• Photography
  • Interviews
  • Business
  • Reviews

Views, Reviews & Interviews For Photographers On Tiffinbox

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Advertise
  • Contact

How To Get “The Big Picture” Of Your Photography Business

January 14, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher Leave a Comment

Mr. Farnsworth was a terrific music teacher. Affable, yet stern. He would tell me each time I would return to take drum lessons, “Seshu, failing to practice is practicing to fail.”

It’s taken me nearly 30 years to absorb that. Sometimes, it would be obvious that getting my stuff done in time was beneficial and sometimes procrastination would get the better of me and I paid dearly. Still, creating a plan or a workflow and being organized simply has not come naturally to me.

Is that how you feel at least a few times a year? Do you feel that being organized would create at least a semblance of efficiency? Have you struggled to keep track of your client contact information or sales tax deadlines? Are you sometimes delivering your client orders later than when you promised them?

My friend Eric O’Connor, a wedding photographer in Chicago, tried to get me to think in about workflow. Several times. I remain in awe at how his allows him to photograph 30 weddings a year and be a father and a husband.

“Creating a system,” he told me once, was the ticket to being stress-free and happy.

I have a short stack of scratch paper filled with workflow ideas and what I would do the minute a potential client rang me. I had steps that I would follow after the portrait session was booked. But what would come after the shoot and in what order? Sadly, I had too many ideas and no action. This is mostly because having and maintaining a system requires clarity of thought and the “D” word … discipline.

Thankfully, Design Aglow is the photographer’s friend. I lean on the team there to provide me with ideas and templates. Just in time for the start of the new year, they launched a photographers’ studio planner called The Big Picture.

The Big Picture: Essential Studio Planner

The Big Picture: Essential Studio Planner

The Big Picture: Essential Studio Planner

Like all their templates, The Big Picture, does not disappoint when it comes to how it is presented. Minimalistic design meets elegance. The introductory section says, “it’s a repository for your hopes and dreams.” So true.

The Big Picture guides you through a short writing exercise where you enunciate your goals. Then you are gently coaxed into breaking down your goals into actionable tasks. Huge win for me.

There are templates for daily, weekly and monthly activities surrounding your studio. The exercise is in writing it all down and being able to refer back to it constantly. I think this is brilliant because it instills that sense of discipline and accountability to oneself that I mentioned above.

Keeping track of clients, venues and vendors (mostly for wedding photographers) is now easy as 1-2-3. There is a questionnaire and a time table that helps you through your online and off-line (local) marketing.

Want to track your website and blog statistics? Yes, there is a rather intricate table for that too. The Big Picture also includes income and expense reports that you fill out and also a mileage tracker (which I have usually forgot to log in the past).

The Big Picture ends with a long list of recommended business books one should read to stay informed and inspired. There were quite a few in this list that I hadn’t even heard of before. So, Design Aglow, thanks for that too!

I don’t think this team has missed any detail when it comes to putting this studio planner together. I know as I launch my new website and business this month, The Big Picture is going to help me stay focused and remain efficient through the year. It’ll be a binder that I take with me to client meetings and I’ll refer to it when I am trying to assess my business. It promises to provide me a macroscopic view of my business and will tell me about its health from month-to-month. I no longer have to fret about keeping tabs on my workflow or if my quarterly sales tax payments are late.

Now, there are a couple of things I would have liked to have seen in The Big Picture download: 1) InDesign files to further customize the templates and 2) perhaps down the road, an electronic version that we can refer to while we are in the field, say an iPad application that could display all of these bits of information?

[UPDATE: Both InDesign & Photoshop files are included! I had failed to open all of the folders that came as part of the zip'd download file! Sorry about the error!]

That said, The Big Picture is a remarkable achievement because it so neatly brings so many elements of one’s business in an easily accessible folder or binder. I know there are several other options in the market but as a die-hard Design Aglow fan, I have to urge you to take a look at this product first.

On January 15th (that’s tomorrow), the introductory pricing of $69 ends. Make this the first business expense you enter into The Big Picture for 2014!

In other words, buy it now.

Filed Under: Business, Most Popular Posts, Photography Tagged With: artists, Business, Clarity, efficiency, organization, photographer, Photographers, Photography, planning, productivity, Success, tracking progress

Introducing Design Aglow

June 1, 2012 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher Leave a Comment

As wedding or portrait photographers in business, we wear many hats. We are marketers one day, networkers the next. On some days we have sales and ordering sessions, on others we are busy coming up with blog posts or communicating with our clients. At our core, though, we strive to make images that mean something.

There are some things I know I do better than others. What I have no time or inclination for, I typically outsource. I'll confess when I was starting out, the draw of doing it all was much greater. I was convinced I could design my own website, business cards, logo and marketing materials. But I soon came to the realization that designing was simply not my forté. I know great design when I see it, but I can't say I know how to go about creating a concept or crafting it. So who does? Well, a graphic designer who has dedicated their life to that pursuit usually is the best option.

You can work with a graphic designer who will custom design your brand or you could opt to buy a template created by a graphic designer, that you can modify to fit your needs. The first option is an investment with great returns IF you know what your brand is all about and you are willing to stick to that brand for a few years. Downloading a template and changing it to fit your needs, however, gives you the flexibility to change things around as often as you would like, at a reduced cost. Just as there are a great many graphic designers, there are also a great many online options to download templates.

The one I have trusted to deliver the very best products is Design Aglow.

What makes Design Aglow special is that it was co-founded by Lena Hyde, a children's photographer based in West Palm Beach, Florida. As a successful photographer, she knows what works and what does not. She is also acutely aware of what the market (in her case moms) are looking for, in terms of products. In addition to offering design templates, Design Aglow has a bevy of sales tools (like their ProSelect plugins) for professional photographers and productivity applications to keep your studio's workflow in check. For a while Design Aglow was publishing a truly awesome magazine. Perhaps they'll get back into the groove again. The magazine, which is how the site got its start, showcases studios and leaders in the industry through in-depth interviews. I recommend checking out the first 11 issues of the Design Aglow magazine. I am hoping that one of their future issues will be dedicated to photographers who document multicultural weddings. [grin]

As you can tell I am a fan. Nothing more. If Design Aglow has an affiliate program, I am unaware of it, so rest assured this post has not been solicited, nor does it contain affiliate links. As a fellow photographer, I just thought you should give Design Aglow a look-see for your own studio's needs. The downloads are instantaneous and should you hit a glitch, the customer service is top-notch. They are quick to answer questions and engage with you through their very active blog.

If after reading my recommendation, you do buy a product through the Design Aglow site, please come back here and share with us what you bought and how you intend using it. Good luck!

Filed Under: Art & Design, Photography Tagged With: aglow, Design, design templates, designing, graphic design, lena hyde, photographer, portrait photographers, productivity, professional photographers, templates

Stay Inspired & Informed

Receive email updates and special offers for your photography business!

About Seshu

Seshu creates relaxed portraits of couples and families in Avon, Connecticut. He created Tiffinbox as a way of inspiring photographers, to create better images and successful businesses. [Read More]

Recent Posts

  • John Gress Will Teach You To Light Your Subjects For Impact
  • Using Backdrops, Custom Hand-Made For Portraits
  • Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award
  • Are You A Business Owner Who Is Smart, But Stuck?
  • The Red Cat & Other Stories – Ritesh Uttamchandani’s Book!

Recent Comments

  • Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award on Announcing The 2nd Annual Tiffinbox Award!
  • John Gress Will Teach You To Light Your Subjects For Impact on Lighting It Up In Boston, A JVS Speedliting Workshop
  • Stephen Davison on Are You A Business Owner Who Is Smart, But Stuck?
  • Ben A. on Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award
  • Dan on Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award
  • Donald Giannatti on Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award
  • Don Giannatti Clinches The 8th Annual Tiffinbox Award on David Anthony Williams, Photographer & Teacher Wins The 7th Annual Tiffinbox Award
  • Stephen Davison on G.E. Masana’s 6 Strategies For Wedding Photography Success
  • Naveen Kumar on Weddings In India Are More Than Being At The Right Place And At The Right Time
  • kartick on Weddings In India Are More Than Being At The Right Place And At The Right Time
  • Leonid Farbman on 6 Uncommon Trends To Grow Your Photography Business
  • Geekfest 2010 Presentation on Branding and Marketing for Photographers – cococello on How To Use Kickstarter To Fund Your Photo Projects?

Social Media Channels

  • View tiffinboxmedia’s profile on Facebook
  • View picseshu’s profile on Twitter
  • View tiffinbox.media’s profile on Instagram
  • View seshu’s profile on Pinterest
  • View seshuphotography’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View tiffinboxmedia’s profile on YouTube

Copyright © 2019 · Tiffinbox · Site Design by Heather Mackan Creative · Built on Genesis · Hosted by Imagely