Efficient Email Management

Managing your email efficiently is one of the small ways that you can improve your customer service as well as your time management in your business. I created a demonstration that provides some valuable tips about how to process your email by using some of the Getting Things Done principals. Click play on the video below to watch...


Here are some additional tips to help you manage your email and save yourself time...

1. Create draft emails, or signature templates for common responses.
For example, here are some emails that I have standard responses for: availability, pricing info, referrals for other photographers, pictures are ready, how to use online shopping cart, payment received, getting to know you questions, vendor information, etc. About 50% of the email I receive every day can be handled in less than 10 seconds by simply using one of my signature responses, yet it would take me about 3-5 minutes for each email if I did not have these signature responses in place.

2. Set a schedule for answering emails & turn your email software off at other times.
I'm incredibly guilty of answering emails as soon as they come in so that they don't pile up in my inbox, but I know that over the course of a day, each one of those emails is an interruption to other, more important work that requires concentration and focus. By simply setting a schedule in which I answer emails from, say 8-10 am and from 5-7 pm, while turning my email off during the other times (or by setting it to only retrieve email manually- when I want to check it), I am able to effectively eliminate one more set of distractions during times when I need to stay focused.

3. Delete, Archive, & Quick Respond.
If you know it's something that doesn't require your attention, simply delete it and get it out of your inbox so you can stop looking at it over and over again. If it's something that you're kind of interested in, but can't deal with at the moment and doesn't require action from you, archive it to look at later when you have more time. If it's something that requires a quick response or a signature template, just respond to it right then and there rather than filing it and creating a task for it later. JUST DO IT - get it done with, and get it out of the way.

4. Get to ZERO
Make it a goal each day to get your inbox down to zero emails (even if it means filing some). If you dedicate yourself to this concept, you will spend less time on things that aren't important, and work more efficiently on the things that are. At first it may seem like a lofty goal, but the more you practice it, the easier it becomes!

One of the best talks about Inbox Zero (it's an hour long, but worth the listen)...



For more great tips on managing your email inbox, visit... 43folders.com

If you have great tips to share about managing your email, please leave your suggestion in the comments below!

Professional Photographer Album Resources

Professional albums can be one of the most overwhelming things to figure out because there are so many options out there. My biggest advice to someone wishing to carry albums is to keep it simple. Find an album that works best with your style and stick with it (provided they have good turn around times, customer service, and quality). Most clients aren't concerned with which album maker you use, because they trust you are providing them with a quality product. If you're going to offer several different albums, make sure you know why you're offering those options, and what they say about you and your business. It may be a good idea to offer an inexpensive coffee table album if you're dealing with clients who are on a budget, and it may be a good idea to offer something that's highly customizeable if you're dealing with clients who will pay to have something unique. Know your clients, know your style, and choose your album(s) based on that knowledge. With that said, here are some album resources for you! I'll update this list over time as I learn of new resources. Feel free to leave comments about your favorites as well!

BINDING
There are several different types of binding which will have an effect on how your images appear in the album, as well as how your clients will handle the album. (Please note: the terms used below are not standard book binding terms.)

• Pinched Glue Binding: double sided printing on single pages are stacked together and glued down one edge creating a "pinched" binding. Parts of the image will disappear into the center of a two-page spread and the book will not lay flat when it is opened. This type of binding is most common with paperback or softcover books as the pages need to be glued to the cover to reinforce the strength of the binding. People tend to hold this book in one hand, and then flip throgh the pages with the other - similar to how they would view a magazine. (This can also be referred to as a "perfect" binding.) It has become more common to see in hardcover books recently, but due to the binding, it may come apart more easily in a hardcover book.
  
• Stiched Book Binding: most often used with hardcover library books is a stiched binding which clumps multiple pages (double sided and printed as 2-page spreads) together and then stiches them with thread to a binding tape. These books may lay flat when open if the cover binding is structured for that use. Depending on the size and weight of this book, it is either handheld or laid flat with pages turned one by one- faster or slower depending on the perceived delicacy of the pages.
  
• Folded Page "W" binding: pages are printed on a single side as a two-page spread, are folded, and then bound together by gluing each page to the next. Reinforcement is given to the spine by gluing the spine to a binding tape which gives the pages flexibility to lay flat when opened. These books are often a little too heavy and stiff to simply hold and flip through, so they are often laid out flat and viewed as full spreads.

COFFEE TABLE ALBUMS These albums have images printed directly onto a double sided, flexible, thin page. Most common printing for a coffee table album is CMYK or InkJet. Binding is either stitch book binding or pinched glue binding. Advantages: very affordable, lightweight, thin page thickness allows for many pages. Disadvantages: less durable over time, colors may vary in printing, clients have easy access to similar albums which may affect their perception of the overall value of this product.

• Asuka Book
• White Glove Books
  
• GraphiStudio
  
• Blurb
  
• LuLu
  
• Jones Book
  
• Forbeyond Perfect Bound
  
• Fast Back Books
  
• Embassy Pro Books

Here's a video from The Wedding Travelers on the difference between a Coffee Table Abum (Asuka) and a Flush Mount Coffee Table Album (VisionArt)... FLUSH MOUNT COFFEE TABLE ALBUMS This is somewhat of a hybrid product in that its pages are thinner than a flush mount library album, but are thicker than a coffee table album. The printing is often done on either true photographic paper or on a dense fine art paper. Each page is printed one sided and is then scored and the pages are glued together to give each page more strength. Advantages: accurate photographic color, medium page thickness allows for more pages. Disadvantages: images may deteriorate over time in the scored creases.

• Vision Art Book
• GraphiStudio
  
• PictoBooks
  
• Kiss Wedding Books
  
• Leather Craftsman 3500
  
• Art Magazine
  
• Cornerstone
  
• White Wedding Albums
  
• Laguna Albums
  
• Exclusive Albums
  
• Image Capsule
  
• Silk Road Albums
  
• Forbeyon

FLUSH MOUNT LIBRARY ALBUMS This album most often consists of photographic pages which are permanently mounted to a dense cardstock or plastic page, resulting in very thick pages. Photographs can be split in the center of a spread to avoid creasing distortion. Advantages: very durable pages, books are more likely to lay flat when open due to binding. Disadvantages: number of pages are often limited due to the thickness, albums can be very heavy (this could also be perceived as an advantage when considering perceived value of product.)

• Leather Craftsman 300
  
• Zook Book
  
• Art Leather
  
• Cornerstone
  
• BonMatch
  
• Willowbook
  Capri Album
  
• Albums Unlimited
  
• Art Hands Album
  
• Candid2000
  
• Image Capsule
  
• Torn Paper
  
• Jorgensen E series
  
• Finao: One

Here's a video from Lori Compass on YouTube, showing an example of a Flush Mount Library Bound Album with a collage design... MATTED ALBUMS Even though we group all matted albums together, there are actually different types of matted albums for you to consider. There's a slip-in matted album which allows you to order your mats and album in advance and you simply fill in the holes with your images, and then there's a mounted matted album which requires you to send the prints to the album maker who then mounts the prints into the mats for you, or creates custom mats for your images.

• Cypress
  
• Leather Craftsman
  
• ZookBinders
  
• Art Leather
  
• Kambara USA
  
• Capri Album
  
• Jorgensen

CUSTOM ALBUMS These album makers don't exactly fit into one of the boxes above. They provide custom products for clients who value originality and customization and are willing to pay extra for that luxury.

• Queensbury
  
• LaVie
  
• Finao: Seldex
  
• Reflections
  
• Couture Book

SELF-MOUNT Self-mount albums can either look like matted albums or flush mount albums, but the basic principal is that you actually mount the images yourself. This is a product which you can purchase in advance and then create a custom album almost on the spot for a client.

• Art Leather
  
• Andie Goodman
  
• Albums Unlimited
  
• Capri Album
  
• BonMatch
  
• J Lee Albums
  
• Finao: Elements
  
• Kolo

Here's an example of a self-mount album, with slip lock pages.. ALBUM DEALERS

• Albums Inc.
  
• General Products
  
• Michel Company
  
• TopFlight

ALBUM DESIGNERS

• Album Designer Network
  
• Zoho Design
  
• Modern Album Designs
  
• Albumesque
  
• Red Boot Design
  
• Style Creek
  
• Love Story Designs
  
• Pictage
  
• Pink Penny

ALBUM DESIGN SOFTWARE

• Photojunction
  
• Page Gallery
  
• LumaPix FotoFusion
  
• Album DS
  
• You Select It

PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS & TEMPLATES FOR ALBUM DESIGN

• Gary Fong's Digital Album Designer
  
• Kevin Kubota Auto Album
  
• Sallee Auto Album Designer
  
• Melissa Jill's Photojunction Templates

ALBUM DESIGN DVD TUTORIALS

• InDesign by New School of Photography
  
• Photoshop by Photovision

DIY ALBUM CONSTRUCTION w/ John Michael Cooper The example shown is how to create a flushmount coffee table album.

LaCour on Wedding Photojournalism

Atlanta based wedding photojournalists, LaCour share some of their insights on how they view the capture of a wedding day...

Andrew talks about the Nouns & Verbs of photojournalism...


Rachel & Mark talk about anticipating moments in photojournalism...


CLICK HERE to see LaCour's resource blog for photographers.

Tracking Website Visitors

This video tutorial demonstrates how to integrate StatCounter into your blog or website as well as how to understand the features and apply them to your business.

Track & Organize Favorite Blogs

Some people blog everyday and some blog sporadically, and while you love keeping up with your favorite blogs, your time is too precious to check on blogs that haven't been updated. The benefit of using a feed reader versus bookmarks is that the feed reader will notify you when a blog has been updated so that you're only checking blogs when there are new posts to read, or new information added to old posts. There are many different types of feedreaders available, but I prefer using an online based feed reader because I often use multiple computers whether I'm home or away and would prefer to have them organized and stored online so that I can access my favorite blogs from anywhere.

The following video tutorial demonstrates how you can use Bloglines to keep up with your favorite blogs in one neat and organized place.