The photography industry is riding a wave of rapid growth fueled by an increase in entrepreneurs opening up shop who need quality photos to differentiate themselves from the competition. To that end, looking at the United States alone, photography is an 11 billion dollar a year industry.

Add to that total the amount of worth other countries add into the mix and the picture becomes clear – photography is a valuable trade that’s here to stay.

Whether you’re an established photographer or are looking to break into the industry, it’s important that you understand the value of creating an excellent photography logo.

Logos for photographers communicate information to consumers with just a few words or a single image.

What that information tells people will have a profound impact on your success.

Below, our team has put together seven photography logo ideas and concepts to help inspire your logo creation journey.

1. Incorporate Camera Related Elements

Your logo should be telling of who you are. Given that you’re a photographer, a good photographer’s logo should find a way to incorporate camera elements into its design.

By far the most popular element you might choose to lean on is a lens.

Incorporating camera elements into your photographer’s logo is better done subtly than dramatically. We recommend doing something like using a lens as the “dot” over an “i” or something else along those lines.

Here’s an example of subtle, interesting lens implementation.

2. Quality Matters

Quality in all logos matter but in photography logos, the importance of doing something that looks visually pleasing is additionally important.

Why?

Because photography is a visual medium, and so are logos.

If your logo is bad, consumers can infer that your poor design aesthetic extends to your photographs.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, go out of your way to really make your logo pleasing to the eye. If you struggle with basic graphic design, enlist the help of a more graphically inclined friend for help with your photographer’s logo.

3. Start in Black and White

Color is an incredibly important visual tool that helps add extra layers of meaning to any logo. Many inexperienced designers get too caught up in color and don’t spend enough time making sure their design works on a foundational level.

To ensure your logo is built on a strong foundation, make sure it works as a sketch before playing with colors.

Let color enhance your logo. Not make it.

You could also opt to just keep your photographer’s logo in black and white as is popular among many successful logos.

Here’s a great example of a black and white photography logo that really works.

4. Consider Leaning on Custom Fonts

Not every logo needs to be made up of an image. Logos can be equally effective by just leveraging fonts creatively (look no further than the Coca-Cola logo to understand what we’re talking about).

So, when creating your photographer’s logo, if you find yourself at a loss when playing with imagery, take a break and try spelling out your brand name in creative ways.

You may stumble onto something that’s simple, clean and effective like the logo used by Pixel Pix.

5. Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity

“Brevity is the soul of wit.”

That saying holds true not only in verbal and written communication but also with visuals. For that reason, no matter what your design is, make sure that you keep it simple.

Busy designs often confuse consumers and hurt their ability to retain information. A good logo strips away all of the bells and whistles and attempts to communicate one core idea in a catchy way that creates a branding anchor in people’s brains.

Here’s a logo idea for photography that we feel does exactly what we’re describing. There are a lens and a mountain which say “photographer that works in a mountain town” (Aspen in this photographer’s case).

6. Try an Active Logo

All logos are comprised of still imagery and therefore, are not active… right?

Wrong.

Through effective use of art, a logo can incorporate motion into its imagery that not only makes it more eye-catching but also communicates extra meaning to consumers.

Here’s an example of what we’re talking about. The whale in the logo is actively taking a picture and the bubbles are actively floating upwards.

While it’s not always appropriate to incorporate activity into your photographer’s logo, we definitely feel like it’s something you should try.

7. Make Sure Your Logo Says Something About You

We’ve touched on this point passively through a few of these points but really wanted to give this subject the attention it deserves since it’s probably the most important aspect of a logo.

Every facet of your photography logo should communicate something to consumers and that something should be a truth about who you are as a brand.

This concept may be hard for some readers to grasp so before designing your logo, take out a piece of paper and answer some important questions about yourself.

“What makes your photography brand different?” “What type of consumers would best appreciate your artistic style?” “Why do you love about photography?”

Once you’ve answered those questions, keep your answers close by as you start trying out different photography designs. Whenever you’re picking a color or element, ask yourself, “What does this color, element, etc. do to communicate what makes me different, what my passion is and what type of consumers love my work?”

Doing that will help guide your design decisions in a way that helps you create something truly unique.

Wrapping Up Photography Logo Tips and Ideas

When creating your photography logo, you’ll want to make sure that you’re inspired by ideas and concepts from successful logos that are already out there. Core concepts borrowed from the iconic simplicity of the Nike Swoosh to the text-only splendor of the Coca-Cola logo are great jumping-off points.

To take your photographer’s logo a step further, be sure to follow our tips above.

Concepts like making sure your brand define who you are as a photographer and incorporating camera elements into your imagery will help you make a logo that tells your brand story as a photographer effectively!

If you want to get started creating your photography logo now with one of the most powerful tools available, click here to get started with Online Logo Maker for free!