Light Blue 2023.1.2 release notes

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We’ve just released Light Blue 2023.1.2, which is a minor update that adds new features and fixes bugs reported since we launched Light Blue 2023.1. It includes the following changes:

  • We’re now handling a change in 12-hour time formatting in macOS 14 Sonoma that could interfere with autocompleting times.
  • You can now import multiple sales from the Inbox in a batch by using Shift-click on Command/Control-click to select several sales before clicking the “Import” button.
  • You can now open “failed to send” emails from the Outbox and send them via a different email account, e.g. using the Light Blue email servers instead of one of your own email accounts.
  • Our HTML editor now allows mailto: and tel: URLs to be added.
  • Added a “Check Server Connection Before Trying to Sync” preference. We’re also providing more information in the “Background Activity” window if your internet connection appears to not be working.
  • Importing a form that’s been submitted for a shoot that’s been deleted is now treated as if you’re importing a form that’s not linked to anything.
  • On Windows, we now default to ignoring your display’s scale factor when printing.
  • Added a “Reset” button to the template translation editing dialog, to clear any customised translation and revert it to the default value.
  • In the custom report dialog, changed the wording from “quick or saved query” to “quick query”.
  • Changed the wording of the “Set Opt-In” button in “Set Mailing List Opt-In For Contacts From CSV” dialog to “Change Opt-In Status”.
  • In the “Revenue By Product” report, the “Product Code” column is now only be shown if if “Show Product Code” option is checked.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the query for potential duplicate contacts when you’re previewing incoming data to be case-sensitive.
  • Fixed a bug where drag-reordering contact methods in contact add dialog appears to not work.
  • Fixed a bug where querying on a time field and setting the operator to “Is Blank” or “Is Not Blank” wasn’t hiding the value field and the query couldn’t be run.
  • Fixed a bug where the query dialog’s advanced mode’s closing bracket could disappear when clicked on to activate them.
  • Fixed a bug where the printed version of quotes weren’t using the “Quote/Sale Notes Label” from template translations.
  • Fixed a bug where the last row of the CSV file could be ignored when using “Set Mailing List Opt-In For Contacts From CSV” housekeeping tool.
  • Fixed a bug where the address label popup arrows don’t appear in contact add dialog when adding a contact to a shoot.
  • Fixed a bug where mail-merging a centrally aligned %InvoiceURL% tag in an email template changed it to left-aligned.
  • Fixed a bug where merging duplicate contacts from a shoot could cause the sort order of the preserved contact to change unexpectedly.
  • Fixed a bug where checking the “preview mail-merge tags” checkbox while editing contract text opens blank pages in your default browser.

Light Blue compatibility with macOS 14 Sonoma and iOS 17

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Over the next few weeks, Apple are going to be releasing major upgrades to macOS and iOS. iOS 17 is going to be released on 18 September. macOS 14 Sonoma is being released on 26 September.

We’ve been testing the current versions of our macOS and iOS apps on the prerelease versions of macOS 14 and iOS 17 and haven’t found any major issues. We’ll be releasing an update to our desktop app very soon that fixes the only minor issue we’ve found. However, please read on for our usual health warning about the dangers of installing a major operating system update as soon as it’s available!

Health warning

As with all major operating system updates, it is a very sensible idea to be cautious about updating your computers until Apple have had a chance to fix some of the bugs that will inevitably be present in macOS Sonoma. Although our testing of Light Blue 2023.1.1 on macOS Sonoma has been positive, there is every chance that Apple could change something that breaks compatibility or that we’ve missed something because we can’t test every conceivable combination of devices and settings.

If you rely on Light Blue to run your business, we would therefore recommend holding off from updating your operating system as soon as macOS Sonoma is available. At the very least, if you really really want to update on day one, make sure that you have at least one computer on the ‘old’ operating system until you’ve had a chance to test that all of the features that you depend on are fully functional.

Also, please note that our testing has been has been focussed on the latest version of our desktop app. The vast majority of our subscribers are already using Light Blue 2023.1, and if you’re using an older version of our desktop app then please update to the latest version to ensure that you’re able to take advantage of all of the new features and bug fixes that we’ve been adding. You can update the desktop app by using the ‘Check for updates’ command (in the ‘Light Blue’ menu if you’re on a Mac, or in the ‘Help’ menu if you’re using it on Windows).

How to Reduce Costs Without Hurting Your Photography Business

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Is your usually healthy balance sheet looking a little under the weather? Maybe bookings numbers are down or your usual expenses have crept up as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite?

Then your photography business may benefit from a comprehensive cost critique. A thorough investigation into exactly what’s going out of your account on a regular basis.

And then action taken to drive expenses down and push profits up.

Here we’ll share tips about how you can reduce costs without harming your photography business.

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Online booking platforms for photographers: Acuity vs Calendly

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Choosing the best online booking platform is a key decision to make within your photography business.

You want a platform that creates a seamless process for your client to find a suitable time and make their booking; you don’t want them to get frustrated at any stage and deciding not to press ‘confirm’! And from a business perspective, you’ll be looking for a cost-effective solution that you’re able to integrate with your CRM system.

So let’s have a look at two of the most popular platforms; Acuity and Calendly and see how they stack up for use in a photography business.

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How using the right tools can help you focus on what matters

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It’s safe to assume that you didn’t choose to run a photography business because you want to spend lots of time doing admin, right?

With one simple change Loudoun County Newborn, Family, and Birthday Portrait Photographer Jess Lynn and her admin assistant Annie are now able to spend more time with their families, focus on other areas of their business, and save $100-200 a year.

Continue reading “How using the right tools can help you focus on what matters”

How to get more photography clients

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No matter whether you’re a seasoned pro, or just starting out, something a lot of photographers want to know is how to get more photography clients.

It’s no secret that the success of your photography business hinges on your ability to consistently attract new clients.

Even if you already have a set of tried and tested tactics for attracting clients to your photography business, you’ll still want to explore other methods of gaining new enquiries so you’re not overly reliant on one source of leads.

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Using your phone’s autocorrect to respond to enquiries in ANY app

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Notification noise is a truly modern phenomenon.

Another WhatsApp message from an unrecognised number. A Facebook DM lurking in the depths of Messenger. Even a trusty, traditional text message ping can add to the sense of overwhelm and disorganisation.

For photographers dealing with daily client communications from all these different sources, this noise can quickly waste time and energy. And potentially even drown out a new enquiry that’s inadvertently missed.

The answer? Autocorrect.

Read on to discover why this humble tool could banish the confusion and chaos, revolutionising how you field enquiries.

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Light Blue 2023.1.1 release notes

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We’ve just released Light Blue 2023.1.1, which is a minor update that adds new features and fixes bugs reported since we launched Light Blue 2023.1. It includes the following changes:

  • The “Current Events” and “Enquiries” widgets now have an option to reverse their sort order.
  • When importing orders from ProSelect, include the image filenames from multi-image layouts.
  • Added a warning if you’ve pasted what looks like a truncated Stripe API key in the “Online Payments” tab of the “Integrations” section of the Preferences window.
  • Added an option to ignore display scale factor when printing on Windows.
  • Changed the custom date range option for the task manager widget to no longer include outstanding tasks that are outside the selected date range.
  • The main window can now be made fullscreen again on macOS.
  • Removed the “Edit List” item from email server selection menus.
  • Fixed a bug that caused “Studio Closed” to appear twice in the list of time off types.
  • Fixed a bug that caused colons in scheduling calendars names to break scheduling request mail-merge tags.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when double-clicking on an item in the workflow visualiser.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when selecting the email “Tracking” field in the query dialog.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed the %InvoiceURL% mail-merge tag to be used from sections other than the Sales section.

Nine ways to use Scheduling Calendars & Scheduling Requests

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One of the most frustrating things you can experience as a photographer, no matter the genre, is the endless loops of message to-ing and fro-ing as you try to arrange and confirm shoots and appointments with your clients. It also takes up a lot of time. Time you could definitely spend doing better things with!

This is where Light Blue’s scheduling calendars and scheduling requests (new to Light Blue 2023.1) can be your best friend, freeing up your time for the things you’d rather be doing!

Not sure where to start? Well here are nine easy ways to get you going.

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Light Blue 2023.1

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We’re pleased to announce a major update that makes it easier for you to work with existing clients and get paid in new ways!

Light Blue 2023.1 is available as a free upgrade for all subscribers.

New online payment methods

We’ve added support for the full range of payment methods available via Stripe, including ApplePay, Google Pay, Klarna, Afterpay / Clearpay, iDEAL and Bancontact, in addition to our existing card payment option.

This makes it easier for your clients to pay you. “Buy now, pay later” services like Klarna and Afterpay / Clearpay have been popular feature requests, and in some countries there are specific payment methods that have overtaken card payments as the most popular way of making online payments.

Forms in workflows

You can now include forms as steps in your workflows, allowing you to automate double-checking your clients’ details and requests in the run-up to a shoot.

For example, you could include a “check wedding or portrait session details” step in your workflow, maybe a month before a wedding or a week before a portrait session. The workflow would automatically email the form to your client on the date that you’ve chosen and when they’ve filled it in it will appear in the Inbox in Light Blue just like a normal form.

One of the best features of Light Blue’s forms is that they are pre-filled with the information you already have about your clients and the shoot, which makes it really easy for them to fill it out because they only have to type in new or updated information. This applies to workflow forms, too: the form shows the current information about the shoot and contacts, so any changes you’ve made since adding the workflow will automatically show up in the form.

“The ability to add forms to workflows is an AWESOME addition for time-saving and staying on top of getting valuable information from clients before sessions.

Pre-wedding questionnaires are vital and having them sent automatically 3 weeks before a wedding is very useful.

Automating the collection of feedback from clients after sessions is also great!” – Jesse Starr

Scheduling requests

Scheduling requests allow you to use your scheduling calendars to book meetings or shoots with existing clients. You can send a scheduling request from either a shoot or a contact: your clients will love them because the booking form will be pre-filled with the information that you already have, and you will save time because the event that’s created will automatically be linked to the relevant records in Light Blue.

“Now when we reply to an enquiry we can send them a scheduling request and they book in themselves without loads of emails to find the right time. This makes communication smoother and less invasive.” – Mark Fenwick

You can insert a scheduling request into an email or text message, and you can automate inviting your clients to book a consultation or viewing session by including them in workflow messages.

“I can send clients a link where they can choose and book a planning call (via Zoom), saving time to-ing and fro-ing to find suitable availability.” – Emma Jackson

Making phone calls from the desktop app

You can now make phone calls to your clients from within the Light Blue desktop app. After clicking the “Phone Call” button a call will start using either VOIP software installed on your computer, or your mobile phone. If you make a lot of calls, you’ll save time and cut down the number of typos when dialling.

“We make over 500 calls a day through Light Blue and already by just over a couple of hours testing we have increased our productivity by 60%.”

And more…

You can find out about the other new features and changes in this release in the Light Blue 2023.1 release notes.

Free upgrade for subscribers

Light Blue 2023.1 is a free upgrade for all of our subscribers. We’ve loved seeing how our prerelease testers have been using it to get paid in new ways and streamline their admin, so we’re keen to see what you do with it!