help with shortening logo

photofreak · July 22, 2006

I am appealing to the vastness of creativity here...my business name is MandraLee Photography. This is rather long to have on my photos. I'm wanting to do something with the MLP perhaps...I'm not sure. Would anyone be willing to "play" with the initials and post them? I don't know if other's have done this but...I'm stuck creatively here to shorten my logo for the prints. Any help would be so very much appreciated.

Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com
You can see my work and style at my site. I'm an on location portrait photographer preferring to work with natural light. I don't like alot of props or poses but sometimes can't get away being too creative in my conservative little town.
Okay...nuff said...would love any suggestions.

photofreak · July 22, 2006

this is the photo I use for my business card...

photofreak wrote:

I am appealing to the vastness of creativity here...my business name is MandraLee Photography. This is rather long to have on my photos. I'm wanting to do something with the MLP perhaps...I'm not sure. Would anyone be willing to "play" with the initials and post them? I don't know if other's have done this but...I'm stuck creatively here to shorten my logo for the prints. Any help would be so very much appreciated.
Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com
You can see my work and style at my site. I'm an on location portrait photographer preferring to work with natural light. I don't like alot of props or poses but sometimes can't get away being too creative in my conservative little town.
Okay...nuff said...would love any suggestions.

photofreak · July 26, 2006

Alrightythen...thinking I approached this the wrong way...perhaps should do my own work and THEN ask for opinions....

[/quote]

jkelly25 · July 26, 2006

Something along these lines? with more style of course - name in script maybe?

MLee
Photography

Good Luck,
Joe

Seefutlung · July 26, 2006

It's a jungle out there...

photofreak · July 26, 2006

jkelly25 wrote:

Something along these lines? with more style of course - name in script maybe?

MLee
Photography

Good Luck,
Joe

Thank you, Joe. Yes, I'm thinking something with the MLP...possibly intertwined...or parts of one letter being used by the other...I just can't form anything in my head, which is why I posted here. I do like what you did...I just need to put pen to paper and play...or possibly hire someone to do all of this. Are there people out there who do this kind of thing...like take my whole everything and come up with some continuity? I've used the same font (basque) since the beginning. Just have been getting busier and am thinking about presentation now...
Thank you for taking the time to post.
Much appreciated,
Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

photofreak · July 26, 2006

Seefutlung wrote:

It's a jungle out there...

yea buddy...:hurt

bham · July 26, 2006

First suggestion would be to register a second .com site if you come up with a shorter name. You can keep the current site and just forward it to a another one. But even though it is long it kinda rhymes.

Here is a quick try at a business card idea.

wxwax · July 26, 2006

Mandy does tattoos? :hide

bham · July 26, 2006

I was going for something creative and kinda eye catching. There also isn't a solid area to put text.

photofreak · July 26, 2006

bham wrote:

I was going for something creative and kinda eye catching. There also isn't a solid area to put text.

Don't listen to Sid...I kind of like it. I like how you used the black and white in the MandraLee Photography. I looked at it longer and the acronym on the finger's is PEW....I still like it...what font did you use?
I'm not looking to shorten the name. I was thinking using the intials for prints instead of MandralLee Photography 2006
Thank you for taking the time to play with this.
you are much appreciated.

Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

bham · July 27, 2006

photofreak wrote:

Don't listen to Sid...I kind of like it. I like how you used the black and white in the MandraLee Photography. I looked at it longer and the acronym on the finger's is PEW....I still like it...what font did you use?
I'm not looking to shorten the name. I was thinking using the intials for prints instead of MandralLee Photography 2006
Thank you for taking the time to play with this.
you are much appreciated.
Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

The font was papyrus. If you want the psd file I can send it to you. After looking at your website the 3 things I came up with for the fingers had to be short to the point and what you had on your site. Wedding went on the finger with the ring, and the others I put without thinking. You could move them.

Malte · July 27, 2006

MLP.jpg

If you're looking for a signature logo type thing.

Otherwise I think Mandra is way too cool a name to not be used in the business name.

Malte

jkelly25 · July 27, 2006

There are people out there who do logos, business cards, and try to tie it all together. My niece does that kind of work - her website is http://www.blackwalnutdesign.net/ I can't really speak for her work, but she is a very nice person. Her contact page has a button to request a quote.

I like what Malte did above.

Good Luck,

Joe

photofreak · July 27, 2006

Malte wrote:

MLP.jpg

If you're looking for a signature logo type thing.

Otherwise I think Mandra is way too cool a name to not be used in the business name.

Malte

Yes!! That's waht I'm looking for. I like what you did! I sat at a coffee shop last night with a pencil and paper...that's pretty much what I came up with, also. Didn't work on it on the 'puter just yet.
Thanks for the words on my name...I like it too. I wanted Lee Photography but, the domain name was taken....so...went with a nickname they used to call me as a kid. Thus...MandraLee Photography. It is just sooooo long when "logoing" my photos...and sometimes the logo actually gets cropped off after being sent to the lab. Are there labs out there that don't do cropping?

I really like how you did that...I know, so simple. It just takes one small jolt to get my creativity flowing.
Thank you fro taking the time

Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

photofreak · July 27, 2006

jkelly25 wrote:

There are people out there who do logos, business cards, and try to tie it all together. My niece does that kind of work - her website is http://www.blackwalnutdesign.net/ I can't really speak for her work, but she is a very nice person. Her contact page has a button to request a quote.

I like what Malte did above.

Good Luck,

Joe

Thank you, Joe...I'll check it out!

Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

Sam · July 27, 2006

photofreak wrote:

Yes!! That's waht I'm looking for. I like what you did! I sat at a coffee shop last night with a pencil and paper...that's pretty much what I came up with, also. Didn't work on it on the 'puter just yet.
Thanks for the words on my name...I like it too. I wanted Lee Photography but, the domain name was taken....so...went with a nickname they used to call me as a kid. Thus...MandraLee Photography. It is just sooooo long when "logoing" my photos...and sometimes the logo actually gets cropped off after being sent to the lab. Are there labs out there that don't do cropping?

I really like how you did that...I know, so simple. It just takes one small jolt to get my creativity flowing.
Thank you fro taking the time
Mandi
www.mandraleephotography.com

Mandra,

I'm not sure I understand exactly what your doing. Do you put your name / logo on all the photos you sell?

If I were hiring you to take photos of the kids / dog / etc. I would want a clean unmarked photo. Just my thoughts.

Second, if you size the image file correctly the lab will not crop it.

If your camera is a 2 /3 ratio (4X6, 8X12), and you order an 8X10 (4 / 5 ratio) the lab must crop.

Sam

photofreak · July 28, 2006

Sam wrote:

Mandra,

I'm not sure I understand exactly what your doing. Do you put your name / logo on all the photos you sell?

If I were hiring you to take photos of the kids / dog / etc. I would want a clean unmarked photo. Just my thoughts.

Second, if you size the image file correctly the lab will not crop it.

If your camera is a 2 /3 ratio (4X6, 8X12), and you order an 8X10 (4 / 5 ratio) the lab must crop.

Sam

This brings up a very good point...can I ask in this thread? Should I not logo the photos? The professionals here in my town always put the logo on their images. There is a studio that has been in town FOREVER and it is kind of a status symbol among the "haves" (not the "have nots' as they can not afford them...) to have this studio's logo...so, how do I know if it is okay or not? Perhaps it is more of an ego thing to have my logo. Also, I don't want people to be able to make copies, say at Walmart, with my photos. If there is a logo they absolutely will not allow copies unless they have a signed release. So...what are the rules about this...
Mandi

photofreak · July 28, 2006

Sam wrote:

Mandra,

If your camera is a 2 /3 ratio (4X6, 8X12), and you order an 8X10 (4 / 5 ratio) the lab must crop.

Sam

This part I don't understand at all.

..call me dumb...still trying to read the manual on the new camera...
I just want to take pictures....that's all I want. With that, comes all these other details like, knowing the camera, knowing the technical parts, doing the business end...etc. I just want to create beautiful portraits....at the risk of sounding cliche'...my greatest challenge(to me) is capturing their soul through my lens...that's it in a nutshell
Mandi Lee
www.mandraleephotography.com

Art Scott · July 30, 2006

Logoing photos has been going on forever...also think of it this way....200yrs from now some one will see you work and know the name of who shot it.....

I had dies made at one time that I sent to my lab and they kept them on file, whenever I odered film processing or enlargements my log was stamped into all my prints...this acts also as a copyright and should stop any illegal copying.

Here in Wichita is a studio that has been around for over 50 yrs...its mane is Meyer & Williams Photography.......that is somewhat longer than Madra Lee Photography.....

Use your name...FLAUNT IT ....get recognized......if you don't a year or 2 from now someone will see a portrait you've done and ask the owner who shot it and they will go.....Hmmmmm...dang can't remember....it was a female photog, but I'll be darned if I can remember her name......

Myexperience has been...if you do really good (great) work and don't sign it..you'll not be remembered in a year or two.....if you do shoddy work you'll be remembered forever

.......

Also if you put you siggy on you pics it shows confidence about what you do.

I am working with a small wacom tablet to get a signature I like and that is readable and when done I will remove all my pics from smugmug and replace with signed pics...again this helps with copyright issuses and here is a link to making an action for such a task......... ACTION LINK .......IT is the 22nd in the section Adobe Photoshop CS2 Tips ....

I would work with a siggy for each photosize I offer for sale...that way it will all be size proportional.

Remember that your siggy on your photos is proof of ownership, should you ever have to sue anyone for property theft.

What same was refering to as camera ratio is the aspect ratio of the width to height of your cameras sensor.

The specs of your camer will give that info....My KM 7D's are 2/3 sensors so I lose quite a bit when doing standard size prints..4x5, 5x7, 8x10 etc.....for me the key has been to do all my resizeing prior to sending files to printer.......I do standard resizing in Photoshop CS and then do up sizing with Genuine Fractals (the trial version allows you to save like 20 files).....so normally what I do is take my native res pic and in PSCS go to image and image size...make sure constain proportions is ticked (and notheing else) then change my resolution to 300...this brings my pic size to approx 8 x 10 (not exactly but close)..now uaing the crop tool and setting its dimensions to what I want.. 4 x 5 and make my crop.....or do it as an 8x10 and use that crop for everything from 4x5 , 8x10, 16 x 20..etc and then do another one for 11 x 14 and so on....and then use genuine fractals on those 300dpi pics to up rez to the larger sizes at 300dpi and they should turn out great....
This is what I did to get 30 X 40 prints for clients that did not understand viewing distance and it ahs been my standard ever since....my local pro lab also wants all jpgs at largest size (#12)..so that is my standard practice now also.....

hope this has helped

photofreak · July 30, 2006

Art Scott wrote:

Logoing photos has been going on forever...also think of it this way....200yrs from now some one will see you work and know the name of who shot it.....

I had dies made at one time that I sent to my lab and they kept them on file, whenever I odered film processing or enlargements my log was stamped into all my prints...this acts also as a copyright and should stop any illegal copying.

Here in Wichita is a studio that has been around for over 50 yrs...its mane is Meyer & Williams Photography.......that is somewhat longer than Madra Lee Photography.....

Use your name...FLAUNT IT ....get recognized......if you don't a year or 2 from now someone will see a portrait you've done and ask the owner who shot it and they will go.....Hmmmmm...dang can't remember....it was a female photog, but I'll be darned if I can remember her name......

Myexperience has been...if you do really good (great) work and don't sign it..you'll not be remembered in a year or two.....if you do shoddy work you'll be remembered forever .......

Also if you put you siggy on you pics it shows confidence about what you do.

I am working with a small wacom tablet to get a signature I like and that is readable and when done I will remove all my pics from smugmug and replace with signed pics...again this helps with copyright issuses and here is a link to making an action for such a task......... ACTION LINK .......IT is the 22nd in the section Adobe Photoshop CS2 Tips ....

I would work with a siggy for each photosize I offer for sale...that way it will all be size proportional.

Remember that your siggy on your photos is proof of ownership, should you ever have to sue anyone for property theft.

What same was refering to as camera ratio is the aspect ratio of the width to height of your cameras sensor.

The specs of your camer will give that info....My KM 7D's are 2/3 sensors so I lose quite a bit when doing standard size prints..4x5, 5x7, 8x10 etc.....for me the key has been to do all my resizeing prior to sending files to printer.......I do standard resizing in Photoshop CS and then do up sizing with Genuine Fractals (the trial version allows you to save like 20 files).....so normally what I do is take my native res pic and in PSCS go to image and image size...make sure constain proportions is ticked (and notheing else) then change my resolution to 300...this brings my pic size to approx 8 x 10 (not exactly but close)..now uaing the crop tool and setting its dimensions to what I want.. 4 x 5 and make my crop.....or do it as an 8x10 and use that crop for everything from 4x5 , 8x10, 16 x 20..etc and then do another one for 11 x 14 and so on....and then use genuine fractals on those 300dpi pics to up rez to the larger sizes at 300dpi and they should turn out great....
This is what I did to get 30 X 40 prints for clients that did not understand viewing distance and it ahs been my standard ever since....my local pro lab also wants all jpgs at largest size (#12)..so that is my standard practice now also.....

hope this has helped

Art, thank you so very much for the informative reply. You rock my world!!!!!

I emailed you, as well.

help with shortening logo

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