Well... hot damn! I'm taking my kit camera and starting a photography business!!

[danir.photography]

BWAHAHAHAHA.

But... thank God!... I'm being mentored by three people who have approx seventy combined years of professional photographic experience. The first, an old friend, is a Photoshop pro. Another has twenty-five years of wedding photography behind her and is just now moving into the digital world. I'm a computer geek, so we've made a deal. I'll teach her the computer stuff (which boggles her) and she'll teach me photography and the business side! And the last is a commercial photographer who is retiring and who will be critiquing my efforts.

... now where's my damn seatbelt?! :)

P.S. - The business card is entirely my design, though that doesn't necessarily mean it's never been done before.

[Paul J McCain]

No offense, but the card looks a little thrown together with the different fonts, or maybe it's just that the logo and name should be switched for a "normal" layout? I'm not sure. Also the "at the heart..." is going to need squinting to be read on a normal business card at the size it's at.

Sounds like a good plan, though. Tradeoffs and collaboration will help all of you! Good luck!

[danir.photography]

No offense, but the card looks a little thrown together with the different fonts, or maybe it's just that the logo and name should be switched for a "normal" layout? I'm not sure. Also the "at the heart..." is going to need squinting to be read on a normal business card at the size it's at.

Sounds like a good plan, though. Tradeoffs and collaboration will help all of you! Good luck!
Well, in my defense, I DID rip it off in about an hour. I'll let it season a bit before I pay to have it printed off.

[Paul J McCain]

1 hour's work? Not bad, not bad at all! When I did my card for my distribution company I spent about 4 hours getting everything right and I still wasn't happy with it, lol.

[danir.photography]

1 hour's work? Not bad, not bad at all! When I did my card for my distribution company I spent about 4 hours getting everything right and I still wasn't happy with it, lol.
I took your feedback... and quite a bit more time... and came up with this. The rounded white border is positioned at the demarcation of the safe and trim zones.

[Paul J McCain]

I feel like I shouldn't be the only one commenting here, why isn't there more advice?

But I like version 2 much better, and it will come out much better on a card. Good luck with the business!

[BMS Studios]

No phone number?
No web address?
No street address?

This is all important information needed on a business card.

I like the desgin of the card however.

[danir.photography]

No phone number?
No web address?
No street address?

This is all important information needed on a business card.

I like the desgin of the card however.
They'll be there when I print 'em, but given the yahoo-to-professional ratio in these parts I elected to leave some of the information off when posting.

[form]

I was going to ask, "where's the phone number?" Second in line to be added is a website address.

I don't have a street address on mine either.

General rule of text in graphic/print design that I heard a long time ago: Usually never more than 3 fonts, and the fewer the better.

[danir.photography]

I was going to ask, "where's the phone number?" Second in line to be added is a website address.

I don't have a street address on mine either.

General rule of text in graphic/print design that I heard a long time ago: Usually never more than 3 fonts, and the fewer the better.
Yep. There are only two on this one. Garamond and Monotype Corsiva.

[DrMitch]

Overall pretty nice!
The shutter around the bottom of "at the heart of your memories" - it's cut off a little closer to the font by the "..your memories" - gives the illusion that it's printed crooked. I MIGHT take the name and photographer size down a bit or enlarge the logo a bit.
Are you going to double side print? That would give you lots of room for website and phone (+/- address).
Good luck!

[sevillafox]

1. The dots you used don't look like periods...some people may have to think in order to get that.

2. The aperature logo is overused.

3. The catchphrase is cheesey

4. I'd switch your logo and your name...your logo should be more prominent IMO

5. red, black, and white are an overdone combo...they seem harsh to me...I wouldn't expect this card from someone who photographed babies, weddings, or children....

[danir.photography]

1. The dots you used don't look like periods...some people may have to think in order to get that.
Well heavens! ;)

2. The aperature logo is overused.
True. But to the point.

3. The catchphrase is cheesey
I haven't run into a catchphrase that isn't.

4. I'd switch your logo and your name...your logo should be more prominent IMO
'preciate it.

5. red, black, and white are an overdone combo...they seem harsh to me...I wouldn't expect this card from someone who photographed babies, weddings, or children.
Good point. I may try something more floral and pastel. We'll see what my wedding mentor says.

[amfoto1]

Personal opinions here, nothing more....

If you ever anticipate needing to print some cards yourself on an inkjet at home - rather than sending them out - your costs for black ink cartridges will go through the proverbial roof and most biz cards softwares don't do a full bleed to the edge very well (so you end up with a white border that can vary in size).

These points don't matter at all, of course, if you plan to always to send the job out for printing.

What about the back side of the card? There's lots of room there to print other stuff, like URL, phone, address.

If you have a studio or storefront of any sort, include the address. People will need to know it.

Working from my home, I choose not to include a street address because that would simply tell thieves where they can find a residence in a quiet neighborhood with lots of expensive photo equipment inside.

Yes... I agree with others... phone and URL are critically important.

I think some of your type (email address, catch phrase) is still too small. Print it actual size to see.

Reversed type (white on black) is always harder to read than non-reversed. It cuts readership in ads that are entirely reversed by about 30%. Used sparingly, such as a reversed headline or subhead or tagline, it's okay.

I don't care for the way the catch phrase is printed across the primary art element of your logo. I'd prefer to see it below the logo. The main reason is that logo art doesn't change over time very much, but catch phrases do. By printing it over the artwork, it becomes part of it.

I don't mind the non-traditional layout at all... In fact I like it.

Do print it out though, actual size... that will be very useful.

[Hikin Mike]

I saw your original business card a few days ago, and this design is 100% better than the other one. But, I would suggest a few changes...


Lose the 'box' around your card. Fist off, it looks too boxed-in. Second, when you go to print, they may not crop it straight and you'll have a lop-sided card.
Lose the @yahoo.com e-mail and get a 'real' e-mail address, like "YourName@YourWebsite.com". As it is it loos very unprofessional.
I agree with the 'dots'...lose them...they look like dots and not periods.
The aperture "logo" is way over used.
At least add your website.Good luck with it! :cool:

[AndreaBFS]

Is this a severely compressed version? I'm seeing a lot of artifacts around the design/fonts. It's strange to see because I would think that even if it's really compressed, a clean design wouldn't show that. It looks like this was raster and you cut it out.

I also agree about the periods. Generally when you use a dot that large, it's assumed to be a separator. I think you should make it as easy as possible for people to translate your e-mail into something they can use.

For me, the logo (design and color) is a little dated and unbalanced and the serif fonts aren't working for me here. Keep in mind also that your border around the card might not be situated exactly as you want -- the bleed can be chopped anywhere outside the safe line, meaning you might end up with lopsided cards.

[AndreaBFS]

heh. I just realized my feedback is pretty much exactly the same as the PP. I didn't read that far before responding. Sorry.

[Ook]

I don't have anything against the aperture logo, I don't pay much attention to photographers' website graphics and cards and I doubt your clients are going to be familiar with them either. However, if you're going to use it, you should make one up with proper rounded blades. As it is, it looks a bit odd with the straight lines and somehow perfectly round center. If you don't know how to do such a thing with vectors, send me a PM and I'd be happy to bang one out for free.

[Insane_Pikachu]

typography is the cornerstone to design.

[Rubi Jane]

It's been said, get yourself a domain name for your future website and use the email immediately.

www.danirphoto.com (https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/registrar/search.asp?isc=goazca100a&se=%2B&app%5Fhdr=&ci=544) is available!

[freo]

It's been said, get yourself a domain name for your future website and use the email immediately.

www.danirphoto.com (https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/registrar/search.asp?isc=goazca100a&se=%2B&app%5Fhdr=&ci=544) is available!

The race is on! Who will buy it first and then sell it to him for a profit? :p

[danir.photography]

The race is on! Who will buy it first and then sell it to him for a profit? :p
Well... good luck with that.

[randplaty]

Good luck with your business. I think it's great that you're jumping in and doing something you like and getting paid for it! It's a really rewarding profession and the best part is that you really get what you put into it!

[mezorn26]

the logo looks like a rip off from google's Picasa...

[danir.photography]

the logo looks like a rip off from google's Picasa...

Hmmm.... I'll have to check Picasa out. Is Picasa a rip off from Piccasso?

Nah... :rolleyes: