SOFTWARE TAILORED FOR YOU - PART 4
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by David Arnold
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Advance notes: In the first installment of this four-part series I discussed image management (or cataloging) software and captioning (or labeling) software. I then introduced stock (or slide) management software -- specifically fotoBiz (Mac and Windows, $199.95, www.fotobiz.net), NSCS Pro2 ($189, www.nscspro.com, Windows only), and StockView (Mac and Windows, $495, www.hindsightltd.com). In the second and third installments of this series I discussed how these three programs handle such tasks as filing and searching, creating delivery memos and invoices, and tracking submissions. This month I’ll wrap things up by reviewing some additional capabilities, examining the programs’ tutorials, manuals, and technical support, and offering some tips to help you decide which one is the best choice for your photographic business. -David Arnold
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Having reviewed, in the last two installments of this series, the core image handling and business features of fotoBiz, StockView, and NSCS Pro2, let’s now turn to some additional features that, while not essential, are nonetheless very useful additions. As we’ve seen, all of these programs can help you keep track of your photos. But fotoBiz and StockView can help you keep track of your photo equipment as well. Not only can their equipment databases keep track of what you have, when you bought it, how much you paid, serial numbers, etc., both programs can generate packing lists, complete with weights.
All three programs can print contact sheets for promotional mailings. In addition, StockView and the just-released NSCS version 3 can generate contact sheets that you can e-mail to clients. StockView can also create html (Web) pages, a capability both NSCS and fotoBiz plan to add later this year. StockView can also create CD-based searchable portfolios.
NSCS and fotoBiz include client databases. While the core $495 StockView program doesn’t have this feature, it is included with Hindsight’s InView/StockView and Studio Pak versions, and it’s complete enough to replace Outlook, Act!, or other full-blown contact managers.
With their many features, fotoBiz, StockView, and NSCS are not programs you can become comfortable and competent with, without some help. That help falls into three categories: manuals, tutorials, and technical support. All three programs provide tutorials to get you started. NCSC’s is a 2-page 42-step "quick start" that guides you through entering photo information and printing labels. FotoBiz’s tutorial is a 7-page print-out that guides you through the entire work cycle. Both are quick and easy to follow, but for an in-depth understanding of either program you’ll have to spend time experimenting with its various features. StockView’s tutorial is part of its free downloadable demo program. It covers more ground than the others, and consequently requires more time to go through.
If the tutorial doesn’t answer your question, the next stop is the manual. fotoBiz’s is a 55-page PDF file you can read on-onscreen or print yourself. NSCS Pro2’s comb-bound manual is longer (88 pages), but smaller (8½ x 7). Neither has an index, but there is one with the new NSCS Pro3. StockView’s ¾" thick spiral-bound manual contains 283 pages of text plus a detailed index with more than 2,000 entries.
If the manual doesn’t solve your problem, there’s always tech support. fotoBiz owners can e-mail their questions, and will receive an e-mail reply for simple issues, a phone call for more complex ones. NSCS users can either e-mail or phone. The same is true for StockView, though free phone support is limited to one hour, with a charge after that. However in most cases the handiest way to get help for StockView is their online forums. (Check them out at www.hindsightltd.com/hsforums/Forums.html.)
Customizability. Boyd Norton (NSCS), Jim Cook (StockView), and Cradoc Bagshaw (fotoBiz), have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide programs that fill their users’ needs. But different users have different needs and different ways of working, so each program allows some degree of customization. In all three you can customize categories in drop-down lists, modify printable documents, and fine-tune label formats. NSCS can’t be customized beyond that. fotoBiz can, but only if you own and are proficient in FileMaker Pro, its underlying database engine. In StockView almost every feature is customizable, but in many cases this will require a lot of time studying the manual and working at your computer. -David Arnold
With a stock management program your dealings with both your photo collection and photobuyers will be easier, more professional, and more profitable. But which one should you buy? If you’re a Windows user you can use any of the three. If you’re a Mac user you’re limited to fotoBiz or StockView. If cost is a major consideration, you’ll probably lean toward NSCS at $189 or fotoBiz at $199.95 (including their picture pricing modules), rather than Hindsight’s StockView (image and stock photo management) at $495, InView/StockView (which adds business and contact management modules) at $745, or Studio Pack (InView & StockView minus the accounting modules) at $645 (the optional photo pricing module is $95). However if photography is your full-time business, or if you’re a serious part-timer, take a good look at Hindsight’s offerings. In exchange for a higher price and a steeper learning curve, you get more power, more features, more flexibility, and the best support I’ve seen in 20 years of using and writing about computer software. But be careful: if you’re not willing to give StockView the time and effort it requires, it won’t give back what you want. NSCS and fotoBiz, with their lower prices and easier learning curves, also do a first-rate job, and are better choices for the average part-timer.
Still can’t decide? StockView has a free downloadable demo (you can also download a complete StockView manual from their site), and NSCS should have one online by the time you read this. And while there’s no demo version of fotoBiz, the company does offer a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy.
New and improved. Cook, Norton, and Bagshaw and are continually fine-tuning their programs’ existing features and adding new ones. In May, StockView released a free update that added a new dupe numbering system and more flexibility to the bar coding feature. NSCS Pro3, released in June ($10 for Pro2 users -- less than Norton’s cost for the CD, printing, and mailing) includes direct scanning, auto thumbnail generation, spell checking, a revised manual, and other new features. And a major fotoBiz upgrade is due out this winter, with Web page generation, an overhauled fotoQuote pricing module, and other enhancements. -David Arnold
There’s no doubt about it: if you want to sell stock photography, not using a stock management program such as StockView, NSCS, or fotoBiz makes about as much sense as trying to operate a farm without a tractor. It can be done, but using modern technology will decrease your workload and increase your profitability.
David Arnold is a travel photographer who has been writing about travel, photography, and computers since 1980. His photos have appeared in Popular Photography, Petersen’s Photographic, US Air Magazine, The Rotarian, the TWA Calendar, and elsewhere. He can be reached at david@arnoldrutman.com.
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