Today we will talk about yet another layer of organizational crazy in my life. You will probably look at this blog post and be overwhelmed by it as any normal person should. Fear not, this is what works for me and hopefully you will be able to find a tiny piece of it that might better your workflow process. That is my only goal, that someone would be inspired to adjust their workflow in at least a tiny way.
So here is my workflow “area”…
I also have one more board over by my desk, which I will talk about later.
The board on this wall are as follows:
- Engagement Workflow
- Wedding Workflow
- Album Workflow
- Client Production
The two on top of the dresser are Engagement and Wedding, and the ones on the side are Album (smaller) and Client Production. Again, as I said, this might be WAY too much for you, and most people. Thats okay! I am an organizational junkie who also loves lists so, there was no hope for me.
This is what each workflow looks like:
Engagement
- Shoot
- Backup
- 1 Star
- Edit
- Blog
- Client Package
- Gallery
- Publish
- Backup
Wedding
- Shoot
- Backup
- 1 Star
- Edit
- Blog
- Client Package
- Gallery
- Vendors
- Publish
- Backup
Album
- Images Chosen
- Designed
- Client Proof
- Production
Client Production
- Info Email Sent
- Contract/Deposit
- Client Folder
- Welcome Gift
- Engagement
- 1 Month Gift
- 1 Month Check Up
- Wedding
- Final Gift
- Album
Whew, that is a lot of information! Now the one by my desk is the 1 Month Check In Board, as follows:
- Questionnaire
- Itinerary
- Formal Shot List
- Banner Questionnaire
- Invitation
- Gathering Guide
- Final Payment
- Update Folder
The method to my madness is this… I started with the Client Production board. The big one. This is each client start to finish. However, there were workflows within that workflow. The Engagement, Wedding, Album and 1 Month Check In. So I brought those workflows out and made individual boards for them as well. Does that make sense? You will probably notice on some of the boards entire columns are blank. There are lots of reasons for those. The Final Gift is a Christmas gift, Im still figuring it out, there are not a lot of blogs that publish engagement sessions, etc…
I had my designer make these for me. I am the very first to admit I am not good at creating things in PS. Im just not. I use PS to do what I do know how to do and thats it. So she created them for me, and I had them printed, then framed and now I write on them with a dry erase marker!
So! This is what works for me, and keeps me on track. Jared and I are into a good routine so there are rarely steps that we miss, but this keeps us honest. Ask any questions in the comment box and I will get back to you! Hope this helped someone in some way!!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
it gave me a LITTLE bit of anxiety to read this, haha, BUT! i was able to objectively see that what i’m doing (in much less detail) HAS been working for me, although i definitely think i need a separate checklist for albums. so, yay! i was still able to take something away (aside from the general feeling of just wanting to hire you to organize my life for me
. love you, and thanks for sharing all of these organizational tips! they really ARE helpful, even if i freak out a little each time. 
I love my workflow boards! I have one overall client production board, and then a smaller “session/event” board. I really need to do one for albums, though. Thanks for the push, girl!
Yes, one question… how do you reach the boards above the dresser??
) Great post by the way… I love how you spelled out what each of the columns were on each board.
@Erin Haha! Well, I am 5’6 so my shoulders are above the top of the dresser and I wrote the names before I put them on the wall. Now all I have to do is a little swish-swish x mark when the task is done!
This is an awesome post. Thanks for the info. It really helps to see how other photogs have their workflow laid out!
You’re awesome and I don’t think it’s overwhelming at all, it pays to be on top of things!
this is amazing! it’s super helpful and i will definitely be using this for inspiration! this really makes me want to get more organized. thanks for breaking this down. i also like how you have the engagement and wedding separate. i hope you don’t mind, but i might be incorporating this into my workflow <—- soon to be improved because of you.
thanks so much!
So helpful!! I’m going to try to use this as a guide.. one piece at a time! Do you have any blog posts about your questionaire? Or tips on making one??
Whew! You are one organized gal!! This really is an inspiration. I have one main board but I love the idea of having multiple! I really need to hire someone to organize my life. With another full time job, 2 kids, 20 weddings a year plus portraits it’s all I can do to keep up with editing!! I’m trying to convince my husband that a housekeeper would really help with my orginazation:)
I do have one question. When do you require the final payment? Is it at the one month checkin? (Which I LOVE the one month check in idea by the way!!)
Thanks for your post!!
Love this! I have been looking into a way to organize all my workflow as well…cause I have been just keeping in a notebook the old fashion way! Haha! And, its getting hard to keep up with that way…So i had just bought a dry erase board, but its not the neatest/organized looking. =(
So, if you don’t mind sharing or recommending someone to help me create something like that I would really appreciate it! You said you can create them in PS…is that CS or could you do it in elements too?
THANKS FOR SHARING! YOUR AMAZING!
@Melissa Here you go! http://lauryngallowayblog.com/wedding-questions/
@Alicia Yep, the final payment is due one month before their date. Its been working really well, especially if they are a little late, there is still time to get it in!
@Ashley My designer, Jennifer Olmstead, made them for me! Im not sure about what program you would need! Hope that helps!
I love you! Even though this is slightly overwhelming… it really helps me! It pushes me to be more organized and I THANK YOU for that!!
SUPER helpful post! Ive been wanting to make a board to stay organized. I love that you laid out exactly what you do. Good inspiration and will help me not forget anything. Thanks for the post!
Oh YAY! These are what I want to make next…LOVE how organized you are. Thanks for sharing! You rock.
So fantastic! I use a similar workflow but I have a question.. do you organize the clients by wedding date? If so, what do you do when you get another June wedding that you have to pop into the chart? That’s the issue I’m running into right now
I want everything in order, but it totally throws me off when I get a new booking!
I actually dont set up my boards until I have pretty much stopped booking. I guess what I would do if I did get a super late booking, is add it to the bottom. It would drive me a little bonkers to see it out of order, but I definitely wouldnt want to rewrite the entire board. I cant think of a better option!
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