Software Tailored For You Part III
by David Arnold----------------------------------------------------------------------
Advance notes: In the March 30 issue of PhotoAIM, Rohn Engh stated that the most common reason photographers go out of business is “not because they were not good photographers, but because they were not good business people.” But if you’re like me, you didn’t get into this business because you like doing business, but because you love doing photography. The right camera helps you take good pictures, and the right software helps you manage and market them. It’ll generate delivery memos, invoices, and other forms; track submissions and sales information; manage client communications; and more. In this installment I’ll examine how the programs I’ve been reviewing in this series—fotoBiz (Mac and Windows, $199.995, http://www.fotobiz.net), NSCS Pro2 (Windows only, $189, http://www.nscspro.com), and Stockview (Mac and Windows, $495, http://www.hindsightltd.com) — accomplish these tasks. Then next month I’ll conclude by reviewing their documentation, support, and ease of use, as well as special features such as equipment lists and the ability to generate contact sheets or Web pages. –David Arnold
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NSCS Pro2, fotoBiz, or StockView can all help you with a major business task: submitting photos and invoicing. Using the features I discussed last month, you first search for and tag the images you’re going to submit. Unless you’re content to accept whatever the client offers, you’ll need to enter a price for each picture. NSCS and fotoBiz include pricing modules, while HindSight Ltd. (StockView) released a $95 pricing module, as an add-on or stand-alone, in May. These programs allow you to specify type of usage (e.g., textbook), print run (40,000), size (1/4 page), and rights offered (1-time US non-exclusive), and each then displays a recommended price for that usage. All three let you modify the prices in the database. fotoBiz and StockView’s modules also include excellent tutorials to help you negotiate with clients, and both let you switch from US dollar pricing to other currencies.
The three programs then generate delivery memos (submission sheets) with a listing of photos, along with prices, rights offered, and any special conditions. NSCS and StockView can also insert thumbnail images in these documents. All three track the submissions, generate invoices, track receivables, and so forth. However they differ in approach, scope, cost, and complexity.
Unlike generic software, such as word processors, spreadsheets, or graphics packages, fotoBiz, NSCS, and Stockview were designed specifically to manage a stock photography business. However they weren’t designed to manage your stock photo business, but rather the developer’s stock photo business. Each was created by one person — fotoBiz by Cradoc Bagshaw, NSCS Pro2 by Boyd Norton, StockView by Jim Cook — to manage his business, in his way, and in tune with his needs, preferences, and personality, and the programs reflect this.
fotoBiz’s Bagshaw believes that “the biggest problem most photographers have is getting paper out to their clients.” He sees the primary function of fotoBiz as generating professional-looking estimates, memos, invoices, and other documents, as well a protecting the photographer from misunderstandings. Consequently his program is designed around a workflow sequence that begins with the client and is organized around the photographer’s various communications with that client.
Whereas Bagshaw started from the business side, Boyd Norton started from the picture side. As the name implies — NSCS stands for Norton Slide Captioning System — his software began life as a captioning program. “The resource,” says Norton, “is the pictures, the files.” He views the central task to be organizing the information about the pictures, then using that later in creating the paperwork. But while NSCS evolved first from his own needs, Norton has since added numerous additional features based on feedback from his users. Both fotoBiz and NSCS are aimed primarily at the one-person operation, either part-time or full-time. NSCS is geared mainly toward stock photography, whereas fotoBiz handles assignment-related tasks as well.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/06pe02.html
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