

[Xposurepro]

figure out what type of consumer you are targeting .. what other brands appeal to those consumers? How do you want yourself to be branded? now make a huge list of those brand names and grab a thesaurus finding words that describe how you want to be branded. Start working out combos. Consider both how the name rolls off the tongue and how it looks it print. Now start narrowing down. Make sure that nobody in your targeted area also uses that name. BTW Shutterbug is an overkilled studio name. Last year Shutterbug Studios was 10 mins from me and Shutterbug Photography was 15 mins the other way. This year both are out of business but I'm sure somebody will pop back up with a Shutterbug name before next summer. LOL ... IMO initials are lazy and overused too. There's probably 100 initial studios within a 50 mile radius of my studio. That gets pretty lame. Be creative and consider your target consumer before anything else.