How To Organise Your Photography Business

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Juggling the day to day running of a photography business can take time & efforts on your part. This is the work which no one likes, paperwork, invoices, etc. Important thing is not to replicate and duplicate things, this takes up more time than we realise and lost time equals losing money. Every business (photography or not) needs to have a system in place. Keeping track of your contacts, equipment, jobs, sales, purchases, marketing, diary & products and a lot more.

Many photographers use a spreadsheet to run their business. Spreadsheets are fine if you want to crunch numbers and perform automatic calculations, create charts, ‘what if’ scenarios or keep track of simple list of data. However, you will end up entering the same values of information into multiple spreadsheets. This is not time efficient and you need to update different files if you are tracking related information in several spreadsheets. When you use a spreadsheet, viewing the set of data is not easy and quite often requires lots of scrolling to view it!!

Alternative to spreadsheets is a database management system which will simplify your work and allow you more time to do whatever you want, whether being behind the camera or with your family! A database will help you manage all your day to day business tasks with ease, answer questions and solve problems, link related data, view data in different ways and a lot lot more…

Here is what you need to do simplify your day to day tasks:

1. Keeping track of your contacts i.e leads, customers, suppliers,

2. Sending quotations and confirmations of bookings in a professionally laid out PDF format

3. Manage your work flow tasks / reminders for things to do on specific dates

4. Raising sales invoices / inputting purchase invoices

5. Linking expenses / purchases to jobs for precise cost analysis

6. Sending / creating delivery notes to clients

7. Sending remittance notes to suppliers for payment

8. Email marketing to get your message across

9. Keeping track of all your camera / lenses / software serial numbers

10. Mail merging and sending letters to clients & prospects

11. Creating reports to see your sales, purchases, expenses

12. Forecasting figures v actual figures

13. Keeping track of appointments with a diary

14. and a lot more…..

Can you imagine trying to do all the above with spreadsheets, you cannot. It is possible but you will end up replicating and duplicating things and is very time consuming. What you need is to get or create your own database which will speed up your administrative tasks. If you are good with programming, you can create simple databases, but this will be time-consuming for you or you can buy an off-the-shelf program which is made for photographers.

So if you are starting a new photography business or in need of getting organised. I recommend you get a database and see how it will transform your business.

Choosing A Photography Career

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As with any career where the path is a tricky one, the most important attribute you will need to have is determination to succeed. If you think it might be nice to be a professional photographer, but there are other careers you would also be happy in, don’t choose photography!

So, given that this is the career path you absolutely have to follow, which path is for you?

Portrait photography

The portrait photographer will either work out of a studio, or have the occasional location job; school photographs, or headshots for actors, singers, and dancers. They will need excellent organisational skills, as they will most likely be doing their own diary-management, as well as keeping themselves fully apprised of the latest developments both in digital photography and post-production. Although no formal qualifications are required, a reasonably high level of training and professional competence are essential.

Family photography

The family photographer will be almost entirely-studio based. Frequently dealing with fractious small children, their people skills are as important as their skills as a photographer. The family photographic shoot requires diplomacy, and an ability to keep people focussed yet relaxed. Like the portrait photographer, formal qualifications are desirable rather than essential.

Fashion photography

Breaking into this glamorous side of the industry is incredibly difficult. The fashion photographer will require an extensive physical portfolio of their work, and also an excellent personal website to serve as a gallery. Their digital manipulation skill of the images they shoot should be exceptional. Unlike most other fields of professional photography, the fashion photographer should have an agent, who will negotiate the sale of their work on their behalf.

Photojournalism

The photo journalist is essentially a storyteller, presenting the truth, with images seldom doctored before they find their way into print. Formal training could be more important here than in other fields, as a degree will present challenges and theoretical scenarios for the student to tackle. A graduate course will also provide vital contacts.

Wildlife photography

Again, the wildlife photographer will need a stand-out portfolio, and a keen interest in the natural world. With stock agencies overflowing with images, the budding wildlife photographer will need extreme levels of persistence, patience, and the ability to see the long game. Requiring excellent business and marketing skills, they will need to charm their way into good relationships with animal parks, enabling access to restricted areas.

Wedding photography

One for the adrenaline junkies of the photography world, wedding photographers need nerves of steel to be master of the perfect shot. Dealing with the preservation of people’s treasured memories, their people, and indeed crowd-management skills should be exceptional. Their editing skills should also be top-notch, as a little subtle photoshopping can make the difference between a good photograph, and a perfect one.

Your path within the profession depends as much upon your personality as your skill – if you tailor your career progression to who you are, you will find developing your skills extremely rewarding.

Explore Aruba in the Caribbean this summer

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Aruba is an island situated 21 miles (33 kilometres) south of the Caribbean Sea and 17 miles (27 kilometres) north of Falcon State and Paraguana Peninsula in Venezuela. Formerly, Aruba, together with its neighbouring islands Bonaire and Curacao, formed a group of islands in the Lesser Antilles region, commonly referred to as the ABC islands. Aruba has a total land area of 74.5 square miles (193 square kilometres), and an estimated population of 104,494 in the year 2007.

Unlike other Caribbean islands, Aruba has a dry, arid climate and cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped the tourism in the island because visitors expect a relatively sunny, warm weather. Aruba has an average mean temperature of 81 F (27 C), and is known for its white sand beaches. The island is divided into two coasts: the southwest and northeast coast. The northeast coast, which is near the Atlantic, has a rough sea and few beaches with rocky coastline and dangerous currents. The southwest coast, on the other hand, has warm waters, turquoise seas, and a number of white sand beaches. The capital city as well as the largest city, is Oranjestad; the harbour city is Barcadera. In 1499, Aruba was first discovered by Spain; however, it was then acquired in 1636 by the Dutch.

During the late 19th century, gold mining was discovered and became famous; it was then followed by an oil refinery industry in 1924. During the last years of the 20th century, tourism became a major contributor to the island’s revenue. In 1986, Aruba seceded from the Bonaire and Curacao islands, and became an autonomous, separate member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although Aruba moved towards independence in 1990, it was postponed due to the written request of Nelson O. Oduber, the then Prime Minister; however the request was rescinded afterwards. Soon after, complete independence was attained by the island in 1995. Tourism and other related activities are the island’s top income earning industry, next to oil refining and storage and offshore banking. The boom of the tourism industry also paved the way for the expansion of other activities such as construction of hotels and other establishments. Along with the white-sand beaches, there is a wide range of destinations in Aruba that tourists can visit.

The Alto Vista Chapel, a small catholic chapel, is located above the hills of the northern part of the island; it became famous for its wonderful architectural design. The Arikok National Park, which comprises 18% of Aruba’s land area, is renowned for its preserved resources including rocks and mineral formations, as well as other indigenous species found on the park. Other points of interest in Aruba include Ayo and Casibari Rock Formations, Hooiberg, Caves of Aruba, Mount Jamanota, Bushiribana and Balashi, Frenchman’s Pass, California Lighthouse, Tierra Del Sol Golf Course and Quadiriki Caves. Famous beaches on the island include Eagle Beach, Palm Beach, Aruba, Baby Beach, Aruba and Palm Island, Aruba. Aruba is also famous for its traditional dishes: Stoba di Bestia Chiquito and Keshi Yena. These dishes, along with other international foods, are served in a wide range of restaurants found on the island including Sawasdee Thai Restaurant, Rumba Bar & Grill, El Gaucho, Iguana Joe’s and The Flying Fishbone.

What Makes Gold So Special

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Over the centuries, gold has played a unique cultural role in societies across the world. Something about the metal gives it a transcendant symbolic value: from the legendary treasuries of the Aztec and Mayan empires to the Golden Calf of the Book of Exodus, gold is implicated in the most dramatic tales of ancient human history. Even today, gold retains its cultural signficance. For an Olympic athlete, a single gold medal represents the zenith of achievement. The Palme dOr, or Golden Palm, is a symbol of supreme attainment in the film industry. Only a handful of British monarchs have managed to stick it out for half a century and earn their Golden Jubilee. And clearly there is a reason why credit card companies designate their high-end offerings as “Gold Cards”. But what is it about real gold that captures our attention? What gives this yellow metal such value?

Like anything of real value, gold is rare. Only 3 particles per billion in the Earths crust are gold. Although the worlds oceans hold vast amounts of gold, it is so dilute that attempts to recover it from the salt water have never been successful. If all the gold ever refined were formed into a ball, it would be less than 25 metres across. However, some gold does exist naturally in a relatively pure state (as opposed to in an ore), enabling humans to gather it in small quantities without the need for chemical extraction. And once harvested, gold is one of the most versatile metals on earth. It has been crafted and shaped ever since the ‘caltholithic’, or ‘copper’ age, as early as 4000 BC, making it one of the very first metals to be used by humans. The ancient peoples of Egypt and the Middle East used gold for religious rites, as well as for ornamentation. The first recorded use of gold coins was during the reign of King Croesus of Lydia around 600 BC. Gold is also more malleable and ductile than any other metal. A single gram of gold can be beaten into a sheet one metre square. It is one of the heaviest elements; heavier, even, than lead. Ten teaspoons of gold would weigh as much as seventeen teaspoons of lead.

It has been customary throughout history to test the purity of gold by biting on it. Since pure gold is soft enough to show teeth-marks, and cheaper alloying metals are usually harder, this method does give some indication. More reliable tests, however, involve the use of nitric acid. The content of gold in alloys is measured in karats (k). Pure gold is 24 karat, with the number of karats decreasing proportionally as other metal is added.

Although too soft for ordinary use in its pure state, gold can be extremely hard and durable when alloyed with other metals. Alloying also has other advantages besides increasing its hardness. The distinctive yellow colour of gold is recognised throughout the world. However, a fascinating spectrum of other colours can be created by combining small quantities of other metals with the gold. Alloyed with copper, it has a rosy colour, with nickel, silver, or palladium it is white, with iron, blue, and with aluminium, a purple hue. Pure silver gives the alloy a greenish tint, and rhodium or ruthenium produce black. Gold in such forms is most commonly used in jewellery. Colloidal gold is micro-particles of gold suspended in water, producing an intense red colour. Colloidal gold is used in stained glass, and in certain applications for medical and scientific research.

In former years gold played an important role as a medium of exchange, mostly in the form of valuable coins. Currencies were also backed by gold, but this is no longer the case. Reserves of gold are still held by some nations as gold bullion coins, for example the Australian Gold Nugget, or the British Britannia. The value of these coins is measured by their weight, rather than by their face value, which, when it exists, is always significantly less than its true value. The world’s biggest gold coin was minted by the Canadian Royal Mint in Spring 2007. It is half a metre across, 3 cm thick, weighs 100 kg, and is worth nearly 3 million dollars, with a face value of $1,000,000.

These days, most gold is used in jewellery, but it is also widely used by other industries. Dentists use gold alloys in crowns and bridges, and certain types of toners in the photography industry contain gold. Even the food industry uses gold flakes or dust to enhance the appearance of exotic sweets and drinks. Gold can be made into thread for embroidery, and beaten into micro-thin sheets called ‘gold leaf’. More durable than any paint, the real gold never fades or loses its lustre. In fact, there are examples of gilding done by the Romans and Ancient Egyptians which still retain their brilliance today, thousands of years on.

Far from being outdated, real gold remains superior to this day, adding a touch of brilliance to many quality products today.

Bucket Trucks

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Have You Ever Seen a Bucket Truck
Have you ever seen someone working high in a bucket attached to a long pole that is attached to a truck? I’m betting you have. If so, you have seen a bucket truck. Many times they are called “cherry pickers” or “aerial lifts”. Technically, bucket trucks are for working at heights that a ladder can’t get to safely. If you think bucket trucks aren’t very common, you would be wrong.

Bucket Truck History
Bucket trucks were originally used to pick fruits in orchards (fittingly, cherry picker). With technology growing, demand and adaptations also grew. When wiring for electricity and telephones in the 1920’s to 1950’s, bucket trucks were what revolutionized the industry. They made workers more efficient and linemen could get more done in one day than they could have done in 20 days.

Today’s Utility Trucks
Today, bucket trucks are used for thousands of jobs. Many of the jobs include line-work (telecomm, cable, electricity industries), forestry work, painting, sign & light repair / installation, window washing, photography, and much more. The increase of demand has also required utility equipment to adapt to each industry’s needs. Now, forestry trucks have cab guards, line trucks have insulated booms, etc. These specific trucks allow companies and workers to be the safest and most efficient they can.

Buying Bucket Trucks
Availability of bucket trucks is under the market threshold… meaning, it is hard to find good bucket trucks to buy or rent. If you are looking for quality equipment, I suggest renting or purchasing from a bucket truck reconditioner. What reconditioner you choose to do business with will be the deciding factor between quality and junk. Buying used is risky. Risk does not go well with the already dangerous part of operating a bucket truck. If you buy new, be sure to shell out the money. New trucks are expensive and similar to cars, they lose money as soon as you drive off the lot.

Conclusion
Now you know a little more about bucket trucks. Hopefully, you appreciate them a little more. If nothing else, bucket trucks are some of the most useful and practical machines in todays world. Cherry pickers are also relatively dangerous. Don’t forget to take the proper safety precautions before operating or being near a bucket truck.