Being Organized: Part 2

BlogArchive — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:41:00 GMT

In part 1 of this article, we looked at how photographers could free themselves to be more creative by becoming better organized. In that post, we talked about organizing equipment, shoot planning, and contact lists. Let’s continue getting organized.

Tracking payments, debts and invoices. Tracking and managing all these business details is critical if photography is your business, either full or part time. You have compliance and tax obligations to meet, and must stay in control of your costs and income.

Here you have three choices: (1) do it all yourself; (2) do some of it yourself; or (3) hand it all off to a bookkeeper or accountant. The last is a great option, because most of us creative types find anything like bookkeeping to be instant death. However, an accountant costs money, so it may not be an option.

Alternatively, you can invest in some appropriate accounting software, learn it, and then use it either to do the whole job or just parts of it, with an accountant or bookkeeper doing the rest. This gives you more control and reduces costs. Accounting software such as QuickBooks or MYOB, can do the job for you.

Whatever solution you use, get an accountant to set it all up for you, including choosing the software. Then go to a training course or send the person who will be tracking your payments, debts and invoices. This is important, as even the simplest program of this type is quite complex. You need to get it right.

Planning image manipulations. In the old days of working in the darkroom I would do straight proof prints in 8x10 size and then, much later, sit with a chinagraph pencil and mark up areas of the print for burning in or holding back, dropping in another negative with masking, etc. I didn’t do this in the darkroom, but only after the print was completely dry and in the sort of lighting in which I would eventually be hanging the finished print. Free from the darkroom, I had my choice of lighting and could consider the image in comfort and over an extended period of time. I could even put the print on the fridge door so I could consider it over days.

Today, I do all my manipulation work on the computer. There is a great temptation to do all the work at the computer. I believe this is a mistake.

It is far better to mirror the darkroom approach and make a proof print in a smaller size. Then, consider it carefully and mark it up only after you’ve allowed yourself time with the image. It doesn’t all have to be a rush.

Getting things done on time. In today’s fast-moving 24/7 world, there is so much to keep track of. You need to keep track of deadlines, research, contacts, trips, websites, models, locations, timelines, client appointments and more. All of these can be tracked on paper. But as a computer nerd, I look for computer solutions.

Keeping track of everything you have to do is important. You can use a diary or calendar program but not all tasks are best kept that way.

I like to-do lists and I’ve tried a variety of programs to manage them. Most calendar programs have basic to-do capabilities, but these are very limited.

I’ve started using a program called iGTD. This is a Mac-only program, but it suits me because I work mainly on a Mac. The name comes from a book by David Allen called Getting Things Done, which describes a methodology for managing all the things we have to do. There are many other programs that implement these ideas for both Macs and Windows PCs.

iGTD lets me create tasks, and assign end dates, priorities and level of difficulty. I can also write notes about tasks, and set up tasks to repeat on a set schedule. When I complete such a task, it automatically reschedules to the next date.

iGTD is donationware software and works amazingly well. I love it, though I am still exploring all it can do for me. For example, it can also synchronize with a calendar program and generate alarms or reminder messages.

Tasks can be assigned to Contexts and Projects. Contexts divide tasks into those that need to take place in certain locations. Projects are particular activities. Both Contexts and Projects can be hierarchical, giving you further organization options.

Getting organized is not a burden. In fact, it frees you from worrying about all the things that must be done. Getting all that out of your head and off your shoulders frees you to create, and to enjoy the creating.

It can take time to turn something of little interest into something of beauty. This is especially true of creativity, which you can't do in a rush or with millions of other things on your mind. Get better organized and you are free to play.

Being Organized: Part 1

BlogArchive — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:03:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

Photography is a business for many of us and a hobby for many more. Whether business or hobby, photography can become one of those all-consuming avocations that give us a reason to get up in the morning. Yet, because of the seemingly endless array of equipment, digital files, shoot logistics, and daily business requirements, many of us are often not as organized as we could be.

And that’s a shame. Although you can’t force creativity, disorganization can definitely put a damper on it. Lack of organization can make us feel adrift or as if we're drowning in sea of unrealized possibilities.

Getting organized empties our brains of needless distractions. The more organized we become, the fewer worries we have interfering with the creative process.

Among other things, being organized as a photographer requires:

Image organization and tracking
Organizing equipment
Planning shoots
Maintaining contact lists
Tracking payments, debts and invoices
Planning image manipulations before getting on the computer
Getting work done on time

In November, I wrote about using software to help organize images. Over the next couple of months, let’s look at some of the other areas that need to be organized.

Organizing equipment. Most photographers have collected a lot of equipment: cameras, lenses, bags, filters, step-up and step-down rings, cable or electronic releases, flash guns, tripods, and so on. Personally, I don’t have huge amounts of gear but the other day I counted five tripods, for example.

What system you choose to organize your gear isn’t as important as just making the effort to do so. I’ve always liked drawers of various heights for storing camera gear, so when I pull them out everything is all laid out in front of me. I place a non-slip rubber material in the bottom of the drawer and the gear mostly stays in place, too.

Other photographers love cabinets, filing cabinets, shelves, storage bins or whatever. Tripods can be hung from little wire brackets, as can camera bags, straps and USB, FireWire and flash sync leads.

Having all of your gear where you can easily find it definitely helps when it’s time to plan your next shoot.

Planning a shoot. This can involve looking at maps of the location, noting sunrise and sunset directions and times, figuring out what gear you will need, and determining the best way to carry it. You may even choose to make a preliminary list of subjects you might want to capture.

Shoot planning can seem like a task more suited for people with anal-retentive personalities than us creative types. But the fewer logistical glitches you have to hassle with on location, the more you can focus on getting the best shots.

Maintaining contact lists. To build a steady stream of assignments and photo sales, it’s wise to maintain lists of previous clients as well as people who have inquired about your services, attended your exhibitions, or subscribed to your newsletter. You also want to maintain a list of all of the other people and businesses you work with.

Mailing lists are a great tool, because they make it easy to send out invitations, special offers, or that newsletter you always meant to write.

The simplest and most effective way to keep a mailing list is in Microsoft Excel. Setting up separate columns for names, street addresses, cities, states, and zip codes is just a starting point. You can add extra columns for date of last sale or lists of images they have bought from you in the past.

Microsoft Word can draw the info from the Excel spreadsheet to print out address labels or print directly on your envelopes if your printer can handle it. If you use labels supported by Word, such as the wide range of labels available from Avery, and it can all work flawlessly.

That’s it for part 1. More next month.

Professional Photography : business, organization

Being Organized: Part 2

Being Organized: Part 1