4 Workflow Mistakes By Photographers

How important are the photos you create?

Those moments that are caught in time that bring back so many memories when looking through those precious memories on print.  So often I ask myself what would I save in the midst of a disaster?  Beside the obvious of my family and pets, the next thing would be my photos.  The few I have from my wedding day, the early years of our marriage and kids.  Those cherished memories are one of my most valued possessions.

Unfortunately, I understand what it means to lose these most valued possessions.

We bought our first digital camera when my daughter was born.  We took lots and lots of pictures.  I knew those moments were fleeting and I wanted to be sure to capture these moments.  We took videos and so many pictures.  Not only did we use the camera, but also our phones as well.  With this camera that was always accessible it became so easy to document those precious moments of my little girl.  Her first bath, first smile, first time she crawled… So many firsts.

Then the unimaginable happened.

We lost it all.

First, my phone ended up breaking.  Without backing up my phone correctly, everything was unrecoverable.  Second, our hard drives crashed.  Again, unrecoverable.  Luke tried and tried and because of my tears and relentless pursuing, he tried again.  It was useless.  Everything was gone.  I was devastated.   Losing pictures is hard and frustrating.  Losing pictures of some of the most important moments of your life is crushing.  Life goes by so quickly and my daughter has grown so much.  Trying to remember those sweet little details gets harder and harder as she gets older.  Those moments I will never get back.  If you want to avoid my mistake you can check out our free extensive step by step guide here to avoid this mistake! Click Here! 

As we ventured into photography we quickly learned that backing up our images were a number one priority.  We never wanted to find ourselves in the situation of losing someone’s wedding photos.  We created a workflow that ensured not only a seamless process of importing and organizing our images but also ensuring our clients photos were being backed up on more than one platform.

In the 6 years of doing business we have had hard drives crash.  We have had memory cards fail.  Yet, we have never lost a client’s session because we have created a workflow that ensures multiple safeguards in case one fails.  

As much as you might love and trust technology you can guarantee that something will fail.

We thought that backing up and creating a workflow for importing and organizing your photo library was industry standard.  We thought that all photographers did this.  However, we soon realized that this is not true.   There is so much research out there on how to pose, how to market, how to write a blog and more.  Yet there is little information out there on digital media workflow.  In my mind I think this is a foundation that must be taught and understood before you can move on.  If you can not ensure that your images are properly backed up and can be retrieved at any time than you might be doing your clients a disservice.

After mentoring countless photographers we have discovered the top

4 Workflow Mistakes That You Might Be Making Today when it comes to Digital Media Workflow.

If you are making these mistakes it is okay!  We all make mistakes!  We just want to encourage you to go back, fix it, and build a strong foundation in your business so that you can continue to move forward. 

1. Not prioritizing this part of your business.As creatives, most of us are right-brained, meaning we think as artists and we love getting right down to creating our art.  When it comes to the business side of things and understanding the technology, we tend to get bogged down and ignore the importance of this step.  Most of us don’t understand the ins and outs of computers and hard drives so we find it easy to either skip this part of the business or not fully commit to learning and creating a workflow that makes sense and that ensures our images are backed up correctly.
2. Assuming only one backup is good.  We have heard many horror stories.  One story we hear over and over again is that photographers are relying on their client galleries as their backup.  Photographers are deleting the images because they are running out of space and have no understanding how to resolve this.  However, what if they needed access to the RAW images?  What if they missed an image that the client is asking for?  Deleting images because of lack of space is never a good idea.  Creating a system where you have external and online backups will allow you to back up your images in various ways without taking up space on your computer.
3. Not using the correct hardware.  Many photographers purchase hard drives and equipment for their needs now.  However, as a professional photographer you need to think future minded. Most hope their businesses grow and it is important to purchase hardware that supports future growth.  You also must consider what you edit on.  Is it a laptop or a desktop ?  Perhaps it is both.  Depending on what you use will determine the correct hardware you will need to purchase to ensure proper backup.
4. No organization.  When you are in Lightroom or wherever you store your images, you should be able to navigate easily and locate files in an organized folder structure.  This comes down to metadata and naming your images correctly.  If you shoot a wedding for a couple named Pete and Caitlin then name the images Pete and Caitlin.  Include the dates and keywords in the meta data.  We have had clients return to us years later asking for specific photos because loved ones have passed.  These were photos that were not included in their online gallery and we were able to locate them quickly because our catalogues are organized and easy to navigate.

This list was not to make you feel bad!  We just understand the importance of creating a workflow to safeguard those beloved memories you work so hard to create!  We encourage you to take one step at a time!

What better way to start than by backing up the device that is in your pocket?

We take for granted all those pictures on our phones and we never think about making sure it is backed up completely until it is too late.   Don’t make the mistake I did by loosing all those valuable photos.

We have put together a extensive guide on how to backup your smart phone so that you can have access to all those important and cherished memories that you took the time to document.  This guide is simple and easy to understand and something that you can print out for future reference.  Don’t let your fear of tech stop you from preserving your memories!  We are here to help you get back on track and stand on a solid foundation in your business.

****PS: Don’t forget that you can download our free guide here. The best part is we will also show you how to organize your library for easy accessibility. 

If your a photographer and are looking for more tips feel free to visit the posts below!

3 Ways To Overcome Comparison

Building Your Foundation In Business

If your looking for a more Hand’s On Experience come visit us on our website and we would love to chat!

Hands On With Luke & Ashley

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