Light Blue user case study - Ian Martindale

Posted on Tuesday 11 January 2011

Ian Martindale, Light Blue user, explains how Light Blue has helped him.

What were you using before you found Light Blue?

All the information and resources for my business were spread out in different places; iCal, emails, spreadsheets, random bits of paper and a whiteboard. I had an invoice template that I had to manually enter each line item, unit cost, invoice number etc. for every order. Very time consuming. I was a newly self employed sole trader when I first downloaded my 30 day trial of Light Blue and had only just begun finding my feet.

Why did you choose Light Blue to run your business?

I wanted to be more professional in my organisation and infrastructure and after a quick play around with a trial version I realised how easy it could be. Quite simply everything I need is in one place and so well thought out.

How has Light Blue helped you?

Being somewhat fresh faced, using Light Blue taught me how to go about running my business properly and as I've learnt more and become more established it's become even more useful & invaluable. I've been able to start out on a solid footing and build from there. I'm able to do things properly AND quickly and as work has grown I've been able to maintain the same level of attention to detail with all my shoots and clients.

What's your favourite feature in Light Blue?

Hmmm… there are a few.

The mail-merge tags come in very handy - with very little thought you can automate all manner of correspondence; booking forms, contracts, reproduction licences, responses to enquiries, confirmation letters, even Christmas cards (a bit late now, but remember it for next year!). The time spent setting these up is minuscule compared to the amount of time saved once it's all automates, not to mention the kudos from clients for the speedy reply.

I really like how Light Blue helps me handle my print orders. Coupled with some Photoshop actions and a dab of Applescript it's formed the backbone of a slick workflow where I can receive a pleasantly large order, invoice it, scale the appropriate images to the required sizes, fire the order off to the lab, email the client to thank them for their order and record the purchase in around five minutes. If you're handling a number of orders from one shoot it's really easy to distinguish between them and quickly see how worthwhile the shoot has been.

The quick queries and reports are brilliant too. I'm able to easily track my progress and growth and in seconds am able to make informed decisions for planning ahead.

What do you like about version 3 compared to version 2?

The new style of calendar is great - I can quickly see the demands on my time and plan more flexible tasks, shoots and meetings around those that are fixed. It's so easy to make quick changes too, say if you're on the phone to a client and trying to find a window in both your schedules for a meeting.

The fact that you can now allocate particular resources to a shoot is brilliant, especially if you work as part of a small company. As well as managing the time of any staff you may have, you could also book out equipment, meeting rooms in your studio or some time in your post production suite.

The iPad/iPhone integration is quite cool too - who else can say they can invoice a client from their phone?

Do you have any other comments?

I'm quite diverse in my operation, as well as stills photography I also work on a wide variety of video projects. I find myself freelancing for other businesses and managing projects of my own. Light Blue has helped me run those aspects of my business too and to present a united front to clients who may be interested in a mix of stills & video products. I can see how photographers who have several different strands to their photography businesses could apply the same principle.

I maintain that Light Blue has been the best and most cost effective investment of my career to date.

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