Workflow Resource – Give Image Finder A Try

On any given day, do you have a gazillion things running past you, and just as many windows opened up on your computer? I know I do.

So when you start in on a new client, or have someone call up with questions on images, your mind quickly scrambles to come up with where the image files are located and how to find them quickly.

You may want to try Fundy Image Finder – a brand new tool that makes finding and pulling images quick and easy. Its not a sophisticated program; just a simple workflow utility to help photographers pull images for print and album orders in the most efficient way possible.

(And best of all, its 100% free – so you have to go download it now!)

What it is

A simple tool for quickly finding a batch of images.

Why it rocks

Ever have a print or album order with a list of images you have to find?  We’ve made the job of finding them fast and snappy!  Image Finder was designed to do one very specific task, and do it well.  Like the name of the product, it finds images.  That’s it.

How it works

Cut and paste a list of image files into the finder window, and hit go.  It will search a folder and/or subfolders for the images and bring them up in the queue.  From there, you can open the files up in Photoshop or quickly create copies for editing.  That’s it!  It just takes a simple step in your workflow and makes it lightning fast. Watch this video to see just how fast it is.

How much is it?

Brace yourself.  It’s FREE.  Yeah, how cool is that?  Fundy Software is all about making the Photographer’s workflow faster and easier.  This was such a simple tool to develop we were amazed nobody had made it yet, so we busted it out and are making it available completely free.

Grab your copy of it here.

Workflow, Backup and Security – What Every Photographer Needs

It’s easy to shoot one photo session. It’s easy to burn a CD/DVD and hand it over to the client.

But what do you do when you have one shoot per day, 5 days of the week? What if one photo session turns into 10, and 10 turns into 100? What do you do to make sure your files are safe, secure, and easily accessible in the future?

Welcome to the wonderful world of workflow. When you have one client, it’s easy to control. But when that number grows day after day, it’s easy to get completely overwhelmed.

Before that happens, take the time to setup a workflow system within your studio, and put all the pieces into place to make sure your data files are safe and secure, and accessible no matter what.

Organize your shoots

Start out by creating a system on your computer for you to store all of your client work. For me, I find it easiest to build client files by date and by name. I have a main file titled “Client Files”; then I have subfiles listed by year: 2011, 2010, 2009, etc.

Within each year, I further divide my list so every company gets a folder. I only have a few major clients each month, so subdividing it by year works for me. If you have dozens of clients per month, it might make more sense to further divide your folders by month, or even by week.

Spend some time thinking about a system that works for you, and set it up as you are working on your first client. Yes, you will probably adjust it over time as you find things that work and things that don’t. But starting off in a good position will make it that much easier down the road. [Read more…]