Leading Lines

Here we have the logo for Dougie Cunningham and his business Leading Lines photography. I've know Dougie for over ten years and he is not only a talented and technically exemplary photographer, he is also an accomplished climber and Magician (when I say Magician I mean an actual Magician).The logo was based on the metering mode icons found on Cannon cameras. They have been arranged to portray the perspective of a leading line, which for those of you not up on the rules of composition is the use of foreground objects and perspective to draw the viewers eyes into the picture. The logo not only had to perform the function of branding Dougie's company but also as a watermark. Watermarking is pretty much a photographers only defence against copyright infringement on the internet, so it is beneficial if it can be spread across the whole picture and not easily photoshopped or cropped out. The intrinsic problem with this is that it usually wrecks your photo, drawing viewers eyes away from the picture and detracting from the skill and craft of the photographer. People are conditioned to read text and although from a branding and identification point of view it seems practical to include a name or website this really goes against the aesthetic and contextual point of a good picture. For some pictures it is just not practicable to include text for this very reason. So a watermark needs to be modular, to be atheistically pleasing and enhance the picture through graphic design rather than simply stamping copyright ownership all over it. I think with this logo we have not only achieved an effective and adaptive watermark we have also enhanced the branding of the business at the same time.Of all the concepts I had come up with, this design was the most bold and I was well chuffed when Dougie went for it, it really is to easy to fall into the trap of playing it safe and striving for the middle ground. On this occasion I was massively pleased to have a client that not only has superior skill and ability but also the conviction to try something bold and imaginative, to stand out from the crowd and forge an individual and defined style.Check out Dougie's website here http://leadinglinesphotography.net/Also check out his annual calendars they are well nice and a cut above those mediocre Colin Prior numbers - in my estimation at least.