Registering Business...name?

I am going to register my business sometime within the next month. Problem is, I can't think of name, I know it also depends if its already taken. But what are my options as if no name is registered? I need suggestions. Right now, my unregistered name is Photos by Pablo. But I'm SO new to the game, I can change it without any confusions to clients. But, I have goals for 2011, and for see many more clients. I have a family event for next year booked, as well as a wedding in April.

I focus on family portraits, maternity, newborn, and weddings.

I haven't found my nitche yet, so am still experimenting in the wide variety of fields photography offers. I've even been offered an suggested opportunity to shoot labor and delivery with a Doula.

With all this 'new happenings' I am photographing, I thought "Happy Beginning Photography" would be nice. But thinking it could be too cheesy.

Agh - HALP, I love to hear other people's perspective and creativity.

I honestly think that (note this!) almost all photography names are cheesy if they aren't your name. My business name is my name as I want to brand myself and not the photos I'm taking, if that makes sense. www.katiepablo.com looks boutique.

I suggest you read the book Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders, it really opened my eyes as far as photography business goes.

My full name sucks, so I use a DBA.

Svetlana wrote in post #11457884
I honestly think that (note this!) almost all photography names are cheesy if they aren't your name.

I wanted to use my name originally then I found out there was already a reasonably prominent guy with the same name already... hence I created a brand that was more an extension of my ethos. It seems to be working as most people find it easy enough to remember.

Choosing a name (if not using your own) is one of the toughest decisions I think. Whatever you use you will generally have to stick to using.

C'mon, you're a woman, you're supposed to know this stuff. With a maternal target audience, you need to relate personally-- person to person--not Name Brand Company to person. You clients will want to know you as an individual. When your clients tell their friends about you, they're going to say, "Katie Pablo" not Name Brand Company. Running your business by anything other than your name just puts up a hurdle that both of you will have to leap.

I too vote for a more personal name.
If you really want something else- Keep it simple, try to select words that are easy to spell, remember and short check the availability first, you do not want to have a .info or .net name when the .com is already taken.
Photography by pablo sounds very masculine.
Memories by Katie,
Portraits by Katie,
Kt photography,
Kp photo
Photos by K
Your town photo
Just make it easy to write, say and remember.

RDKirk wrote in post #11460568
C'mon, you're a woman, you're supposed to know this stuff. With a maternal target audience, you need to relate personally-- person to person--not Name Brand Company to person. You clients will want to know you as an individual. When your clients tell their friends about you, they're going to say, "Katie Pablo" not Name Brand Company. Running your business by anything other than your name just puts up a hurdle that both of you will have to leap.

Clients will confuse your business name with other fellow photographers if they have the same first or last name as you are.

UnikPix wrote in post #11462838
Clients will confuse your business name with other fellow photographers if they have the same first or last name as you are.

In the personal photography business, Plan A should be, "Go with your own name."

If that proves to be a problem for a particular photographer in a particular area dealing with a particular client base, then that photographer can go to Plan B. But for photographers who are not named John Smith or Jayesh Patel, that should not be a problem.

Added: From what I can see, even commercial photographers seem mostly to go for personal names--I suspect that art directors also tend to remember personalities rather than Brand Name Business.

Well, I've decided for Lily Rose Photography, after my daughter due in February. That name also isn't registered where I am located. Since I don't plan or want to go nationally, I won't bother federally registrating it, just local registration.

I went with your ideas to personal, it's still a name. No, not my own. Lily Rose really depicts the feminine quality that I want my business to be portrayed as, but not cheesy.

You should register the .com version as they are the #1 domain extension.

Kpablo wrote in post #11463988
Well, I've decided for Lily Rose Photography, after my daughter due in February. That name also isn't registered where I am located. Since I don't plan or want to go nationally, I won't bother federally registrating it, just local registration.

I went with your ideas to personal, it's still a name. No, not my own. Lily Rose really depicts the feminine quality that I want my business to be portrayed as, but not cheesy.

good name

Katie, fantastic name you've decided on with an even more memorable reason. Memorable to you, and those close to you that is. I also love your site layout, but the pictures being placed bottom right under the red ribbon kind of flusters me. Great job on a fantastic name!

kinyocase wrote in post #11466239
Katie, fantastic name you've decided on with an even more memorable reason. Memorable to you, and those close to you that is. I also love your site layout, but the pictures being placed bottom right under the red ribbon kind of flusters me. Great job on a fantastic name!

.com is already taken unfortunantly

Did they fluster you because of the speed? That damn thing pissed me off to no end, and took me an hour to figure it out. I took of the speed, and changed it off of infinite. Does it work better for you?

That is fantastic Katie. Much more appealing to the Eye. What I was referring to was that when opening your portfolio before the changes the images were showing up quite small and Behind the bottom red navigation ribbon,. Now they are showing up centered in the window and looking down right fantastic!

just tried looking at your site and its coming up as unfound????