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My Workflow: Kristin Reimer
DAM Design to Grow a Wedding Photography Business
A graduate of Pratt Institute, Kristin Reimer’s first job out of school was as a studio manager for photojournalist Elliott Erwitt. Today, she is a studio manager for photographer Ed Kashi. It was three months into the job with Kashi that she decided to apply lessons she’d learned in his studio and “go digital” in her growing wedding photography business.
“I like to have everything in ‘one package,’” she told us, “and for me, iView MediaPro is becoming that one package. iView MediaPro is what enables this whole process. It’s such a comprehensive, user friendly, and intuitive program. Working with the mentors I have has given me the opportunity to try many different programs, and I can tell you that in the Ed Kashi studio, we keep choosing MediaPro over and over.”
Kristin's Workflow
 “I work solo at jobs. I am hesitant to bring in another person. It’s a psychological thing. I’ve often taken a lot of time to get to know the couple well before the wedding and develop trust. They’re willing to do more interesting poses – things they wouldn’t normally have considered, such as a recent shot in which the bride is literally laying on a table. It’s such a great shot, and we would not have been able to do that if we didn’t have such a great rapport.
“I like to keep everything clean and organized – on and off camera. My goal is to remain as unobtrusive as possible, to let the day unfold and let the couple simply enjoy themselves without being told what to do all day. Of course, that’s not for everyone, and I’m happy to provide as much direction as necessary if it’s needed.
- Backup photos in real-time:
On the wedding day, I backup my images all day to an Epson P2000 portable hard drive.
- Create a catalog of photographs:
When I get home, I download my cards directly into the computer. Once the images are downloaded, I immediately put them into a MediaPro catalog.
- Batch rename and add metadata:
Next, I batch rename and apply metadata to all the files. I have a metadata template with basic information including the name, copyright, web site, date, the couples’ name for the title. I love MediaPro’s metadata template feature – having all the important information that will not change – it’s just a fabulous time saver. I usually have more than a thousand images and I can manage then all with the touch of one button. Then, I add basic wedding-related keywords and a basic caption (ie: the wedding of Tina and Robert, August 12, 2006) for the first pass. Once I have my final edit, I go back and enter more detailed keywords and captions for each scene.
- Backup to external hard drives:
Once all the basic metadata has been entered and the batch rename is complete, I backup everything to two external hard drives.
 Edit: The editing process is always different – and it usually lasts well into the night. (I love Sunday afternoon weddings so I can work on editing without losing so much sleep.) During the editing process, I use color labels to rate my images until I have made my final selections. I use colors as opposed to stars because for me it’s easier to remember, and in one glance I can quickly see my selects. Next I will delete the unwanted files and then go back and make special selections, for example: 1) a slide show edit; 2) images I want to convert to black and white; and 3) a label called “digital work needed” – this is for images whose content is good but lighting or some other technical feature needs to be improved.
- Make hardcopy proofs:
I use Apple Aperture to convert RAW files and then Adobe Photoshop to fine-tune images, burn, dodge, bring photo up to final quality. My final step is to run a script that renders the image in proof sizes. Each image (and there may be anywhere from 500 to 900 final images) is 4 x 6 with white border. Then I FTP them to a printing service (I use White House Custom Color) and the proofs come back about three days later.
- Select to print:
Once we’re down to selecting the finals for their wedding album, I obtain the image number from the back of the proofs, and I will use a color label in MediaPro to mark the corresponding image for printing and add print sizes in as a custom annotation field.
- Use MediaPro to create client records:
When a client sends me a print order, I always make a PDF file of the images chosen so that there are no mistakes with proof numbers - a visual record is the best way to stay organized.
A few other uses for MediaPro in my studio include:
- Archiving:
I have my entire archive of images in a single MediaPro catalog. This is another feature I could not live without. To open a catalog and see immediately where the image lives and to right-click and transfer a copy of the image to my desktop for working purposes is a HUGE time saver. It means I never have to touch my original file. My archive catalog makes it easy to go back and mark off selects as “favorites” that I will eventually add to my Web site or portfolio.
- Using MediaPro to catalog fonts:
When I do design work, I can easily call up my font catalog and choose the proper font for the job."
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