Start free trial
View Categories

Yearbook Workflow and CDs

 
NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and Stratus Desktop.

You can use Spectra/Stratus to track yearbook selections, prepare the images according to each school’s requirements, and deliver the images to the school(s) you photograph. This topic will cover the required setup for yearbook tracking and describe the recommended yearbook workflow. We’ve also included a couple alternate workflows to demonstrate the flexibility of the software to fit your business.

HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!

In addition to yearbook tracking, the software is full of features that make life easier for school photographers. Take a look at High School Senior Workflow to find out how to set things up right from the beginning and get ideas about how to use the software more fully, saving you time and money.


Watch the video and/or follow the instructions below to learn how to set up and use the yearbook features in the software, including the Yearbook CD tool. 

Required Yearbook Setup #

Set Up Yearbook Options for each Organization #

  1. Go to Maintenance > Client > Organizations.

  2. Click New to enter a new organization or double-click on an existing one to modify it.

  3. Open the Yearbook Options tab and complete the following:

    • Image DPI – Enter the image dpi required by the organization.

    • Image Height – Enter the image height (in pixels) required by the organization.

    • Image Naming Convention – Select a naming convention only if this organization requires a different naming convention than the company-wide default. You’ll be setting up the default in the “Set Up Company Yearbook Options” section below. Please note: Selecting a naming convention other than “None” for this organization will override any default image naming selection you make for your company. 

    • Secondary Image Required – Check this option if this organization requires two yearbook image selections.

    • Template for Primary Image – Select a masking template only if this organization requires a different template than the company-wide default. You’ll be setting up the default in the “Set Up Company Yearbook Options” section below. Note: Selecting a masking template for this organization will override the default selection you make for your company. Design your own masking templates in Tools > Design Tools > Composite Template Builder. See also: Creating Composite Templates

    • Template for Secondary Image – As above, select a masking template for the secondary image. This can be the same template used for the primary image or a different one.

    • Student/Studio Selection Cutoff Date – Enter the last day the student/studio can make yearbook selections. Use this information for filtering and reporting.

    • Final Delivery Deadline – Enter the date the images need to be delivered to the school. Use this date for filtering and reporting.

  4. Click OK to save the organization.

  5. Repeat this process for each organization.

  6. Close the organization list when finished.

Set Up Company Yearbook Options #

  1. Go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences and open the Organizations tab.

  2. Define the following:

    • Image Path – Choose a shared folder on the server where all the organization yearbook folders will go.
    • Folder Name Option – Choose how you want your yearbook folders named.
    • Grad Year Option – Choose whether or not the software should create a subfolder for each graduation year and decide whether it should come before or after the organization folder in the file structure. (Take a look below to get an idea of what that might look like.)
    • Image Name Option –  Choose how you want the yearbook images renamed when the software copies them to the yearbook images folder. Options include client number, student ID, and a combination of first and last names. Note: This is the company default that will be used when renaming yearbook images. If a different naming option is chosen for a specific organization (in Maintenance > Client > Organizations), that setting will override the default you’ve set up here.

      Here’s an example of what your folder structure might look like:

  3. Composite Template – Check this box to use a cropping template (not required) and then choose the default template for sizing and cropping all yearbook images. A yearbook image will automatically be opened with this template during the yearbook image preparation process. The default template selected here will be used for all yearbook images unless alternate template(s) are chosen at the organization level for one or more individual organizations (in Maintenance > Client > Organizations). Design your own cropping templates in Tools > Design Tools > Composite Template Builder. See also: Organizations and Creating Composite Templates
  4. Yearbook Task – Check this option to enable the software to automatically create a task when a yearbook image is chosen or changed. Choose a task type and task status for yearbook tasks that are created and then choose a department and/or user that should be assigned these yearbook tasks. See also: Tasks
  5. Yearbook Status – Check this option to enable the software to automatically update the session’s yearbook status when an image is chosen or changed. See also: Yearbook Statuses
  6. Click OK to close the window and save your preferences.

Optional Digital Retouching / Preparing Options #

If you need to make Image Adjustments or Rotate the Yearbook poses. be sure to set up the Retouching settings for Preparing your Yearbook images. Go to the Digital tab in Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences.

  • Auto-Apply Image Adjustments – Have Spectra/Stratus Desktop apply any image adjustments to the hi-res images before they are opened in the image editor (i.e., Photoshop) for retouch.

  • Auto-Rotate Images – Have Spectra/Stratus Desktop automatically rotate the hi-res images before they are opened when using the Prepare button on the Session.

Yearbook Workflow #

There are three tasks in the typical yearbook workflow:

  • Make yearbook selections.
  • Edit and prepare the images.
  • Deliver the images to the school.
There are several ways you can structure this workflow to suit your business. We’ve outlined several options below.

Recommended Yearbook Workflow #

  1. Make yearbook selections throughout the year. Yearbook selections can be made in a couple of ways:

    • Right-Click Image – From any place in the software that you can view images from a session, you can right-click on an image to choose it for the yearbook. 

    • InSpiredByYou – The student can select their yearbook image on their InSpiredByYou gallery and their selection will be downloaded to the software.

      HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!

      Remember, the software can automatically create a task when a yearbook image is selected, prompting you to retouch and prepare the image!

  2. Use the Retouch and Prepare tools in the software on each image throughout the year. These tools are found on the Organization tab of a session.

    • Retouch – Click Retouch to open the image in Photoshop (or your chosen image editing software). Retouch the image and save it.

    • Prepare – Click Prepare to open the image with a cropping template so you can zoom, position, and crop the image according to the organization’s standards. Click OK and the software will render out the new image according to the organization’s specifications (e.g., DPI, height, filename, etc.) and store it in a new folder dedicated to this organization.

  3. At the end of the year, use the Yearbook CD tool with the following settings:

    • Destination Folder – Choose an empty folder where the final images should go.

    • Copy Images – Yes. Copy images from the organization’s folder.

    • Do NOT Crop

    • Do NOT Resize

    • Do NOT Rename

    • Create Text File – Yes.

  4. Burn the contents of the destination folder to a CD for the school.

Alternate Yearbook Workflow #1 #

In this workflow you’ll select yearbook images throughout the year and then prepare them all at once at the end of the year using a third-party software. 

  1. Make yearbook selections throughout the year.

  2. At the end of the year, use the Yearbook CD tool with the following settings:

    • Destination Folder – Choose an empty folder where the final images should go.

    • Copy Images – Yes. Copy images from the session’s hi-res or retouched folder.

    • Do NOT Crop

    • Do NOT Resize

    • Rename – Rename the images as desired.

    • Create Text File – Yes.

  3. With all the images in the destination folder, use a third-party software (i.e., Lightroom) to batch crop, resize, and so on.

  4. Burn the contents of the folder to a CD for the school.

Alternate Yearbook Workflow #2 #

In this workflow you’ll select yearbook images throughout the year and use a third-party software to prepare them one-by-one throughout the year.

  1. Make yearbook selections through the year.

  2. Edit the yearbook image in third-party software (i.e., Photoshop).

    • Save the final image to the organization’s folder.

    • Do NOT rename! Renaming the image will make it impossible for Spectra/Stratus to detect which students’ images are missing and create the necessary yearbook file for the school. 

  3. At the end of the year, use the Yearbook CD tool with the following settings:

    • Destination Folder – Choose an empty folder where the final images should go.

    • Copy Images – Yes. Copy images from the organization’s folder.

    • Do NOT Crop

    • Do NOT Resize

    • Rename – Yes. Choose the renaming option desired.

    • Create Text File – Yes.

  4. Burn the contents of the folder to a CD for the school.

Using the Yearbook CD Tool #

HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!

The file and images created by the Yearbook CD tool abide by the PSPA Digital Data Guidelines for School Photography and Yearbook Publication. These file requirements include additional information that the software does not track, so there may be fields that are not populated.

  1. Go to Tools > Make Yearbook CD.

  1. In the Session Criteria section select the criteria that should be used to find the correct session records. Leaving a criteria blank will select all sessions regardless of that criteria. You will see a count of the number of sessions that match the selected criteria.

  2. Choose if you will be using the Primary Yearbook or Secondary Yearbook Image. If a school requires both, you will need to go through the Yearbook CD process twice.

  3. Select the destination folder. This is the folder where Spectra/Stratus will put the copied yearbook images. Or, if you have already manually copied the images into a folder, select it here.

  4. Choose Copy Images if you want the software to copy the images into the destination folder. If you have already done this manually you do not need to check this box. If you are copying images manually do not rename the images.

  5. Choose Crop Images if you want the software to crop the images. Use image’s existing display crop will use the crop that was set in the Digital Workflow or Sales Presentation screen. Using Crop to fixed ratio will center the crop on every image file.

  6. Resize Image will downgrade the maximum pixel count.

HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!
You may want to use image editing software such as Photoshop to retouch the images after you output them from Spectra/Stratus. Then use an action to crop and resize as appropriate.

  1. Rename Images will rename the images, using either the client’s first and last name or a number. This new number will be reflected in the text file.

  2. Create Text File will create the necessary text file for the school to use.  

  3. Processing the images will take the selected actions, using the hi-res or retouched images for each yearbook image. Use the missing images text file to determine if any images are missing or were not assigned.