Master your productivity with 11 amazing tools

Master your productivity with 11 amazing tools

With every passing year, it seems clients are expecting more and more from their photographers, which means we may need a lesson in productivity. Kat Dalager (@3etheLTAgency) goes even further and foresees the change of the very word photographer in her “Predictions for 2016“:

“The word ‘photographer’ will change. Maybe it will be ‘image maker’ or ‘content maker’ or ‘capturer.’ Whatever it is, it will reflect the expanded capabilities of the role.”

I agree with her and believe that in order to embrace the ever-increasing roles we find ourselves pushed into, we must become exceedingly efficient in our productivity. 2016 will be the year, where I take that productivity to the next level, integrating the technology, cloud based services, apps and automation software I use in my business.

Here are 11 tools that help me, solve my productivity puzzle:

Salesforce & Evernote

The backbone for this virtual productivity is SalesForce – the CRM that’s been running my business for over 7 years now. Every account, contact and job lives in this cloud based service [learn more about SalesForce here: “I got my head in the cloud (along with all my data)“].

This year is the year where this automation will get flushed out. I’m already using the amazing integration between Evernote and SalesForce, which allows me to attach all job related records automatically. Now any creative brief, handwritten note, job estimate, permit, release, receipt, rental agreement, … is tagged with a job number in Evernote and appears in the digital job folder in SalesForce as if by Magic.

Asana, Zapier & IFTTT

Every job, event and task that get entered in SalesForce automatically creates a counterpart in Asana, via Zappier. Asana is my project management software, where I can split up a job in an actionable To Do list. Every contact that’s added on my phone is automatically entered in SalesForce via IFTTT (IfThisThenThat). Zapier and IFTTT are two amazing automation softwares that enable you to use apps and cloud based services to stay productive.

How to power your gear where there is no power

Tips for the power (hungry) traveler

I love traveling into extremely remote areas on assignment. There’s something about filming in the amazon rain forest, photographing a hidden monastery in a desert wadi or shooting video on a snow-covered airstrip in the Himalayan foothills, that recharges my creativity. On the flip side none of these places have electrical power. That can mean packing in extra batteries or figuring out a way of generating power to run all of your digital devices – from laptops to light meters, from cameras to cell phones.

Solar power your gear

When I go far off the grid, I rely on solar energy to supply all of my power needs in a portable, yet powerful package. The solar panel I travel with folds up to the size of a paper back book and can charge my  GoalZero Yeti 150 solar generator in about 8 hours of sunshine. This package ran a 2 week documentary film shoot in the peruvian jungle, keeping all my gear charged – including my MacBook Pro I used to download and back up my footage.

Backup power

Since that trip I carry the smaller GoalZero’s Sherpa 50 in each one of my bags. These little battery/inverters can power a GoPro (or two) on a multi-day time-lapse, top off my laptop or charge a couple of batteries (or devices) in the field.

Power tips

Here’s a few tips when planning your next off-the-grid production:

1. Test your setup at home. In Peru I had planned to use a MacBook Air to download my cards, but found out while testing my set up that it’s USB ports did not provide enough power to run my bus powered ioSafe hard drives. Not something you want to discover when you’re 16 hours from the nearest power grid.
2. Make sure you have all necessary cables to connect to your power source. You’re not gonna find a USB micro charging cable in the mountains. I keep this Swiss Army USB charger in my bags.
3. Take some time to research. My color meter and one of my microphones require a 9V battery. I can leave the 9V charger at home, by using these 9V USB rechargeable battery. Yup – you can charge these from any USB power port.
4. Get the biggest battery. Just one BlueShape USA battery can power my complete video rig; camera, viewfinder, monitor and an LED light. Best of all, instead of wrangling the power requirements of these 4 devices separately, I need just one outlet to recharge it.

For more travel tips check out 7 tips to keep your gear working on the road.

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This blog post was first published on the American Society of Media Photographer’s Strictly Business blog.