a couple of weeks ago i had a phone consultation with a photographer in california who is really well known in photography - particularly in wedding photography.  even though i don't do weddings, i thought it would be great to talk to him to get some feedback on my branding and marketing and pricing.  this guy is a whiz at marketing and it was incredibly helpful to have an outside, objective opinion about my work.

one of the things he asked me about was why my business name was anna elliott when that wasn't my name.  i told him i get asked that all the time and explained to him that i chose my kids' middle names when i first started out because a) i wasn't confident enough to use my own name and b) i wasn't overly fond of my name and thought it sounded kind of clunky.

he told me i could go either way in terms of the name - it wouldn't hurt to change it to my name but it also isn't the end of the world if i don't, especially considering i've aleady got time and money invested in the anna elliott name.

but it got me thinking.  maybe i will change my business name.  i'm confident in my abilities and proud of the work i produce and at the end of the day, the only difference between me and all the other photographers around here are the things that make me uniquely me - my personality, the energy and the vision i bring to my sessions.  people hire me because i'm easy to work with, i make their sessions fun and i produce great photos of their families.  why wouldn't i want my name attached to that?

i'm curious what you think. if you're so inclined, take my poll (it's anonymous) and let me know.