How to Make a Logo in Photoshop

How to Create a Logo in Photoshop

One of the most important aspects of your business is your branding and the way you present yourself to potential clients.

Having cohesive branding is something that will go a long way towards getting your name out there, but doing it yourself can be daunting for many people.  However, as a photographer, you are already creative, so why not use your creativity to customize your own branding that perfectly represents you and your business?

There are a lot of different design elements that go into a photography business – website design, blog layout, business cards, pricing and packaging, watermarks, the list goes on and on!  A great place to start is your LOGO, which will most likely go on EVERYTHING that you put out for marketing and advertising in some form or fashion.

Your logo is your calling card and is extremely important, so it should visually represent you and your business.

For example, I like to use real vintage film cameras in my photography, so when I'm editing digital files, I like to give them a retro vibe too.  Therefore, to best represent my own business, my branding includes a lot of vintage textures, with retro fonts and clip art.

Once you figure out what sets you apart, think of ways you can incorporate those elements into a visual representation.

There are endless ways of putting everything together and various software programs that can help you, but since many of us already have Adobe Photoshop, let’s look at creating and designing a logo in Photoshop, and we will do this in 4 simple steps.  Note: this can also be done in Photoshop Elements.

Step 1. Create a New Photoshop Document and Add a Background

Start by creating a new Photoshop document.  To do that, select "File>New."  Make sure the background color is set to transparent and the Width and Height of the document set to be similar in shape to a business card.

Next, I want to use a texture as the background for my image.  To do that, drag and drop a texture onto the first layer of the Photoshop document that was just created.

Step 2. Add Elements to Your Logo Using the Brush Tool

Next, you will want to add some embellishments to your logo using the Photoshop Brush Tool. 

Brushes for Photoshop are an easy (and really fun!) way of customizing your branding and making it unique.  Many brushes can be found free online, and HERE is a great place to browse for them. 

Installing them is easy, too.  Once your brushes are downloaded, unzip the file and double click on the brush files to automatically install them in your Photoshop brush library.

Before selecting a brush, change the Foreground color to a shade that will match the texture.  When you click on the Foreground/Background color icon (on your left-side toolbar), this box will open:

When you hover over the texture while this box is open, you will see what looks like a dropper tool.  Use this dropper to click on various sections of the texture to help select a color that is already in the color palette of your logo.  Here, I used the dropper to select a color, then made it slightly darker for extra contrast.

Next, select the Brush tool (circled below).

And right-click on your image to bring up your brush library. 

Create a new Photoshop layer.  There should now be three separate layers.

When I placed my embellishment, it didn’t quite blend in with the texture, so I changed the Blending Mode of Layer 3 to Pin Light.  When working on this type of project with various brushes, textures, and fonts, experiment with Blending Modes and Opacity until you feel that everything blends together nicely.

Step 3. Add Text to Your Photoshop Logo

Now it’s time to add some text, which can be done by clicking on the "T" icon on your Photoshop toolbar.  This will automatically create a new layer for you.  You can alter the color of your text in the same way we changed the color of the brush tool.  To add contrast, I made the text color slightly darker than the embellishment.

Like Photoshop brushes, there is an array of free downloads for unique fonts, and they are installed in the same way as custom brushes.  I download the majority of my fonts HERE.

At this point, I cropped my image so the text would not appear too small compared to the rest of the image.

Like with Layer 3, I set the Blending Mode to Pin Light.

Next, I selected a different font (but still similar in style) for the word “Photography.”  And once again, I set the Blending Mode to (you guessed it!) Pin Light.

I want to add one final touch to my logo design using a faux film brush (which can be downloaded HERE).

Step 4. Save Your PS Logo in a Layered File

Once you are happy with your finished logo, you may want to do a final crop, as I have done here.

It's always good to save a copy of your logo design as a PSD file.  That way, if you want to go back and make changes later, you can easily tweak any layer without starting from scratch.

Like I said before, this is just one of many ways to create a logo in Photoshop.  So have fun, experiment, and always strive to keep your brand in mind when tying all of your design elements together!

Do you have any questions or comments about How to Create a Logo in Photoshop?  Leave us a comment below - we would LOVE to hear from you! And PLEASE SHARE our tutorial using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!