Our Favorite Business Tools

When we first started our photography business we were overwhelmed with all the information out there. Everyone seems to know ‘the best’ way to run a business. We were lucky enough to have some people point us toward some amazing business tools and resources that simplified our processes and gave us some great information. We want to share some of these tools with you in hopes that you will spend less time reinventing the wheel and more time shooting!

*Quick note, we are affiliate partners with a couple of these resources, which means that, not only will you receive a discount when you go through our links, but we will receive a small commission too. Just know we wouldn’t endorse a product or service that we didn’t really like and find useful.

Education

Everyone we want to be like is always learning something new. Learning provides improvement in ourselves and in our photography. One couple we highly recommend is Amy and Jordan Demos. They provide amazing instruction in their classes where they cover just about everything you need to know to start a photography business. Amy and Jordan are natural teachers and give great examples to help you understand the material. They take the guesswork out of starting a photography business. We loved the first course so much that we took all three of their courses! So, we definitely recommend Amy and Jordan! Just note that their business course is not offered all the time, but you can sign up for their waiting list. Follow each link below to get $50 off these two courses.

Amy and Jordan’s Posing Course
Amy and Jordan’s Shooting and Editing Course

We love the sparkly and energetic personality Cyrissa with Sparkle Society displays. You want to be her best friend!! She provides a plethora of information on her website, including her freebies and her amazing workshops. Some of the information covers starting and running a photography business, how to navigate social media, and so much more! Check out her freebies and her amazing workshops!

Website and Blog

Showit makes creating a beautiful website super easy. You can easily edit both the desktop and mobile versions at the same time. The idea of website creation was daunting until we found Showit! Now it’s a breeze, we love working with them! They provide many free templates, but also offer premium templates. We use the beautiful design, Au Lait Single Shot. Visit our website to see how we’ve transformed the design to our branding and style. Sign up to receive a free fourteen day trial!

Contracts and Invoices

We love HoneyBook! It is one of our most utilized business tools. This amazing client management system has everything in one system and it has a beautiful user interface. Clients can sign their contracts and make payments online, saving us all time! HoneyBook is super simple to use and their customer service should win awards! Use this link and you will receive 50% off your first year!

Online Photo Delivery

PASS Plus takes galleries to the next level! They display the client images in beautiful galleries where clients order prints and download images. They even provide an amazing mobile gallery so clients can share their images on the go! The photographer controls what is downloadable, price lists, and so much more! PASS galleries are easy to use, absolutely gorgeous, and our clients love them. If you want to try it out for a while, they have a free version and you can upgrade whenever you like! Check it out!

Editing Software

Lightroom makes editing so much smoother. We can quickly edit multiple images at once and editing photos is a breeze. Again, we love easy to use programs because it cuts down on our work time per project! In turn, we have more time to shoot and spend time with family! Lightroom helps organize your images, sync your presets, and edit your images on your laptop, mobile device, or desktop! We’re glad to have Lightroom in our bag of business tools! They also offer a seven day free trial to see if it meets your needs.

Social Media Planner

Planoly’s pretty interface makes scheduling social media posts fun. We love how quickly and easily we can schedule a week’s worth of content! (With their paid version, you can schedule posts to both Instagram and Facebook). Planoly provides free and premium versions. Check out all their amazing features!

We hope you enjoyed this list of some of our favorite tools and resources. We have many more that we may share with you at a later time. If you’re interested in more, leave a comment below!