PhotoLogo Review

This Photologo Review has been a long time coming. You’ve probably seen advertising for this intriguing photography logo service for several years now…

I’ll be honest – up until now, I had absolutely zero interest in adding any kind of watermark or logo to my images.

However, my mind has been changed since allowing myself the chance to review Photologo, and I’m eager to introduce it to you too…

Whatever your current views on watermarks or cheap logo services, put them aside for the duration of this review – you might be surprised about what I uncovered.

My goal was to find out whether it’s a good idea to pay Photologo to create a custom signature logo for you. Let’s dive right in!

What is PhotoLogo?

Photologo is a service created by a photographer called Jacob Terrence, who believes that an image bearing a watermark of the photographer’s name, their business or of some form of identifier,  not only protects their work but also adds value to it.

When an artist finishes a piece of work, they always sign it. Their signature is a unique and timeless way of identifying who created the work so that it’s never mistaken for anyone else’s work, as well as protecting it from theft.

The key to the PhotoLogo service is that each logo is handcrafted by a calligraphy artist.

You can control the thickness of the logo’s line, and how ‘curly’ you want it, but other than that, your logo is entirely in the hands of its creator.

You can also choose from one of a selection of existing ‘Signature Collection’ styles – more on this later, since this is the really exciting part…

A few days later, you’ll be sent a preview of your new signature logo, and are given a chance to approve it or request up to one free revision.

If you’re in a rush, you can select a next day or 48 hour delivery, with the price increasing accordingly.

My Photologo Review

Writing a review about Photologo is not as easy as you might think – after all, the result of the service is something that’s highly subjective.

Personally, I love what the artists created with my name, and feel that on the right photo, it could definitely serve to add value to it.

I’d go as far as to say that if I were to ever create a website with the sole purpose of selling my photography, having my signature logo watermarked as it is in the image above could increase the perceived value of the print.

Just as every painting hung on your wall has some form of scribbled autograph in its corner, so too should every fine art photograph – Photologo seems to be the ideal service for any level of photographer to easily achieve this.

My first experience with Photologo was as follows:

1. I placed an order for a logo consisting of my name with no byline. (I chose the medium line thickness of 3 options, and mid-level curliness for the version you see in the image below.)

2. 14 hours later (I opted for express delivery), I received an email about my new logo. Upon clicking it I was taken to a page which showed a preview, and the option to accept the logo or request a revision.

That was pretty much it! I loved the simplicity of options before the creation of the logo, the speed of the delivery, and the completely hassle-free approval process.

Once I’d hit approve, the logo was downloaded automatically to my desktop in high-res and lower-res versions, both black and white.

For the sake of this review, I also placed a few more Photologo orders, each time requesting a slightly different style of signature logo, as well as a couple of custom ones from something called The Signature Collection…

The Signature Collection (Highly Recommended!)

One service that isn’t particularly well highlighted on the Photologo website is something called The Signature Collection, and it’s this that I highly recommend you check out.

When placing an order for your Photologo, look for the text that reads: “Would you like your Photologo based off a style seen on our website?”, and click it to reveal a scroll-able gallery – see image above.

The Signature Collection offers a number of logos, which are worth far more than the small amount of money that Photologo charges – I’m actually surprised that this service isn’t an ‘additional extra’ that cost hundreds of dollars.

For much less than $100, you can get an actual logo designed from scratch for your photography business, your website, or indeed any other branding you require.

A few months ago, I launched a product called Together Cards, to help wedding photographers pose their clients.

Not having the time nor the budget to hire a fully-fledged graphic designer to create the logo, I turned instead to PhotoLogo, and was very impressed with the result that you can see in the image below.

If you’ve ever worked with a graphic designer or calligraphy artist, you’ll know how much they usually charge – being able to get something of this quality at this price simply isn’t possible elsewhere.

The Signature Collection is a great option if you want something a little less ‘standard’, but for little investment –  hipster wedding photographers and upbeat lifestyle photographers would love some of the more funky calligraphy style logos.

It’s even great for placing some cursive text on any kind of design or image you like – check this example out, by laying my Photologo signature onto an amazing image I found on Unsplash:

This service really opened my eyes to how amazing value for money Photologo actually is, and also removed all doubt that real calligraphy artists were creating the logos – it would be impossible to automate something like this.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you have another logo design you’ve found somewhere, or are able to sketch or explain it in writing well, Photologo gives you the opportunity to do this too.

How to Add a Photologo Watermark

There are a few ways to add your Photologo watermark to your images, and thankfully it’s a simple process.

I’m assuming that you may already own a copy of Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or some other image editing software that allows watermarking.

Photologo also offers a proprietary software created just for this one task of adding a watermark to a photo, called Photopolish, and it’s actually the easiest method of all (and doesn’t require an Adobe subscription!)

I particularly like how Photopolish offers a ‘watermark wallet’, which stores all your watermarks in one place, making it much easier for you to select and visualise several of them at once (see above video).

Another benefit is that it’s really easy to bulk watermark multiple images at once with Photopolish, as shown in the video.

How do you put a logo on a photo in Lightroom?

If you’re using Lightroom, it’s a simple task to add your new Photologo to any photo that you export from your Lr catalog.

First, select the photo or photos you want to export. I like to select them individually since not all photos benefit from having the log in the same location (see the example image above, where my logo would have obstructed part of the car.)

Next open the Export dialog (Shift + Cmd/crtl + E), and scroll down to ‘Watermarking’, clicking the drop down arrow to expand it if necessary.

After this, you’ll need to expand the ‘Image Options’ dialog and click the ‘Choose’ button to find the location of your PhotoLogo file.

If your image is predominantly dark in the corner where you expect to place the logo, select the white high-res version of your logo. If it’s light, select the black version.

Then click on ‘Watermark Effects’, to open another dialog full of options for the size, placement, anchor point and opacity of your new logo.

I like to I like to drop the opacity of the logo to around 70%, but this will depend largely on the photo in question, and the final look of the image that you’re going for.

The location of the logo on the image, and where you’d like it to be ‘anchored’ is also personal preference, but I find that usually the bottom left or right looks best, with the centre being another option that sometimes works nicely (see example image later in this review).

After that, you need to save the new watermark as a Watermark Preset, which I find slightly annoying as you’ll need to do this every time you make a slight adjustment.

How do you put a logo on a picture in Photoshop?

Another option for setting your Photologo in place is by using Photoshop.

If you’re part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan, you should have access to both Photoshop and Illustrator, both of which can be used to place or illustrate a logo.

First open the image you want to watermark, then drag the Photologo PNG file over the image to add it as a new layer.

You’ll need to resize and position it yourself – there’s also a free Photoshop Action that you can create to automate this process available here, but as long as you’re only doing a few photos, it may be easier just to do it manually.

Then simply export the photo from Photoshop in the same way you would normally.

Is Photologo Worth the Cost?

 

Before we go any further, it’s worth checking out the cost of the Photologo signature service.

There seems to be a 60% sale on the usual price quite regularly, so it’s worth clicking here to find out how much it costs today.

For the regular price or the discounted price, I find it incredible value for money that there’s an actual artist that will work on your logo from scratch (see video clip above)… and they even provide revisions free of charge!

If you decide to order a custom logo design such as the one below, you have to admit that this service is great value for money – there’s simply nowhere else that you can get something of this quality in so little time at this price.

As for the Photologo service itself, I couldn’t find any fault. Everything was handled smoothly and quickly.

When I requested a revision, just for the purposes of this review, the revised logo was sent to me within 12 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PhotoLogo?

PhotoLogo is a service that creates custom, handcrafted logos that photographers can use to watermark their images. Each logo is designed by a calligraphy artist and delivered to you in just a few days.

How do I create a watermark?

You can create your own photography watermark using software like Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other graphic design or photo editing software. A watermark is normally comprised of your name and/or logo on a transparent background. Bear in mind that if you don’t already have a professionally designed logo you’ll need a bit of skill and design flair to make it look good. PhotoLogo is an alternative option where someone custom-creates your watermark for you.

Where do you place a watermark?

A standard location for a watermark is on the bottom right-hand corner of a photograph. That said, the purpose of a watermark is to identify you as a photographer without detracting from the image itself – so depending on the image, you may need to choose whichever location is most discreet.

Should I watermark my photos on Instagram?

If you’re concerned about people or businesses using your Instagram photos without your permission, watermarking them is one option. Note that this may deter people from stealing your photos or encourage them to credit you, but it can’t really do much to protect your images. Given the limited screen real estate available on Instagram, most photographers choose not to include a watermark.

Final Words

I admit that I used to turn my nose up at watermarks. Perhaps I read in a photo forum somewhere that watermarks were used mostly by amateurs in a gaudy way, subtracting from any impact the original photo may once have had.

With the Photologo service, I have to say that my opinion has changed.

By allowing an artist (whether real or robot, I don’t care!), to re-design your name into something that resembles a calligraphic signature, your photos can actually benefit from being watermarked.

In fact, the Photologo product transcends traditional watermarking, once intended as a way to prevent image theft, by adding perceived value to your final work.

I believe that if you ever intend to sell your photography, you can feasibly charge more for it if it includes your signature placed tastefully in a spot that balances the overall image.

By adding a signature to an image, you’re helping to elevate it from mere digital photograph to something closer to a work of art.

Whether someone would ever be willing to part with their hard-earned cash for said work of art is down to your prowess as a photographer, of course, but at least the Photologo product is a smart first step!