When I decided to go into business with my photography, I knew one of the first things I needed was a logo. Given that my background is in web design and my passion is photography, people often mistakenly assume that I am also proficient in graphic design. The truth is I’ve no knowledge of graphic design, as evident in prior versions of my website (Kerning? What’s that? :P).

But because I have a DIY mentality forever engrained in my mind, I thought I could design my own logo. So I signed up for a class in my Brooklyn neighborhood and attempted it. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t learn more about actually *designing* a logo, as the class focused more on the theory behind branding. The class was helpful in getting me to think about what kind of brand I wanted to develop, and how my logo should reflect my brand. I came up with a rough idea of what I wanted in a logo (namely, I wanted the L and T in my name to form some sort of a frame), but had a great deal of trouble translating this into a design. I ended up with this:

… which, obviously, I wasn’t pleased with. It didn’t look professional, sleek, or cool by any means. By the end of 2009, I resolved to hire a professional to design my logo. I went with Amy of Candy Apple Studios, based on recommendations from people in a photography forum I often frequent. I had no idea what to expect for the logo design process – I mean, how can a designer possibly know who you are, what your brand is, and what sort of design will make you go “YES, THAT’S IT!!”? So from the start, I mentioned everything I wanted, in as much detail as possible… emphasizing how I wanted to incorporate the L/T framing idea. Amy had me fill out a questionnaire as well, asking me all sorts of questions, e.g. what my favorite colors were, what I wore to photoshoots, what other logos I liked, what market I was targeting, and what words I would use to describe myself and my business. She then took all the information I gave her, plugged it into her secret graphic design goddess formula (or something similar), and got to work on designing my logo.

In two weeks time, Amy had the first set of logos ready for my critique. I liked most of the 6 designs she came up with, but none of them quite screamed ‘Lindsay Taryn Photography’. From the initial designs, I picked a few that I really liked and wanted to see further tweaked. I’m so horrible at envisioning what the logos would look like with a few changes made, so I gave her a few suggestions on where possibly to go with them and trusted Amy on her judgment and skills as a graphic designer and hoped she’d work her magic to come up with the right logo for me.

A couple of days later, Amy got back to me with a few variations of the 3 logos I had asked her to work with. Working with these, she had provided me with 9 new logos to look at. Out of these, there was one set of logos that stood out to me as the one I wanted for my business. I was so excited now that I could finally start to see what my finished logo would look like! Amy had taken my original L/T framing idea and twisted it into something much more sleek and appealing to the eye.

With the next set of edits, I asked her to make some subtle tweaks, namely in the coloring and intersections of the different letters of my name. By the following week, I had my new logo completed and couldn’t be more thrilled!

If you are a photographer and you’re serious about growing and marketing your business, it is definitely worth it to invest in a professional graphic designer and have her create your logo. Your logo represents you and your brand and influences how people perceive them. Screw that up, and people won’t take you seriously or understand what you’re trying to communicate to them.

Through this whole process, I’ve learned that I can’t do everything (well) myself, and that it’s ok to ask for help in these cases. I’m so glad I hired Amy of Candy Apple Studios to design my logo, and recommend her with the highest regards!