What's in a Name? Everything.

i didn’t vote since i’m stuck between sunset house photography and snapped by kelly. i see your dilemma

These are great names! One thing my dad has mentioned was that over the years, he’s noticed that it’s hard to remember peoples business names that aren’t tied to their real names. I know just naming your business “Kelly Chau Photography” sounds pretty boring, but my dad has often tried to recommend a person’s business to someone, and would say something along the lines of “John Doe is a great photographer… for the life of me I cant remember his business name…” This just happens in passing, as if you’re by the internet, you can probably look the person up (although if your name is pretty common, its harder)… but if you’re out and about and someone asks someone for a recommendation, its much easier to tell someone to write down “kellychau.com” or “chauphotography.com” then it is to try to remember some clever name of a business… as first they’d have to remember your name, and then remember your business name, and so on and so forth…

Sorry that was a long story But I hope it helps a bit!

it makes sense to capitalize on your current domain name, but then again “sunset” is a pretty common word. Ciao Kelly is cute…but I especially liked Snapped by Kelly Photography.

Personal name allows you to create a personal brand. A lot of the photographers with the best brands use personal names: Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, Becker etc. We used orange turtle because it allows both of us to be the brand and I think its pretty memorable.

Tough decision though, there are a lot of arguments on both sides… but most photographers end up going with their own name.

I would go with your name, even if you think it’s boring. I agree with Daniel and Cathleya. All the wedding photographers’ blogs I stalk are named after themselves. Those are the ones I remember the most. And to add to Daniel’s list of photographers, my favorite, Jose Villa is obviously named after himself.

Another options Sunset House Studio or Sunset House Studio Photography. Hey I model part time. Let me know if you need a model for getting a website together

SHS Photography (Sunset House Studio Photography) leaves you with great options for a great logo.

You know, Mrs. Avocado just wrote a whole set of posts on picking a name for her photography business on her personal blog. Since her husband is a marketing analyst, he was able to actually look into what is the best way to go with a photography business. I can’t remember his specific findings, but I know they leaned towards using at least a portion of your name in the business name. She ended up going with her first name, and a made up middle name since she thought hers was boring. So maybe you could do something like that.

I’m liking Sunset House Photography or Kelly Chau

The other options seemed a bit fussy to me. Ciao Kelly is cute though but not sure if it would be right for a photog biz.

hey if you decided to jump on the bandwagon for wedding photography, want to help me do my engagement photoshoot for your portofolio? it’s soooo expensive to find a decent photographer!

I picked Ciao Kelly Photography because I like brain teasers and different play on words……I think it’s really clever. I’ve always loved how Italians greet ladies as “Ciao Bella”