Today I’m sharing 12 of my favorite and most used tools that have made running my photography business so much easier!
There are some affiliate links in this blog post, but I’d never recommend anything that I don’t personally use and love. So, whether you’re a photographer like me running a business or a business owner in a completely different field, check out my list of faves below!
My Favorite Tools
1.) Honeybook – Client Relationship Manager Software
Honeybook is a client relationship management (CRM) program that has really helped improve and organize my entire client experience! This has literally become my hub for everything from keeping track of all of my inquiries and calendar to creating contracts and invoices.
Honeybook has allowed all my communication with clients to stay in one place. It also tracks my expenses and income and allows me to save email templates and create automated workflows for my clients, so I never miss a step. With their newest smart file feature, I can take my client experience to a whole new level with customized branding and truly simplify the booking process for my clients.
Having a client relationship management is one of the best things you can do for your business
Get HoneyBook for 25% off for one year with my referral link
2.) Lightroom & Photoshop – Photo Editor
These are the software I use to edit all of my photos. I recommend signing up for Adobe’s photography Plan that allows you to download both lightroom and photoshop for only $10/month. I typically use lightroom to edit multiple images at once and then take them into photoshop for any in-depth editing.
3.) PhotoMechanic
Photo mechanic saves me so much time culling through my images. Photo Mechanic is basically a fast media browser that not only loads your RAW photos super quickly, so you’re not spending time waiting for them to load, but it helps you sort the photos quickly so you can move over the best of the images into Lightroom.
4.) Pictime – Online Gallery
PicTime is the beautiful online gallery I use to send all my clients their images. I love how easy it is for clients to download, share and view their photos. It also has a built-in store that allows clients to purchase prints without you needing to be so hands-on in the process. Keeping my galleries on PicTime has allowed me to have a portfolio that I can always access from anywhere, which comes in handy.
Get 1 month of Pic-Time free with this code: UXQFNU
5.) Milanote – Mood Board
I use Milanote to create all my client’ mood boards for their photo session. It’s easily become a staple in my client process. I love how easy Milanote makes it to drag and drop images from different websites! I also love that they give me the option of sharing the board with my client via a link, PDF, PNG, and even Word document. Creating mood boards is only one of the many things you can do in Milanote! It’s meant to be a place where you can organize your ideas and projects into visual boards.
6.) Inshot/Final Cut Pro – Video Editor
The Inshot app is where I edit a majority of my videos (Reels/TikToks). It’s very easy to use and gives you a ton of features, such as fonts, stickers, effects, and so much more, all on your phone! I’ll use Final Cut Pro for more of my heavy-duty editing with things like YouTube videos and anything else that requires a lot more details with the editing.
7.) Notion
Notion is a FREE blend of every work app into one cloud database, from calendars, worksheets, notes, tasks, documents, galleries, and more. This is where I dump literally all my ideas! If it pops into my head, I’m writing it down! I don’t have it organized the prettiest, but it gets the job done! There are a ton of videos on youtube/templates on how to make your notion board look a lot nicer and more organized than mine. So you should definitely check them out!
8.) Canva
I use Canva to create all my social media posts, marketing materials, PDFs, and so much more! There is literally nothing you can’t design in Canva. I highly recommend getting the pro account, so you can have access to better and unlimited designs, fonts, and images.
9.) Grammarly
Fun fact, I’m terrible at spelling, so Grammarly is life! I use both the browser extension and the keyboard app on my phone. Grammarly helps to improve my grammar, fix misspellings, and even reminds me when I have missed a word or two. None of my captions, blog posts, and even emails will get sent out until I have run them through Grammarly. It does have a free version, but if you struggle like me or just have a lot of content you need to write, I would highly suggest getting the premium version.
10.) UNUM/Preview App – Social Media Scheduling
The Unum & Preview App are great apps that help with planning Instagram content and organizing your feed. The paid versions allow you to set times and reminders for the best times for engagement and tracking your analytics.
11.) Calendly
Ditch the back-and-forth e-mails & texts. Calendly helps you to schedule meetings easily by sharing your availability through Calendly.
12.) Kaboompics
Creating content and need cute images to go along with it? Looking for filler photos for Instagram? Kaboompics is the way to go! They by far, have the cutest and most cohesive stock images and photoshoots! Did I mention they are all FREE TO DOWNLOAD!
Honey Social
Honey Social is another alternative if you are looking for Premium stock content (photos + videos) and resources created for women of color!
So there you have it! All of these tools and software have been such a game changer in how I spend my time in my business. It’s allowed me to become so much more organized, productive, and efficient.
