Photo Pro Magazine

In these days of digital capture we are all too familiar with the buzzword of ‘workflow’. Invariably to most photographers it will mean the method by which they process their images once they have been downloaded onto their computer; at least it certainly did to me! However for Uzair Kharawala it meant a great deal more; let’s take a look at why.

Oz is a successful social photographer who has put his many years within the industry to very good use developing a piece of database software aimed squarely at the market (and the people) he knows best. This, essentially, is photographers and photography in all its form, whether you are a social or commercial photographer, based in a studio or someone who normally works on location; the new Foto SF v2 covers all the bases.

This is a software which promises to revolutionize the way you run your office. Does it live up to its hype? Well, after trying it out for a few days I have to say that it really does seem to deliver. To my knowledge there is no other software on the market which sets out to cater solely for the photographer’s needs in the way that Foto SF does. Its aim is to help photographers to run their businesses smoothly and in an efficient manner, and it does this extremely well.

I am a great believer in automation within my day-to-day workflow routines, particularly with such things as Raw processing. This speeds up my day and gives me time to undertake the less mundane and boring tasks. However, when I come to the ‘business end’ of things this is where this admirable policy all falls apart. I don’t know about you, but I find that there is never enough time in the day to do the stuff I don’t like doing, such as quoted, letters, tax returns etc – but there is always time to nip onto the net and have a look at the latest gear! Or is that just me ? I kind of doubt that somehow, but it’s in the way that it helps you to tackle the mundane tasks that we all have to face on a regular basis that Foto SF really gets the chance to shine.

Automate your life

Foto SF is quite simply a really well-thought-out-program that has evolved from Oz’s real-life experiences within the industry. Every little thing that you need to do in a day is broken down, cross-referenced and analyzed so that nothing in your business is left to chance.

As this is a piece of workflow software designed to help run the admin end of your business, the process starts with a simple contact and from there everything from orders taken, amounts outstanding and even how much your lab bill has been with regard to a particular client is recorded for later analysis, and is ready to be printed out as an unbelievably detailed report.

What slows most of us down is that we tend to put off the boring stuff. We all hate repetitive office work, such as writing yet another booking confirmation, finding out the status of any given order (especially at the height of the wedding season), and keeping track of any freelancers you employ. Once this information is entered in Foto SF finding out anything (and I mean ANYTHING) really is a simple mouse click.

Most of us tend only to look at certain aspects of our business, such as how much we have made: we may not stop to analyze how much we have spent and who with. Why? Well, quite simply it’s too much hassle going through piles of paperwork. Not so when Foto SF is set up and running.

Oz seems to have thought of everything with Foto SF; for example, if you are a wedding photographer like me you can proessionally break down and organize all aspects of your clients’ wedding arrangements in the kind of infinite detail that will make you look superhuman, and it will ultimately help you to make the big day run that much more smoothly. You can schedule the whole day into time slots (as much as you can on a wedding day, that is!) and you can also put together a shooting list with your clients and input all their details (emergency numbers, the venue etc).

Now you may be thinking”..but I do that already.” Maybe you do, but can you take all that info over the phone and send an email confirmation to your clients before you have finished talking to them? Now that is efficient, and very impressive!

Foto SF has a great deal more to offer though, such as helping you to market your business. Alongside the social side of my business I run a commercial side and I also run training experiences. Foto SF can assist in all of these areas individually by, for example, sending tailored graphic email campaigns for each arm of my business (mini webpages with pictures etc – the sort you get through from large companies). It’s very cool and I can really see how that could work for me. You can even access and modify your files from your iPhone on the latest version of the software which I was trying out, so you can keep on top of your business anywhere in the world.

Tasks such as how much kit you own, serial numbers, how much everything is worth…It’s all taken care of, and it’s simple things such as this which make me like Foto SF so much: everything is in one place and not dotted around everywhere, and it just saves so much time and lots of frustation.

So, the big question: would I, as a working photographer, buy Foto SF myself? The answer has to be yes: in a heartbeat. It’s not exactly cheap but it is pretty bespoke to our industry and is immensely powerful in the right hands. If, like me, you hate office work, have a terrible memory and are generally disorganized it’s like having an office full of secretaries sat next to you undertaking all the tasks you hate doing and reminding you of all the things you need to get through within the day.

I have to say I don’t generally like database software as I find them overcomplicated and … well, quite frankly, they’re a little dull. However, as Oz has taken all the hard work out of the equation and has developed a piece of software that is designed specifically for what we do as photographers and, given his in-depth knowledge of our industry, it really is a hard peice of software to ignore. There is a learning curve (as with all database applications) but if you persevere  you will really reap the benefits of this immensely powerful program.

Looks like the sea of yellow Post-it notes that adorn my office like wall paper can finally be put in the bin – my wife will be pleased!