Business workflow of photo management

[AndyF2]

Image processing workflow and methods is key to producing the image you envision (or discover, while working on the file!).  Then one has to manage the commercialization of the images: which ones are planned for printing or further development work, which ones are ready and intended to be uploaded or submitted to various online agencies or services, what's happened to them since being uploaded, etc.  

What methods or tools do people use for this purpose?

A simple method that would quickly get out of control would be using keywords or collections.  Another one that would probably work reasonably well would be tables in Word or Excel, with columns for the different agencies the image was/is/is going to be sent to and it's current status (accepted, rejected, blockbuster, sales earned, etc)

It would be nice if there was some tool with a link into LR so one could pick a photo in LR and switch to another window with the image's business plans and status.  I doubt that exists yet (suggestion to plug-in developers!).

Perhaps there are other image resource management tools?  What works and what doesn't?

Andy

[Morgan_Moore]

Image processing workflow and methods is key to producing the image you envision (or discover, while working on the file!).  Then one has to manage the commercialization of the images: which ones are planned for printing or further development work, which ones are ready and intended to be uploaded or submitted to various online agencies or services, what's happened to them since being uploaded, etc. 

What methods or tools do people use for this purpose?

A simple method that would quickly get out of control would be using keywords or collections.  Another one that would probably work reasonably well would be tables in Word or Excel, with columns for the different agencies the image was/is/is going to be sent to and it's current status (accepted, rejected, blockbuster, sales earned, etc)

It would be nice if there was some tool with a link into LR so one could pick a photo in LR and switch to another window with the image's business plans and status.  I doubt that exists yet (suggestion to plug-in developers!).

Perhaps there are other image resource management tools?  What works and what doesn't?

Andy
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There is a lack of integration between image archives and financial management

I have built a system for my using an Access database outputting through a private web interface (ASP)

Both ASP and Access are a bit 2002 (when I did it) there are other softwares now

Using a self built database means you can add whatever parameters you want

It also means you can waste hours learning and building and pay heavily for getting it wrong !

S

[AndyF2]

There is a lack of integration between image archives and financial management

I have built a system for my using an Access database outputting through a private web interface (ASP)

Both ASP and Access are a bit 2002 (when I did it) there are other softwares now

Using a self built database means you can add whatever parameters you want

It also means you can waste hours learning and building and pay heavily for getting it wrong !

S
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A database would be flexible but it's a diversion of effort to develop your own software tools also!  We built our own (at work, unrelated to photography) and it worked well for several years.
The essential link would be for LR to inform the database which photos were currently selected, or for the database to create the file that defines a collection.
Andy