Office set up

This post was created for a Mac Power Users forum, and has a lot of information that would only interest geeks. However a lot of my clients are interested in the tech we use so this is the first post showing our facilities and equipment, and there will be more to follow on the studio, and our camera and lighting gear.

This is my office. I run a small photography company providing weddings, portraits, commercial photography (specialising in real estate), and we also create websites. I also have a studio with a cove, a dedicated changing room, a gallery, and another office (for Lukas and admin), in a converted school.

The dominant element in my office set up are the two LG38 widescreen monitors. We create a lot of books for weddings, events, and other commercial projects, and the book format is exactly 21:9, and the screen is exactly the size of the most popular option, 40x30cm which on a 2 page spread is 80x30cm, the screen size. 

The screens are connected to the latest maxed out 2018 13 inch MBP. I use the Belkin Thuderbolt dock so there is only one cable to attach to the MacBook Pro. I tried a 15 inch but it was just too big as a portable. Lukas does most of the editing (on a max spec 27 inch iMac and second monitor), so I do not need as much power/ram as he does.  When meeting with a client, I use mirror mode for the two screens and turn one screen to directly face the clients, and when working on my own, I use the two screens as a huge 76 inch extended desktop. Both monitors are on Ergotron arms, and one has a keyboard and mouse tray so I can work standing up. I use the app, Moom which remembers where I like everything so it is very easy to have a neat set of windows across the two screens.

Behind my desk are cabinets and drawers so that everything can be kept tidy. The cabinets have either shelves or drawers.

I have one dedicated drawer with 10 chargers for charging camera and flash batteries.

To the left and behind me, I have an IX500 Scansnap, a Dell laser printer, and 2 Dymo label printers.

Behind my desk is a wall featuring large framed prints, and a unit with desk prints, and other products.

In the corner and the windows are a large number of sample books, mainly from Graphistudio, who have an incredible range and choice.

For the Mac Power Users article, I was asked to list the equipment so I have included this here too

On my desk there are:

• 2 LG38 inch monitors
• Space grey keyboard, mouse, and trackpad
• Neat Design Pano notebook
• Anker QI charger for iPhone X
• Alexa dot linked to my Sonos system and hue lights
• An iPad 10.5 Pro with Smart keyboard an Apple Pencil, and a charger/holder
• A cable management set up with a full set of cables – power supplies, Ethernet, USB -C, Mag safe (and adapter), and Lightning cables for any device as I often get involved in support for Macs
• Yealink T48G VOIP phone
• Dymo labelwriter 400
• Dymo Labelmanager PnP
• A Scansnap ix500
• An LG 42 inch 4K TV with Sky Q and Apple TV connected
• A Hue lightship behind the TV
• A Sonos Soundbar and 2 Sonos Play 3 (sub to be added soon)

Most of the storage is on the network but there are hard drives for clones, time machine, and a personal Drobo below the desk.

The space and setup works well as workspace and client meeting room. I previously used an iMac with second monitor, and a MacBook adorable as a portable. Although I miss the portability of the MacBook, I love having one machine as even with cloud syncing, there were times that things were in the wrong place, and the simplicity of one machine is great. When I travel, I use Duet and my iPad Pro to give me a 2 screen portable set up.

If you are interested in any of the equipment we use, please do not hesitate to email me.