When I started to get serious about turning my photography hobby into a business, I didn’t really know where to begin. I had no idea the number of programs out there that I would need to run a successful small business, and I had very little guidance as to the best tools, for all of the things!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I take my time researching and trialing before committing to the absolute best option. It takes me at least 30 minutes (Ok, maybe an hour), to research my options when I’m buying shampoo, so you bet I’m going to put a lot of time into research on tools I use every day for my business. From bookkeeping and client management, to editing software and online photo gallery hosts, I tried many options and surveyed my peers in the industry. I thought I’d save you some time and share my favorite tools for jumpstarting your photography business here 🙂
This blog post contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. That being said, please know that I’d never recommend a program or product I don’t personally use or love, and would want to tell all my friends about!
I use all of these tools on the daily, and in my mind, they are absolute must-haves for keeping organized and not dropping the ball EVER, for any of my amazing clients! So, let’s begin!
Honeybook
Oh, Honeybook, how I love you! Gone are the days of getting lost in my Gmail inbox, opening emails and forgetting to respond to them later. Honeybook keeps me sane! I believe that everyone needs a client management software, and Honeybook is so thoughtful and thorough in the way that they’ve set up their platform. Leads trickle in through the embedded contact form on your website, and all emails for each client are neatly organized into their own workspace. You can customize your workflow from initial inquiry, to photo gallery delivery, so you never miss a step in your quintessential client experience. There is also a calendar tool, contract templates, an automated email function, bookkeeping features and reports, and so much more. Trust me, you’re going to want to give Honeybook a try. For 50% off your annual membership after your free trial, sign up here:
Pic-Time
Pic-Time is my favoriteeee photo gallery system, which is not optional as a professional photographer. You need to deliver photo galleries to your clients, and Pic-Time’s presentation and customer service is top notch. I love the aesthetic of their galleries, and the biggest selling point for me was the fact that they make Shop integration and automations a piece of cake! Your clients all receive access to professional print labs, and gorgeous goods incorporating their beloved photos. It’s a win for everybody.
You can trial the gallery for free to begin, and they are generous with storage! But for a free month off any paid plan, enter code “82LTCP” at checkout 🙂
UNUM
A FREEBIE for your smartphone that I love! While I have let go of some of the control and perfectionism of needing to have my Instagram feed look “just right,” I still love previewing what posts will look like next to each other within the UNUM app. I don’t get so complicated as to schedule out posts ahead of time, as I prefer to post and write captions in the actual moment of having a specific thought or sentiment, so the free version is all I need! Check it out in the app store.
Unfold
No longer a secret for many, Unfold is my favorite smartphone app for creating Instagram story layouts combining text and photos. Its clean, no fuss designs allow the photos to take center stage. Not free, but at minimal cost (a few dollars in the app store).
Quickbooks
Quickbooks. Simply necessary if you want to be a baller when it comes to bookkeeping. Easily link your bank accounts and credit cards, so that you can quickly sort through expenses and categorize them so that when tax season rolls around, you’re feeling cool as a cucumber. Or as cool as one can feel before they bid farewell to a nice chunk of money! LOL.
Flodesk
Email marketing, made simple. If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m all about simplicity, organization, and time savers. Building an email list and creating beautiful content for my clients was the most daunting task on my to-do list, until I met Flodesk. Still in its beta stages, but growing in numbers rapidly, the two lovely ladies behind Flodesk know exactly what they are doing, and want to support more amazing entrepreneurs like you! They even have the Jenna Kutcher seal of approval 😉 They will definitely be blowing up in the future, so lock in the best deals, now’s probably a good idea!
You can get 50% off your subscription using this link:
Phew, y’all still with me? I have a lot more to say about all these amazing tools than I thought I did! They just make my life so much easier. A few more…
Adobe Lightroom Classic
I think it goes without saying, Lightroom is a photographer’s best friend. Want to know a secret? I never open Photoshop. I do all my editing in Lightroom, and I am very content with that fact. All Adobe programs are now subscription based, but the upside of that is that you will always have the most updated software and latest tech!
As of right now, Adobe CC is also offering 2 months free (times are rough with COVID-19 :/)
Photomechanic
If you’d like to steal back HOURS of your life, look no further than Photomechanic. This one was a game changer for me, particularly when culling weddings and lifestyle sessions. A million times faster than waiting for photos to load within Lightroom. Photomechanic speeds up your post-processing workflow and also saves me storage on my computer and hard drives in the long run, as I only upload “selects,” as I call them, to my Lightroom catalog, instead of all the RAW images. It’s a one time payment for this desktop software.
Crashplan
Everyone need a good cloud backup system, especially when the responsibility of capturing someone’s most precious, once in a lifetime moments are in your hands. I love Crashplan because it’s always working in the background to ensure that a copy of my files are safely uploaded to the “Cloud.” Two hard drives, memory cards, and a fireproof safe just aren’t enough protection, in my book…
Everlance
You know that tracking mileage is a necessity, but maybe you’re like me and are terrible at remembering to manually log your trips. Everlance is my go-to smartphone app for recording and categorizing ALL of my driving adventures. They also have a receipt storing feature, if you’re looking for that. I tried to use Quickbook’s mileage tracker, but for whatever reason, it wouldn’t pick up on my trips 100% of the time. Everlance has been reliable for me for over 2 years now, and I like how easy it is to pull reports and totals for all my miles driven for photography from the year, when it comes time to file my tax return.
Bonus: Goodlight Presets
Not an app or a software program, but I just need to mention Goodlight reallll fast. Beginning last summer, I began to dive into the world of medium-format film photography. I’ve always been drawn to the aesthetic of film — the raw, timeless quality, the mouthwatering colors, and the way film captures LIGHT.
After playing around with film for the past 9 months, my eye has changed. My preferences have changed. I can no longer use my old preset without thinking to myself, “What was I doing before?!” Enter: Goodlight Presets. Goodlight has revolutionized my post-production workflow. They have allowed me to achieve the same film quality with my digital images, in a fraction of the time. I’m planning on doing a full blog post on my post-processing workflow, including before and afters so that you can see just how amazing these presets are. But for now, here’s a teaser. You can go check them out for yourself:
You did it! You made it to the end of this epically long blog post haha. Or perhaps it just feels incredibly long to me, because it’s one of my first real content heavy vs. photo heavy shares. Let me know in the comments if this was at all helpful to you, or if you learned about a new app or program you’d never heard of before!
Happy researching and getting your photography business legit, while we all have little extra time on our hands!
#happyquarantining
Photo credit to my gal Shanna Castro Photography, edits by me.
