Drumroll please! Our new name is....
It’s been quite a while since we’ve updated our branding, and our twelve years in business has brought us so much growth, changes, and many reasons to celebrate. For a while now our studio has had more than one photographer shooting in it (have y’all SEEN Anna’s work?!), and we’ve grown to value our team spirit above everything. We’re basically the sisterhood of the travelling pants over here :) I knew it was time to update our graphics, and when I really sat down to think about it, I began to feel that our name did not reflect our studio anymore. Not only that…. but Natalie Sinisgalli Photography is a mouth-full…. and none of you knew how to say my last name anyways :) We’ve always called it “NSP” for short, and we decided to go all-in on it. You can still find us at the same URL, email addresses and social media handles (they’ve always been nspstudio!), and the same address - we’ve just got a sleek new logo and a (shorter!) new name.
Thanks to Ilana from Ilana Griffo Design for our new branding! We have a few other exciting surprises coming your way - but fear not, we’re still the same girls you’ve come to know and love, serving up beautiful photos and female empowerment. So cheers to the next era of our studio… as NSP Studio <3
ALSO - for the many of you who have only known our current brand, I got a little nostalgic and put together an evolution chart of our logo / business card designs for you below!
Some fun facts about the history of NSP……
The first card (2009-2007) I designed myself at age 22 (this should shock no one LOL) and the girl on the card is named Maria, a friend from Italy that I met on my study abroad trip. That’s my scarf, and it’s actually orange, but due to the powers of Photoshop - I made it my favorite color, hot pink. It was hard for me to admit that I’ve ever used “selective color” (a b&w photo with one part in color) but we all start somewhere, right?! The address is my parent’s basement in Honeoye Falls. It was a very nice space that my parents helped me redo, complete with PVC piping to hold up my backdrops (sheets we bought at Walmart) and my lights were flood lamps from Home Depot. It had it’s own entrance, and gardens that rival George Eastman’s. Most shoots came with fresh baked cookies from my mom Anita :)
The next logo (2013-2009) was made by designer Laurie Felber from Envicreativ, and she was the first professional designer I ever worked with. We kept the pink, and I was so excited to put my first real studio address on the card (34 State St. Pittsford). This move was spurred by a breakup - I was still shooting in my parent’s basement, but running all non-shooting appointments out of an apartment I shared with my then boyfriend in Pittsford. Literally the day after we broke up, I got in the car with my then studio manager Kelly and started driving around the village looking for A.) a studio space and B.) a new apartment. I found both that same day …. my business was growing, but I didn’t know I would really be able to afford the studio rent. That night we had two client ordering sessions - they both spent the exact same amount - the first sale exactly covered the security deposit, and the second sale covered the first month’s rent. I took it as a sign from the universe - and I signed the lease the next morning.
Fast forward three more years (2019-2013 card), and I find myself ready for another rebrand. The hot pink seemed a little too “young” to me, now 29, and I wanted something that looked more artisanal. I kept saying I wanted it to look like my signature…. and Andrew Soucier of Soucier Design was like “well… why don’t we just use your signature?”. He polished it up a bit, but that’s actually my handwriting. Meanwhile, I was driving downtown to shoot literally 3 - 4 times per day, spending literally hours per day driving (which is insane if you live and work in Rochester). I decided to move downtown, and I actually looked for a long time to find our Prince St studio…. most of the places I found were Hungerford-style artist studios / caves which didn’t find my brand or clientelle. I ended up finding 19 Prince, and was able to see past the fact that they hadn’t finished the space yet (it was literally torn down to the studs). After a several month build out - it was ready to move into, and so we were downtown!
Which brings us to the present! Two years ago we moved to Arnold Park when I decided I was NEVER going to leave Rochester, and it made sense to buy. I had spent my time and energy making my last two commercial spaces look like a home - so I decided to actually get a home instead this time. I found an amazing realtor Sue Topel, who understood my parameters very well. I told her I wanted a house between Culver & Alexander, and University & Park (a small quadrant) within a budget and easily compartment-able for studio and a separate area where I could live. The fourth place she showed me (about four months later) was THE ONE…. when she saw it she called me on my cell, my studio phone, emailed me, texted me, and then started the cycle over until I answered. She said I HAD to come right away to see 11 Arnold Park before someone else bought it. The rest is history… I put in an offer that same night and it was accepted by the buyer hours later. As far as the name change - (explained at the top of this post) - the name “Natalie Sinisgalli Photography” didn’t fully encompass what our studio had become. We’re a team with multiple photographers, and even though I will always shoot at and run this studio, it was time to take my name off the door. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere! Just making a little more space for all the talent we have here at the studio now :)
Hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Bonus points if you’ve been to all four of our studio locations (there are several clients that have!!!). Excited to see what the next twelve years have in store!!
- Natalie