f8lee Loc: New Mexico

I wonder if others have had to deal with this issue, and if so how they handled it.

I am going to try selling some of my photos (printed on aluminum, etc.) - have a chance to hang them in a restaurant type of situation. My question relates to how they should be named - of course here I am talking about a "customer facing" name, not "2020-06-10-Moonrise-21" or whatever (which is how I rename my images when I bring them into Lightroom).

So to use that as an example: I have numerous moonrise shots, taken on different dates, etc. - and within LR they are all uniquely named with something like the example I just gave. But when hanging four of them, say, on a gallery wall, would it make sense to just name them "Moonrise- 01", "Moonrise 02", etc.? Or is there a better way to apply names that make sense but don't seem like an arbitrary sequence?

I similarly have a bunch of images from the Grand Canyon, lightning, etc. - the same concept applies.

So TIA for any guidance others can give me - maybe there's an easy solution that I am just not seeing. Or maybe "Moonrise-01", Moonrise-02" et al is the way to go.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I see nothing wrong with naming them by simple subject and date. From your example,

Moonrise - June 10, 2020.

If more than one Moonrise <number> June 10, 2020
--Bob

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Hey, thanks - that's a good idea - simple yet accurate.
Appreciate it

bleirer

Or add a place name. Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico...

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/53904

User ID

Excellent in itself, but I would also add a recognizable yet simple location name to the date. Reasoning is that if it means nothing special to the viewer, no harm done, but if it does happen to have any significance for the viewer then you’ve “got a nibble on your line”.

Location names should be as simple as possible, such as “Hudson Bay” or “Near Block Island”. By being less specific you “cast a wider net”.

People purchase mainly on emotional connection, hardly ever on aesthetics. With any luck, the date will hold some significance as well !

Leitz Loc: Solms

I don't believe there is such a thing as a naming convention. Those of us who do our own thinking don't copy others - we simply name them whatever we think describes the subject.

User ID

What you or Jose or Jaing THINKS is rather beside the point. The OP asked about naming prints to best promote SELLING them. If a convention enables selling, then your otherwise admirable sense of individualism is unproductive.
If copying others sells better, and if it’s sales you want, then copy what sells.

It’s similar to retail packaging. If the image is a product then its title is its packaging. In retail, packaging must provide “shelf appeal”.

bleirer

Rising or setting, waxing, full, or waning, crescent, gibbous, , half, full, hunter moon, harvest moon, place names.

Rising hunter moon, waxing crescent moon, full moon over Canyon de Chelly.....

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'd let the customer name the picture. Giving it the wrong name could turn off a potential customer. He's buying it for its appearance, not a clever title.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Huh - and what pray tell do you obvious superior intellects name a set of photos, all of which are, say, of the moon rising over the Organ mountains - taken on the same night as well as on different nights?..None of the images being identical as the angle of view used and the cloud cover changes during the evening, etc. but each appreciated in its own way? Do enlighten a poor underling like myself as to how you would use that vast intellect of yours (evidently, given the snarky tone of your shitty response) to provide unique names to each of the images, bearing in mind that additional shots of the moon rising over those same mountains will likely be taken in coming months and years?

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

To the rest of you, I offer thanks on your ideas. As it happens I think Bob's notion is a good one (and frankly I do name things "Moonrise over the Organs" rather than just "moonrise" - I just didn't want to complicate the question).

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I go by date then name as you have been doing.
Tried the other way and it works but I prefer the Date first 2020-09-07 Photo X.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I have found that there are two camps in the naming game. One camp says, "be descriptive." So that one would name it "Moon over Organ Pipe." That would tell the viewer exactly what they are seeing. The other camp would be imaginative. (Sorry, I'd have to see the image to come up with an example.) Imaginative titles can pique interest. When titles get too mundane (such as simply using the date), they can kill interest.

CaptainPhoto

A photo is a piece of art, just like a painting, just a different form. With that, think like an artist. Look at the emotion of the image and name it accordingly. No artist would name a painting with the date in the title. When you enter photos in a contest you give a title to the image. I doubt you would include the date as part of the title. Again, look for the emotion in the image.

Leitz Loc: Solms

I also suggested that the OP think, but was accused of being snarky.