Not too long ago, clicking pictures and capturing videos was considered to be a specialised skill, akin to art almost. More often than not the camera that a home user owned came with some limitations owing to which there was only so much you could do with it.
To substantiate this using a example, if one was trying to click photos while one was on the move or if the object itself was moving around, the captured image was not always up to scratch. What camera you had was just enough for the bare minimum, for the basic stuff and if you wanted to do more you either bought one of those large, clunky professional cameras or just let a professional do the needful. With the advent of the smartphones, all this changed drastically. Almost overnight.
The overwhelming popularity of the smartphone was due to a combination of many factors. Firstly, smartphones were compact devices that you carried with yourself everywhere and all you needed to take a picture was click on a button and that was that. Meaning that anyone who loved to go clickety-clickety- click at the drop of a hat could be a photographer. Not just for mere amusement, hobby or passion but even make a career in the field.
There was no need to invest a lot of money on buying a high end camera nor did you have to do a course in photography. As more and more smartphones came with inbuilt cameras that are of high quality, price of stand alone cameras plummeted as did the size. If you plan to make it as a photographer, you could not have chosen a better time than now. Here are some WordPress tools that will make life easier.
PICU :
Interestingly enough, the tagline for this WordPress tool reads ‘Client Proofing for Photographers’ Be that as it may, this is one software that will be of great utility value for any professional lensman. Normally what happens is that you get done with a photoshoot, get back to your workplace/studio, look at what has been captured, select what you deem to be the best picks and then send it across to the client for the purpose of approval. With PICU at your service, the entire process becomes that much more simpler. Thus saving on valuable time for both the photographer and the client. And time as we all know is no less than money in today’s times.
So how does PICU work in real time? To begin with, the software helps you assort the photographs in an orderly fashion even as they are being clicked. After which the software automatically creates a link to these selected photos that can be emailed promptly to your clients so that they can have a look at what has been done. As and when the client is done, you will be informed immediately via email itself by the client as to what he/she thinks of the photographs that have been shot and sent across. Using the PICU plugin again, you should be able to get seamlessly get access to those photographs which your client handpicked as being good enough to publish. Thanks to PICU, a photographer is able to get more work done. Quickly and efficiently without any complications of any sort. Making it a win-win situation for both parties concerned.
Symbiostock :
There are tons of people out there who travel to exotic locations many times in an year and take fantastic photos using their expensive cameras. These photos then are uploaded to online social forums for the viewing pleasure of friends and acquaintances. Along with dozen of appreciative likes and shares. But if you try suggesting to them that these pictures are good enough to make decent sums of money, they might just smile and shake their head. In all probability, they have never heard of a WordPress tool called Symbiostock. Here is a tool that can help you pitch your photographs to prospective buyers and if things go to plan, get a good price for them too. This potential buyer could be a lifestyle magazine, an online blog or an agency even.
Once a user’s WordPress site has gone live and the Symbiostock plugin has been added to the site, all that the user in question has to do is to put up those photos on the site and leave the rest in the capable hands of Symbiostock. From acquiring all the requisite permissions and licenses needed to prevent your images from being misused to deciding the correct price at which your photos can be offered to prospective buyers , you can confidently leave all the commercial activities in this matter to Symbiostock. It is recommended to install Symbiostock Pro on your WordPress site. It is free and has great utility value. Additionally, the Symbiostock links you up with various online forums, agencies and portals where you can showcase your wares regularly. That way you get to even pick and choose your buyers. Doesn’t get any better than this, one would say.
Nextgen Gallery :
Whether you are a casual photography enthusiast or a professional lensman, if you have a WordPress site of your own with images embedded then it is but natural that you would have heard of and probably even used the Nextgen Gallery. This plugin is by far the most commonly used across all WordPress enabled portals with uimaesers running into millions. So much so that the Nextgen Gallery has become the plugin to install by default if the WordPress site a user has boasts of imagery. Do not get taken in by the simple interface for the Nextgen Gallery has enough to keep the most consummate of professionals interested. Sorting out all your images by type and size to cropping and styling of the pictures, creating relevant galleries and albums as well as enhancing and tweaking photos. With the Nextgen Gallery, there is always something more you can do with your pictures to make the good better.
Visit Nextgen Gallery Plugin page
Photography Management :
Another handy software plugin when it comes to making interactions between clients/agencies and photographers a smooth affair is that of Photography Management. If you are a busy professional who always has more work than you can handle it is a happy situation to be in. Only that you need someone to oversee your work quietly in the background thereby allowing you to put all your energies into the work that you do. And the Photography Management plugin is that someone. That acts in many like your personal assistant taking care of all the small chores related to your work. It manages not just your work projects but even prioritises the various clients that you do the work for.
And that is not all. Photography Management gives your clients the option of selecting the photographs that they deem good from the ones you have sent across and if the need be, a client can even download the relevant images at his end. All along you will be getting email notifications of client activities.
To start using the software, you just have to download and add it to your WordPress site. Once that is done, there is a section titled Clients that you will have to open before you start working on the assignments for the respective clients. Once you begin putting up pictures, the plugin allows you to protect your work by enabling user verifications measures like passwords. All this done and dusted, in a matter of minutes.
