Most photographers would be well aware of the tremendous advantages smart phones offer for businesses that are mobile, high-pressure and fluid. There are 100’s of iPhone apps out there to help you take pictures; they can measure light, tell you when the sun rises and calculate the depth of field. But there is also a whole host of other Apps out there which can help you run your business more efficiently.

The following apps are the ones we have found most helpful in our own business:

1. Cash Flow Forecast Pro –£0.59

Poor cash flow management is one of the primary reasons that businesses fail. With this simple app you can keep an eye on your cash flow and manage your money more effectively.  Just key in your upcoming expenses and expected income and it will project how much money you have on any given date. You can add one off expenses to see how they will affect your overall cash flow in future months, allowing you to determine the best time to purchase that new lens you have been eying off.

2. Contacts Journal – £2.99

This contacts relationship manager app is essential for any photographer who is serious about building ongoing relationships with their clients. You can record all their contact details, take notes on conversations you have, record important dates and keep a to-do list for each client. Whether it is remembering to send their proofs on time or sending a wedding couple one year anniversary card, it will help you take your relationship with your customers to the next level.

3. Clockin –Free

Perfect for anyone who wants to record how long they are spending on a particular job. If you are working on an hour by hour basis you can easily record your times. Otherwise it is a great tool if you are looking at reviewing your prices and workload. By recording the exact amount of time you spend on each wedding you can get a better idea of what to charge and how many job you can take on.

4. Evernote – Free

This app allows you to combine voice recording, photos and text to make sure you can keep track of all your thoughts and ideas when you are on the run. Whether you just need to write yourself a reminder or you want to capture something that will give you inspiration later, you can keep track of it all and make sure you never forget another idea!

5. Tumblr – Free

If you are thinking about setting up a blog or find that you just never have time to maintain one this could be the ideal app for you. You simply set up a Tumblr microblog then use this app to quickly and easily upload text and photos. It has been specifically designed to be quick and easy to use so you never fall behind again.

6. VNC Viewer – £5.99

We have all had that moment when we set off for to meet a customer and realize that we forgot to print off their address. With VNC viewer you can instantly fix this. This app allows you to log into your computer through your iPhone so you can look up a clients address, check your calendar so you can book in clients then and there or access important company documents.

7. Iprocrastinate – £0.59

A fantastic app for organizing all your tasks and appointments. You can sort them by their subject, due date or importance, and break complex tasks down into more manageable jobs. It is perfect for organizing both your busy work and social life in one place to make sure you never miss a deadline.

Although a smart phone cannot entirely replace the infrastructure of a dedicated office, many non-photographic tools exist to make your business significantly more efficient.

Hannah Tovey is the director of Brilliant Prints UK – one of Britain’s finest canvas printers. Every day she works closely with some of the more than 2000 professional photographers that use her services.

There are lots of ways to take a photo and make it a little more interesting. Some of the most fun effects are actually making it look older than it is. You can dress up like a flapper girl or a cowboy, but having the photo in the right tones really makes the photo look as if it’s straight from another time period. There are many photo programs available to play with your photos. Some come with pre-made filters that take one click. The most common photo editing software for pro’s and aspiring photographers is Adobe Photoshop. Here we will discuss how to adjust new photos in Photoshop and make them look older.

Sepia

Sepia is a nice auburn color that will take you right back to the 20′s and 30′s. It’s perfect for that old saloon look from the Wild West. You often see this effect used at carnival stands and photo studios where they dress you up in western garb. To get started, import your photo into Photoshop, be sure it is in RGB color mode. You can do this by selecting Image >Mode > RGB Color.

After you’re in RGB color mode click on Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.

Take the saturation down to about -45. You’ll see the photo lose some of it’s bright color.

Then go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance.

Side the first bar towards red to about +35. Slide the last color bar left towards yellow about -35. This should give you a nice rich sepia tone just like the old west photos. Every photo is a little different so you your discretion and give or take a few point in any of these areas to get your photo just the way you like it.

Black & White

If your looking for a more 1940′s or ’50′s black and white. First let’s loose the color. Go to Image > Mode >Grayscale. Click on Discard.

From there let’s go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

Increase the contrast to about +50. This should give you nice blacks, and bright whites and make it look a little more like film. Again, use your discretion as every photo starts out different. If you want more of a ’60′s look adjust the contrast up to +100 and turn the brightness up to about +50. This makes the image pop a little more like the spirit of the 1960′s.

Retro Color Grain

For a retro 60′s or ’70′s color film look you need to get that rich yellowish warm tone into the photos. Again, import your photo into Photoshop. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

Take the brightness down to about -50.

Then go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance.

Here, adjust the top slider +50 towards the red. With the second slider take +50 towards the green, and take the last slider -100 towards the yellow. This should give you that 40 year old aged photo print look.

Play around with your Photoshop settings. You will discover hundred’s of possibilities. Get creative and remember there is no right or wrong.

This article was written on behalf of PrinterInks – leading suppliers of printer cartridges and toners throughout the UK.

If you take a look at the mobile computing and phone industries, you will realize how fast these smartphones are growing to be the most essential part of yourself. With the fabulous growth of smartphones, more and more people are getting oriented with mobile based social networks. Now smartphones are equipped with such powerful cameras from 3.2MP to 12MP which basically makes you ditch your digital camera. You can snap away anything almost any moment. Thus, living in the moment.

But that was not great enough, you wanted what your friends think about it. You wanted opinions from like minded mobile photographers. These needs made the need to create fully mobile integrated photo social networks. These allow to you to upload photos with various effects and build your own social network community and friends based on photos.

Here I am going to expose the top 6 most innovative photo social networks on iPhone platform. Well, let’s get down to that.

1. Instagram [Free]

By far the most popular network. 3.75 Million users love Instagram! It’s a free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos on your iPhone.
Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects or tilt-shift blur to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. Transform everyday moments into works of art you’ll want to share with friends and family.

Share your photos in a simple photo stream with friends to see – and follow your friends’ photos with the click of a single button. Every day you open up Instagram, you’ll see new photos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.

Screens:

Features

• 100% free custom designed filters and borders such as XPro-II, Earlybird, Lomo-fi, Sutro, Toaster, Brannan, Inkwell, Walden, Hefe, Apollo, Poprocket, Nashville, Gotham, 1977, and others.
• Linear and Radial Tilt-Shift blur effects for extra depth of field.
• Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare, and Posterous
• Unlimited uploads
• Interact with friends through giving & receiving likes and comments
• Works with first generation, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4
• Full iPhone 4 front & back camera support
• And much much more…

2. picplz [Free]

Picplz is a fun and social way to share your life through photos. Picplz lets you style your photos with free photo effects and quickly share them with your friends and followers. Use picplz to share photos on your favorite blog, Twitter, or Facebook.

Screens:

Features:

• Style & Re-Style Your Photos: With Picplz you can style your photos using our free photo filters. Our current filter pack includes great effects like “Instant Film” effect, “Russian Toy Camera”, “The 70s”, & “High Contrast Monochrome”. We always keep a copy of the Original Image so you can switch filters and go back to the original at any time, no problem!
• Quick and Simple Sharing! : Link your Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, and Foursquare accounts to easily share your styled photos with your friends and followers.
• Add Location to Your Photos (optional). Picplz lets you add your location to each photo. Choose from places near you like restaurants, sports venues, concerts, and more.
• Picplz.com Social Experience: View your photos feeds. Comment and Like other great pics on picplz.com. Discover new people and great photos!

3. Leme Camera (Free)

Shake to get random combination of camera, filter and border. Lemeleme is more than just another photo sharing app, but a Hyper-Cam! with it’s own social networking integrated.

Lemeleme has three different apps in different categories. “Lemeleme” is top in Utility category, “LemeCam” is top in Photograph category, and “LemeCam Festival” is top in Social Networking category.

If you update “Lomolomo pro”, now is “LemeCam Festival Version”; and if you update “Lemeleme HD”, now is “LemeCam”

Screens:

Features:

• Shake it, you will get your best photo capture randomly
• Hyper-cool photo effects,16 photo effects in total included brand new “Wax Painting” and “HDR”
• Hyper-smart photo management by tagging, calendar, and map;
• Hyper-social photo sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr
• Cameras includes – HDR, Light Leak, Standard lemeleme, Action4, Super4, Double Exposure, Fisheye, Tilt Shift, Color Flash.
• Lens types includes – Fantastic Leman, Frozen Blue, Dark Forest, God Father, Valentine Martini, Classic Leme, Bloody Mary, Fallen Angel, Black Velvet, Blue Hawaii, Margartia, Vio Politan, Paradise, Angel’s Kiss, KOR Royal
• Many Photo Frames : Flax, Film, White Standard, Color Strips, Fabric, Inkjet, Stamp, Wide Screen, Bamboo coal, Classic, Black Standard

4. Path [Free]

Path is the simple and private way to share life with close friends & family.

Capture life’s moments in photo or short video, make your moments beautiful with lenses, share with a small group of close friends & family, have intimate conversations, and be yourself on the simple and private network you can trust.

Screens:

Features:

• Capture life’s moments in photos or short videos.
• Make your moments more beautiful and personal with Lenses.
• Share with a small group of 50 close friends & family via iPhone, Email, Web, or Facebook.
• Tag your moments with people, places, and things to add context.
• Know who has seen each of your moments.
• Let your friends know how each moment makes you feel with Emotion.
• Have intimate conversations around each moment with Chat.
• Watch your friend’s reactions to your Path roll in with Activity
• Publish the occasional moment on your Facebook Wall for all of your Facebook friends to see.

5. Color [Free]

Color is a fun way to create a public photo album with your friends using multiple iPhones. Everything is instantly shared among everyone taking photos and videos using the Color app.

You won’t miss a single moment at the next party, night out, ball game or concert. Easily share your group album on Twitter and Facebook. Group albums are saved in the app in a visual diary.

Screens:

6. Labelbox & Phototreats with Steply Photo Social Network

Phototreats:

Phototreats has released a FREE filter pack released to coincide with the SXSW festival. My Austin – 4 new awesome party filters! Also new features for Labelbox and Actioncam photo apps.

Capture beautiful memories in a few simple steps. Choose a photo, apply the effect, save & upload! It’s powered by Steply making mobile photo sharing easy.
Phototreats is a collection of easy to use filters that transforms your photo into a truly memorable and emotional scene that all your friends will want to share and see.

Available Free Filter Packs:

My Eats – Reproducing that exotic color of faraway, special places. My Styles – Conveys that special feeling and message with this tailor-crafted group of filters. My Day – Capture the moods and lighting of different times of the day. Benefit Winter – Christmas, winter and festive dazzle. My Austin – A group of filters to convey the party experience from getting ready, going out and the chill out. Additional Packs ($0.99 each). My Seasons – Enhance the sensation of the four seasons. My Times – Feeling funky? This pack of filters captures the essence of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Screens:

Labelbox:

Labelbox is a simple, easy to use, photo labeler using a variety of beautiful tapes that stylishly labels your photos.

Select, swipe and type.

Labelbox helps you highlight areas, label items in your photo in an artistic, creative and fun way. You can even use different labels to create frames inside your photo.

Screens:

Steply Photo Network -

• Steply Community
• Share to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Sina Weibo
• Discover the photo apps other photo sharers are using

(Honorable Mention) Hipsmatic [$1.99us]

Digital photography never looked so analog. The Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past! The Hipstamatic keeps the the quirks of shooting old school but gives you the ability to swap lenses, film, and flash settings all with the swipe of a finger.

Screen:

Features:

• Swap lenses, flashes, and films for hundreds of different effects
• Instantly share your best prints to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr
• Enter our monthly photo contests to win amazing prizes
• Order real analog prints delivered to your door, right from the app
• Characterized by vignettes, blurring, over saturation, discolored images, Hipstaprints have a casual and seemingly accidental snapshot feel. The Hipstamatic can be downloaded to any iPhone sporting the 3.1 or beyond software update. For $1.99 you can download the base model Hipstamatic which includes a great set of standard lenses, films, and flashes to get started. Additional camera gear is bundled within the app as ‘Hipstapaks’ and start at 99 cents. Each Hipstapak includes multiple items.
• Pictures taken with the Hipstamatic have their very own look and unique character. Artistic and painted with light and quirk, Hipstamatic images are sometimes surprising and offer a delicate beauty turning any iPhone into an instant art making machine. Images can be uploaded directly to Facebook, Flickr, or emailed to your friends and family.

There you have it! Do you have another one on your mind or know of?

Feel free to comment and let me know.

Family photos are an important part of family life. Snapshots from the digital camera are great, but it’s still nice to get portraits done once in a while. Whether you want portraits for Christmas cards or just to have a nice photo to hang in the family room, there are lots of ways to save on family photos, which can normally cost a fortune!

Here are just five tips for saving on family pictures.

1. Look for Deals Online

Lots of group coupon websites will run deals on photography. You may just have to wait around for a while to get to them! You can also look at specific photography studio’s websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds for deals. Lots of times they’ll run coupons that take money off a sitting or a certain photo package.

The best thing you can do here is try to save on sitting fees, which can be pretty steep. If you’re going with a professional place like a department store photography shop, you may also want to look for deals on packages of actual photos. This is what can cost hundreds of dollars, so a deal here could save you big.

2. Get a Digital Package

Getting a digital photo package where you get the actual rights to your photos can be a little more expensive up front, but it can save you lots in the long run. The key here is to make sure you’re actually going to print enough photos to justify what you’re paying for the rights to the photos. If you just want one or two good portraits, this is probably not a great idea.

However, for things like weddings and annual family photos that you find yourself needing copies of photos from again and again, a digital package can be a good idea. Lots of professional photographers offer this type of package. You just get to pick a certain number of photos, and the photographer will put them on a disc for you. From there, you can get them printed just about everywhere. Drugstores like CVS and Walgreens have pretty good quality, as do many places online where you can upload photos and have prints delivered to your home.

3. Find a Photographer Who is Just Starting

This can be one of the best ways to save big. Lots of times photographers who are just starting out will charge next to nothing for sitting fees and printing. They’re also more likely to offer great deals on digital packages that give you the rights to your photos. They just need to make sure they’re building a portfolio, and you can help them with that.

Sometimes, you can find local beginning photographers on Craigslist. You can also check out local art and photography schools to see if they’ll give out the names of students. Often times, these newer photographers bring a fresh eye to photography and have some very unique ideas. You may end up being more pleased with your photos than ever, without having to pay full price for a professional.

4. Shop Around

If you’re determined to go with a professional photographer or photo company, at least shop around. While most photographers are fairly pricey, you may be surprised at what fluctuations there are in prices in your area. When you’re shopping, also ask about different types of packages. How much would studio portraits cost? How much would it cost you to have the photographer meet you at an outdoor location for photos?

Asking the right questions can get you far with this. Don’t just ask how much the sitting fee is, but know exactly what you want, and ask about that. Photographers may give you widely different answers, so you’ll know who has the best prices. Also, though, make sure to look at the photographers’ collections so you can make sure you like what you’re paying for!

5. Look at Package Deals

Sometimes photographers will offer great package deals for several sittings and printings at one much-lower price. These are really popular for new baby photos. The standard is to get newborn, three month, six month, nine month, and twelve month photos. Some families also want maternity pictures of mom with her big belly. You can often get a first-year package price on these photos from local photographers. It’s certainly something worth asking about.

You can also ask if photographers with their own small businesses are willing to make their own packages for you. Sometimes you might be able to get family pictures and senior pictures done around the same time, for instance. You’re promising to give them more business, and they’re giving you a discount. It never hurts to bring up the possibility!

Photo Credit: Family Portrait by Billaday

Abigail Hall is a writer at CreditDonkey, where you can find cash back credit cards for your next camera purchase.  She’s also a SLR photography enthusiast.

The thing about Canon lenses, they are pretty much expensive. A good quality Canon lens gives optimum speed and quality of photos. But as a beginner or intermediate Photographer, you can’t afford to buy those expensive Canon Lenses. But fear not, there are alternative lenses that could aid you on your adventure in photography. This write-up is from my personal experience with the lenses mentioned. All these lenses are designed to work with APS-C (1.6x crop factor camera bodies).

I’m going to present 5 lenses that will not break your budget but let you enjoy the adventure of your photography. Few of them already from Canon. Lets get down to the list shall we.

1. Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II Prime lens

The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II may be one of the cheapest lenses currently on the market, but its optics belie its lowly price. As befits a classic standard prime lens, it’s very sharp when stopped down (especially in the centre), shows minimal chromatic aberration, and has relatively low distortion; APS-C users will also benefit from extremely low vignetting. In most regards it comes very close indeed to its much more expensive bigger brother, the EF 50mm f1.4 USM, lagging marginally behind in corner sharpness at any specific aperture.

The Good:

• Excellent photo quality in remarkable price

The Bad:

• Doesn’t feature USM motor

Technical Details:

• 50mm standard lens with f1.8 maximum aperture
• Traditional Gauss-type optical design is extremely sharp
• Focuses as close as 18 inches for extreme close-ups
• Ideal for natural-looking shots; excellent color balance
• Measures 2.7 inches in diameter

Priced $99+ and More Details at Amazon (Sample photos from Amazon)

Sample Photo:

2. Canon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 USM III

This compact and lightweight EF 75-300mm telephoto zoom lens is ideal for shooting sports, portraits, and wildlife. The lens is distinguished by a newly developed micro ultra-sonic monitor (USM) that makes autofocusing quicker and quieter, along with an improved zoom mechanism that includes a silver ring on the front for a luxurious touch. The micro USM makes this version of the lens particularly suitable for applications that require a fast autofocus, such as sporting events or wildlife shoots. Best of all, the USM version shares many of the same features that makes the non-USM lens so popular, such as a compact size, a close focusing range, and accessory compatibility.

The Good:

• Features USM motor

The Bad:

• Doesn’t have Image Stabilization

Technical Details:

• Focal length: 75-300mm
• Maximum aperture: 1:4.5-5.6
• Lens construction: 13 elements in 9 groups
• Diagonal angle of view: 32 degrees (at 11 feet) to 8 degrees (at 15 feet)
• Focus adjustment: Front group rotating extension system with USM
• Closest focusing distance: 4.9 feet
• Zoom system: Rotating type
• Filter size: 58mm
• Dimensions: 2.8 inches in diameter, 4.8 inches long
• Weight: 16.8 ounces

Priced $200+ at Amazon (Photo Sample from Amazon)

Sample Photo:

Below is the alternative to Canon 70-300mm USM III

2.A Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 macro

The high performance telephoto zoom lens is ideal for digital SLR cameras. This lens has two SLD glass elements in the front lens group and one in the rear lens group It is able to shoot with maximum magnification 1: 2 at the focal length of 300 mm. It’s the ideal lens for portraits, sports photography, nature photography, and other types of photography that frequently use the telephoto range.

The Good:

• Sometimes provide better clarity than Canon lens mentioned above
• Macro capability in tele-photo zoom

The Bad:

• The motor is noisy
• Doesn’t have Image Stabilization

Technical Details:

• Multi-layer lens coating and lens design reduces flare and ghosting
  Minimum focusing distance is 37.4 inches at all zoom settings
• Features 14 lens elements in 10 groups
• High-performance lens ideal for portraits, sports photography, nature photography

Priced $200+ at Amazon (Photo Sample from Amazon)

Sample Photo:

3.0 Tamron AF 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di-II LD SP

The SP AF17-50mm f2.8 is a lightweight, compact, fast standard zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras, expanding the product concept of the popular SP AF28-75mm f2.8 zoom lens. In addition, portrait shots are made beautiful with the natural out-of-focus effect characteristic provided by the fast f2.8 aperture. Additionally, a broader photographic expression through the use of faster shutter speeds as a result of the maximum aperture offers enhanced photographic pleasure. The lens boasts one of the best close-up shooting performances in the class of fast standard zoom lenses designed exclusively for digital cameras and featuring an f2.8 maximum aperture throughout the entire zoom range, to ensure stress-free photographic shots at all focal lengths and distances.

The Good:

• Excellent capability in that price range
• Constant f2.8
• Ability to focus on very close subjects

The Bad:

• The motor is a bit noisy
• No image stabilization

Technical Details:

• Focal length: 17-50mm
• Maximum aperture: f2.8
• Angle of view (diagonal): 78 degrees (at 45 feet) to 31 degrees (11 feet)
• Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups
• Minimum focus distance: 10.6 inches
• Maximum mag ratio: 1:4.5
• Filter size: 67mm
• Diaphragm blades: 7
• Minimum aperture: f32
• Standard accessory: Flower-shaped hood
• Compatible mount: Canon AF, Konica Minolta AF-D, and Nikon AF-D
• Dimensions: 2.9 inches in diameter and 3.3 inches long
• Weight:15.2 ounces

Priced $440+ and More Details at Amazon (Sample photos from Amazon)

Sample Photo:

4.0 Tokina 11-16MM f2.8 ATX

The AF 12-24mm f4 AT-X Pro DX was a huge success for Tokina – it is one of the most attractive lenses from a price/performance perspective. The Tokina AF 11-16mm f2.8 AT-X Pro DX is currently the best ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs. The resolution is impressively high throughout the zoom range (albeit a short one) and across the image field. Vignetting is really only a problem at 11mm @ f2.8 but otherwise the issue is very well controlled. The level of distortions is comparatively low. Typical for most Tokina lenses it has one weakness: lateral CAs which are very high at all settings. The build quality is on a very high level and its a joy to handle the lens out there. All-in-all a very sound package especially when considering the quite affordable price

The Good:

• Excellent capability in that price range
• Constant f2.8
• Ability to focus on very close subjects

The Bad:

• Vignetting at 11mm @ f2.8

Technical Details:

• 13 elements in 11 groups inc. 2 aspherical elements and 1 SD element
• Number of aperture blades 9
• min. focus distance 0.30m (max. magnification ratio ~1:11.6)
  Dimensions 84x89mm
• Weight 560g
• Filter size 77mm (non-rotating)
• Hood supplied, petal-shaped
• focus-clutch AF/MF switch

Priced $840+ and More Details at Amazon (Sample photo from Jashil@Flickr)

Sample Photo:

5.0 Sigma 50mm f2.8 EX DG Macro 1:2

Designed exclusively for Canon SLR cameras, this macro lens is specially coated to get the best possible color balance while cutting down on ghosting caused by reflections from the digital image sensor. The lens also includes a floating focusing system, which allows you to precisely photograph objects throughout the entire focusing range. Most importantly, this standard macro lens makes it possible to enjoy better communication with your subject. When viewing through the camera’s finder, you’ll be able to move the subject and make precise adjustments. For example, the lens offers a close working distance of 7.4 inches, making it extremely convenient to take close-up pictures of a fossil or other inanimate objects.
Other details include a minimum aperture of f/45 that provides a greater depth of field than most lenses, a screw-in lens hood that makes it easy to attach circular polarizing filters, and a 46.8-degree angle of view. All Sigma lenses carry a one-year warranty.

The Good:

• Excellent capability in that price range
• Constant f2.8
• Ability to focus on very close subjects

The Bad:

• Doesn’t have USM motor

Technical Details:

• Focal length: 50mm
• Maximum aperture: f2.8
• Lens construction: 10 elements in 9 groups
• Angle of view: 46.8 degrees
• Number of diaphragm blades: 7
• Minimum aperture: f45
• Minimum focusing distance: 7.4 inches
• Maximum magnification: 1:1
• Filter size: 55mm
• Corresponding mount: Canon
• Dimensions: 2.8 inches in diameter and 2.6 inches long
• Weight: 11.3 ounces

Priced $280+ and More Details at Amazon (Sample photo from Amazon)

Sample Photo:

There you have it. I’ve covered a prime lens for portraits, daily walk-around lens, telephoto lens, wide angle lens and a very affordable macro lens too. I believe as a beginner these lenses will provide you quality without breakdown your wallet. Of course some of them won’t be able to compete with the speed Canon ultrasonic motors but they are yet produce great photos. Also to be noted, it is not the lens but it is YOU and your Vision which matters the most. Now all the pros might not agree with me about the lenses. I would love to hear your thoughts. Even you can buzz me on twitter if you are there. Also you can visit my flickr and share your comments there too.

“Digital photography work-flow” is a systematic series of process to capture, develop, sort, organize, export and backup your digital photos.

I’m just a beginner photographer and I am learning photography in the hard way. My only teacher is Google and Flickr community. Walking along the path to the learning photography I actually realized that it is required to have a systematic work-flow for your digital photo processing. Slowly by many trial and error I’ve found a simplified way to capture, develop, sort, organize, export and archive my digital photo collection. Professional Photographers might have more efficient systems for their own digital photo processing which I would love to learn from them. Moving ahead, lets see how we could organize our overwhelming collection of digital photos.

1. Capture the Photo
   
   This is the very first step, obviously you need to start taking your photos before you process them. I try to shoot every day but due to my day job it is not always possible. Always try to take advantage of every minute you can shoot. Sometimes this can be walking down to a coffee shop downstairs or 10 minutes of walking to the bus stop. Photography is about capturing the moments. If you are a photography enthusiasts I would strongly recommend to take a specific timeout frequently for taking photos. Always seek for destinations you can take photos, you can search online or ask your friends. Specially on those dull and boring weekends you can plan for a trip to a nice photographic place, spend as much shooting you can do from various angles and from various arrangements.
   
   What you should bring along with you while you are on a photography trip? Well for starter your camera bag should include your camera body and your lenses, travel charger for both your camera and flash batteries, remote shooting tools (if possible), lens cleaner, extra memory card, portable USB hard drive/flash drive and a fast card reader. Also don’t forget your Tripod, which could be seriously useful during this long trips. If you have a laptop, don’t forget to bring it along. Keep your name cards handy in case you meet new people who you might want to exchange your photos. Well it looks kind of overwhelming but trust me I found myself in situations where I needed almost all of these things. TIP: Always try to shoot in RAW mode, which gives you maximum flexibility while developing the photo.
2. Transfer Images to Computer
   
   I use a high speed USB card reader. All card readers are not the same. Spend the extra bit to get a high speed card reader. Off load your photos and keep your main memory card free for use. Usually when I plug in my card reader, Canon’s “Camera Window” software automatically loads. This software has options to pull all of my images off my memory card and puts them into folders on my computer titled by date taken.
   
   After my images are transferred to my Computer I put the card back in the camera and delete the images off of it. So my card stays fresh to take the next batch of photos. TIP: If possible download your photos to your computer as frequently as you can.
3. Import and Sort
   
   This step I use Adobe Lightroom software to Import my photos into the Lightroom catalog. After the import process, I go through all the photos with the photo flagging process which allows me to approve and reject the photos I like. These photos are the selections I’m going to process later. These selection might not be the very final one but at least these are the one worth processing. In general I will pick about 10%-30% of the photos from the total shoots. TIP: Always try to review your photos before start developing.
4. Develop
   
   On the previous step I’ve already Imported and flagged out the photos I want to process. I will switch to Lightroom “Develop” mode and adjust those photos. These adjustments are non-destructive to the RAW format and you can always reset it back to original. Basically I do various adjustments on contrast, exposure, color temperature, brightness, fill lightening, blacks, clarity, vibrance and saturation.
   
   An example of developing photos in Lightroom, you can see the difference

   I’ll also use the vignette controls to create the optimal vignette to make the photo more classy. Lightroom provides more powerful tools which I’m not covering here right now. That is for you to explore.

5. Export
   
   Once I’ve developed the images, I’ll export multiple JPG version of it into a “Exported” folder on my hard drive. Basically I use 2 different type for the JPG files for Exporting. First is the highest quality JPGs possible and second is the one optimized for web uploading such as Flickr and Facebook. The high quality JPG files can be edited by Photoshop for further enhancement and second export is web optimized JPG which are smaller and less DPI for easier uploading and “on screen” viewing.
6. Organize
   
   This step I’ll go back to Lightroom and switch to the “Library” mode and assign specific keywords or group of keywords to the photos. Keywords are very important for search and indexing. Usually I include the all the places and possible terms related with a photo. For example if I took a photo of the lake at Kelana Jaya at midnight, I would include the keywords like “Selangor” “Kelana Jaya” “Lake” “Landscape” “Water” “Long Exposure” “Night” with that photo. Also I will rename the imported folders to a more meaningful names. For example the imported folder name was “2009-10-17″; I will rename it to “2009-10-17 Kelana Jaya Lake”. There are more possibilities for renaming folders but this format of renaming is helping me out this far.
7. Backup your Photos
   
   Once a days photos organization is done, I will transfer that day’s selected RAW files folder into my external backup drive. Currently I have two Maxtor 1 terabyte drives for backup. Afterward I will take my finished and exported JPG files and divide them into two categories “Class A” photos and “Class B” photos. Once the photos are sorted into these 2 categories I will backup them to the external drive too.
   
   Photo Archive folder organization.
8. Publishing
   
   Publishing the files includes publishing to Flickr and Facebook albums. I specifically use 2 windows software for this purpose. First one is Flickr Uploader for Windows and the Second is the Adobe Photo Uploader for Facebook. Both of them are free and really simple to use.

Well, that is pretty much of my photography work-flow process. Yes, it might not be the most professional one but it is my current work-flow till I get to learn more about it. Please fill me in, share your thoughts and ideas about how you manage your “Digital Photography Work-flow” or simply to discuss matters related to the topic. You are always welcome to suggest or discuss more efficient methods. Say hi or drop me a reply at twitter. I try to keep my Flickr updated time to time so why not become my friend at Flickr.