How to Name a Photo Studio

A naming challenge from Reddit turns into a somewhat case study.

I have to start with a disclosure — if I see a naming brief, I can’t stop but work on it. It is a puzzle that I love solving. A few weeks ago I saw this post on Reddit:

It started with this Reddit post!

This isn’t even a proper brief. And when I asked a few questions, I got these answers:

Brand Name required for a studio other photographers can rent

I’ve been a photography enthusiast for over 20 years. And I do have a soft-spot for photographers, and also for naming :)

I kept telling myself to not think about it. But I couldn’t. In this post let me share my process to find that perfect brand name for this photo studio, which I don’t know much about.

As mentioned in my previous post, I have my process and a framework and it has been refined over many years of solving these puzzles.

Full disclosure: Since the Reddit post didn’t provide many details, I made some assumptions about the studio. While the core challenge — naming a photo studio — was real, I’ve expanded the brief to demonstrate a more thorough naming process.

The Process Begins

Step 1: Establish your naming strategy

Because apparently you’re not a real marketer until you’ve created a proprietary framework with a catchy acronym, I use the UBA Framework to structure any naming brief:

Uniqueness: Your differentiator in market

• Photo studio rental in a small town
• Abundant infrastructure for all kinds of shoots

Brand Context

• Target: Professional and emerging photographers
• The photographer should get it and everyone else should like it

Architecture & Construction

• Consider contemporary language
• Must be distinctive and memorable

“A name can serve as a substantial barrier to entry once it is established. Consider the power of names like Velcro, Formica, and Kodak. In fact, a name can be more useful than a patent, which can be difficult and costly to defend.” — David Aaker

Step 2: Brainstorm related words and concepts

Like every naming project, I started with the obvious combinations. They are generally underwhelming, as you can see:

Light Studio (obvious)

Flash Space (boring)

Focus Room (meh)

The Photo Loft (please, no)

Capture Space (someone shoot me)

These names were exactly what we needed to avoid. Even A.I. can come up with better names than this. Therefore, it was time to dig deeper.

I started exploring multiple territories, methodically generating hundreds of names:

Core Photography Concepts

1. The ISO Territory: Explored dozens of combinations around ISO settings

• ISO The Light
• ISO Perfect
• ISO Pro Studio
• ISO Your Vision

2. The Fire & Flash Territory: Opportunity to use some fun/action words

• Flash and Carry
• Flash Forward
• Quick Fire
• Fire When Ready

3. The Frame Territory: Playing with framing concepts

• Frame and Fortune
• Frame Forward
• Frame Works

4. The Space Territory: Explored multiple venue concepts

• Flash Loading Zone
• Light Industrial
• Light Loft
• Sharp Tank

5. The Session Territory (Later Abandoned)Initially promising directions:

• Prime Sessions
• In Session Studio
• Perfect Session Space

Exploring Phrases

After these word combinations (mostly obvious), I dove into phrases and expressions. The phrases are memorable and clever word play makes them even more special.

1. Business-inspired phrases:

• Flash and Carry
• Frame and Fortune
• Flash on Delivery
• Flash Permission Granted

2. Location/Signage phrases:

• Flash Loading Zone
• No Flash Loading
• Maximum Flash Load
• Heavy Flash Zone

3. Service/Action phrases:

• Flash Come Flash Serve
• Flash at First Sight
• Fire When Ready
• Ready to Fire

4. Range/Shooting phrases:

• Firing Range Studio
• Fire at Will
• In Range
• Target Acquired

5. Studio/Photography phrases:

• In The Flash
• Behind the Lens
• Hold That Pose
• More Than Meets the Eye
• Just Before Dawn

After days of exploration across all these territories, I had generated over 200 possible names. We don’t have to judge them at this stage, that’s what we do in the next stage.

“Names that make us smile are infectious. They are the ones we talk about, tweet, and repeat.” — Alexandra Watkins

Step 3: Evaluate and shortlist

Through this extensive exploration, four strong contenders emerged:

1. “Frame and Fortune”

• Perfect play on “fame and fortune”
• Clear photography connection

2. “Flash and Carry”

• Clever play on “cash and carry”
• Combines photography with business sense
• Instantly understandable wordplay

3. “Sharp Tank Studios”

• Plays on the popular “Shark Tank” show
• Suggests a place for ‘sharp’ work

4. “SharpAF Studios”

• Dual meaning (AutoFocus + contemporary slang)
• Modern, punchy feel
• MemorableAF

Each approached the challenge differently while maintaining that crucial balance of professional and creative appeal.

Step 4: Test, evaluate, and finalize

For this case-study there’s no need to get into actual testing since this was from a Reddit post and not for a client. However, in a real project, I would:

Test these names with friends and also target audience to see:

• Which names resonate most strongly
• How they feel about each wordplay
• Whether any names create confusion

Also, checking domain availability and trademark potential.

This is where proper client interaction becomes crucial — understanding their specific needs, market position, and future plans would help determine which of these four strong contenders would serve them best.

If you want to learn more about Step 4 and how to properly test names, check out my Brand Broccoli naming case study.

I try my best to stay away from Reddit. But when I go there, I definitely create work for myself.

What can I say? When I see someone looking for a name, my brain just starts spinning with possibilities. But hey, this is the kind of work I can’t complain about — especially when my Reddit username is FoundersMarketer :)

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My other brand naming post: https://medium.com/startup-stash/how-to-win-at-brand-naming-my-proven-4-step-process-065bcaf3df36