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Print ArticleTEXT BY DIANE BERKENFELD • IMAGES BY LENNON PHOTO PRODUCTIONS
Every photo assignment begins with the signing
of a contract, gets moving once the shots are taken, and is
completed when the images are delivered and the bill's in the mail.
There's more than enough to keep organized-from names, dates, and
places, to camera settings that document the data of each image to
the many details that go into the day-to-day operation of a working
studio.
What if keeping all that information organized were as easy as a few clicks of the mouse? Well, it is that simple with ImageTracker Pro, a new software solution built around the database application FileMaker Pro.
Super Studio Software
ImageTracker Pro is the brainchild of Jay Brenner and Jim Lennon
of Brenner Lennon Photo Productions Inc., Plainview, New York, and
FileMaker FSA developer Marianne Carroll. Unsatisfied with the
studio management programs available, Brenner and Lennon approached
Carroll about customizing software for them.
Carroll created ImageTracker Pro., which is built on FileMaker
Pro. This super software can run the entire studio. It generates
reports; organizes workflow; tracks photographers, equipment, and
jobs; creates estimates and invoices; maintains price lists;
imports thumbnails of final images; offers interactive on-screen
help and a PDF user guide; and provides multi-user access and
security.
Each day a progress report on all jobs is issued, which makes those early-morning staff meetings quick and efficient. With a staff of 19 including five photographers, a digital department with three full-time staffers, assistants, and production crew, Brenner and Lennon find the program invaluable.
All billable and non-billable time is recorded in the computer
as work is done on each job. And during location shoots, they log
into the system from their laptops to stay on top of the work being
done back in the studio.
"ImageTracker makes everything we do here incredibly efficient,"
says Lennon. "The program manages the studio so we can spend more
time shooting."
Concludes Lennon, "If photographers don't know the basic business principles, it will be more luck than strategy if they have more money coming in than going out. Or, they could let ImageTracker Pro help them get the job done." v
For more Brenner Lennon images, visit
www.BrennerLennon.com
For more information on ImageTracker Pro, visit
www.imagetrackerpro.com
Digital Photo Print System TEXT AND IMAGES BY MARK WEETER
High-Speed, High-Quality Printing Anytime, Anywhere
Our studio, Weeter Photography, in Knox,
Pennsylvania, has been all-digital for over three years. We began
the journey with a variety of inkjet printers. Realizing the
inadequacies of the output devices, I experimented with the Kodak
Professional 8660 thermal printers and wound up getting four to
meet the demands of our in-house printing demands.
High school senior pictures make up the largest share of our
revenue stream. We also have a large part of the regional wedding,
family, and children's portrait market-including lucrative youth
sports events. Team and individual photos, action and candid
photos, dance schools, high school dances, preschool/daycare, and
underclass school pictures round out our market focus.
Whereas images came out in no particular order with the four
8660 printers, the ML-500 stacks images in the order we print. So I
was able to create a really profitable workflow model, as well as
an uncluttered workspace.
This printer has been a real workhorse. Our expectations have
been far exceeded, to the point where there are no questions about
reliability and consistency from job to job. It keeps printing day
after day with no issues.
Loading paper and ribbon in the ML-500 system takes us less than
five minutes. The case design means the images are virtually
dust-free. And since it's a dye-sub printer, it's also chemical-
and liquid-free.
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