A prospective bride calls you and wants to view your work but she's out of town. No problem, you just send her a CD, complete with the royalty-free music you purchased. She pops it into her computer, views the show, looks at the pricing and bio info you've sent, and sends you a check for the retainer. How easy was that? You're out about 15 minutes instead of the hour you usually spend flipping through albums and listening to inane comments about dresses and flowers (OK, I'm getting older).

I'm afraid you've still got to shoot the wedding--we haven't found a way around that yet--but after the affair you can easily edit the images in the software. When she comes to pick up the images, you give her prints if you still use them, plus a CD slide show of the wedding, which you can either sell her or use as an incentive for a larger order. Being the kind person you are, you've also given her another CD where you've conveniently grouped the images by category, an easy to use feature of Studiomaster Pro 3. Maybe you've put all the images of the couple in one group, the ceremony in another, all group photos in another, etc., so it makes it easy for her to compare similar photos or photos of the same subject without a lot of looking around. Now--pay close attention--here's where we get to save lots of time.

Notice how you can combine color and black and white images together. This can be done in album pages and even "unit" printing can be subdivided into color and black and white images.

The bride comes in to order her album. Instead of drawing things out or laying photos all over the table, you open Studiomaster Pro 3, pull up the album company of your choice from the four major companies that are included, and you start designing! First, pick out the cover design you want, then just drag a print in if it calls for it, and get going. You can drag-and-drop images into the page template and the album will be displayed just as it will appear on your computer. Keep dragging and designing until you're done, make her a printout of the entire design, then "pack" it up for the lab. Your prints and album are ordered!

The software has several other features, including easy archival and retrieval of orders and the ability to add your logo to any images. If you're looking for a way to easily manage your digital files and streamline your workflow, this could be just what you're looking for.

For more information about Studiomaster Pro 3, be sure to visit www.studiomasterpro.com.

By the way, don't forget to sign up for my free e-mail newsletter at: steve@stevebedell.com.