The Photographer's Day: journey and empathy map

VIP Photographer App · Work in progress · Alan Porterfield

How this was made. It is a synthesis of the project's own documents: the problem statement, personas and user stories in the PRD, and the two months of shadowing described in The Photographer's Journey. Actions, needs and pain points come from those sources, with the PRD section shown. The feeling at each stage is a hypothesis, marked as such, because no interview quotes or emotion ratings were recorded. The validation study is where to test it.

Field photographer (primary user). Works assignments for schools, sports and events across a metro area, mostly alone, often back to back. A lead photographer is a field photographer who can also add notes for schedulers and account managers.

Source: PRD sections 5 and 7.

Journey map: one assignment, from schedule to paycheck

Six stages follow the assignment lifecycle. The two lowest points come after the shoot, when the work is paperwork.

Stage
1
Plan the weekSchedule
2
Get thereDay of, travelling
3
ShootOn site
4
Deliver photosAfter End Assignment
5
TimesheetTime, miles, tolls
6
Get paidAnd plan time off
Doing
Checks the week: where, when, which client. Notes days off.
Heads out. Logs the start of travel and arrival. Keeps track of tolls and parking.
Starts the assignment and shoots. On a sports assignment, scans a QR code to load the tablet. A lead adds notes.
Ends the assignment. Moves photos off the memory card.
Adds travel home, distance, tolls and parking receipts. Submits.
Reviews earnings and the approved timesheet. Requests time off for upcoming dates.
Needs to know
Where do I need to be, and has anything changed?
Am I on time? Will my drive be counted?
Who is the contact? Where do I meet them? What do I do if something goes wrong?
Did the photos go through? Did I forget anything?
Is everything recorded so I am paid correctly?
Are my earnings right? Can I still be scheduled on those dates?
Feeling Hypothesis
Uncertain
Under time pressure
Focused and confident
Tired, frustrated by an extra step
Annoyed by paperwork, worried about disputes
Relieved if it is right, uneasy if unclear
Emotion curve Hypothesis
Pain points today
No single mobile place that says where to be. The schedule lives on a desktop website.
Travel time, miles and tolls are reconstructed later. There is no reliable record.
When equipment fails, a client has an issue or a lead does not show, the only route is a phone call.
Manual photo transfers are slow and error-prone, and delay delivery to clients.
Slow approval and disputes, because drive time and costs are not recorded reliably.
Assignment time and travel time are paid at different rates, so the total is hard to check.
How the app responds
Weekly Schedule grouped by date, with approved Time Off shown. Push for changes.
PRD 8.2, 8.11, 8.13
Start Travel on the day. A two-step sheet confirms each trip and its distance. Leave-by note is a v2 idea.
PRD 8.4
Assignment details with contacts and meeting point. QR for sports. Report issue: one-tap call or an equipment report. Lead notes.
PRD 8.3, 8.7, 8.9, 8.10
Upload from the memory card right after End Assignment. A reminder, a progress bar, and the Past 5 days list.
PRD 8.8, 8.14, 8.2
One Timesheet, already filled with logged times. Add tolls and receipts. Submit without waiting for upload.
PRD 8.5
Earnings by category, the approved timesheet, and Time Off requests with status.
PRD 8.6, 8.13
Who else is involved
Scheduler
Scheduler (late), maps
Scheduler, account coordinator, equipment coordinator, tablet app
Scheduler, delivery to client
Scheduler approves, payroll admin
Payroll admin, scheduler

What the map says

1. The lowest points come after the shoot

Uploading photos and filling in the timesheet are where the day turns into paperwork. This is why the app puts Upload photos first after End Assignment and pre-fills the Timesheet.

2. Trouble needs a fast path

Equipment failures, late leads and client issues are handled by phone today. The app puts the right number one tap away and logs the call, and takes equipment reports in the app.

3. Trust in pay is the thread

Reliable time, mileage and toll records, separate rates and a visible earnings breakdown all aim at one outcome: the photographer can check the number and believe it.

Empathy map: the field photographer

Does

  • Checks the schedule and confirms details
  • Travels and logs start and arrival
  • Shoots, often alone
  • Uploads photos from a memory card
  • Fills in a timesheet with times, miles and tolls
  • Calls the scheduler when something goes wrong

PRD 7, 8.3 to 8.9

Thinks and wants

  • Where do I need to be, and when?
  • Will my drive time and costs be counted?
  • Did my photos upload?
  • Can I be sure my pay is right?
  • Can I handle a problem without a long call chain?

Rewritten from the PRD user stories

Feels Hypothesis

  • Pressure while travelling
  • Focus and pride while shooting
  • Tiredness and frustration with after-shoot admin
  • Uncertainty about pay and dispute risk

Says Not captured yet

No direct quotes were recorded in the project documents, so none are invented here. Capture these in the validation study:

  • "Walk me through the end of your last shoot."
  • "What do you do when you are running late?"
  • "How do you check you were paid right?"

Pains

  • No single mobile source for where to be
  • No reliable record of drive time and tolls
  • Problems on site go by phone
  • Slow, manual photo transfer

PRD 2, problem statement

Gains

  • One place for the week, the day and the pay
  • Time and costs captured as they happen
  • A fast route when something goes wrong
  • Fewer timesheet disputes and missed assignments

PRD 3 and 10

The Photographer's JourneyProduct requirementsDesign decisionsHeuristic evaluationInteractive demo

Sources: PRD sections 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10; the case study's process notes. Feelings and the emotion curve are hypotheses.