With the new year, I thought it might be nice to give props out to the companies that I use to run my business. I am a one man show so I rely heavily on these services. I went with each of these because they offer simple, powerful solutions and they are backed by a community of users and developers.
My “team”:
- WordPress based website: I use the Kertez Theme by Marc Fuller. Simple, easy to use and flexible. Plus here are many thousands of people constantly developing new plug-ins for the Word Press Platform.
- Adobe Lightroom for processing photos – easy to use, huge community of users and brilliant presets.
- Smugmug.com and Bayphoto for my photo management and fulfillment – Many, many child and family portrait photographers and even more wedding photographers use the Smugmug system to manage their photos. Their system is simple, constantly being updated and customizable. Plus there are a network of smugmug user groups that give me access to the best in the business. Bayphoto is the lab that prints my work. Excellent quality and service and since they are in Santa Cruz, shipments to San Francisco where most my clients live, is practically overnight.
- ShootQ.com for booking sessions and managing the photography workflow – this is my newest addition to my structure team and it has been a life savor. In just a few days, I implemented a system that allow me to book 70+ portraits sessions in less than a week. No more hassles with billing, contracts or wondering what needs to be done for shoot or print job.
Check them out and let them know I sent you.