Hey there, fellow photography biz owner!! I am soooo glad you’re here 🥳 No matter what chapter of your business you are in, I sincerely want to applaud you for putting in the work, the effort, and the research that goes along with it. As you know, being a photographer isn’t just about taking KILLER shots.
Being a photographer means running your own business and all the nitty gritty parts of one. As a full-time wedding photographer (coming up on FOUR whole years), I’ve learned the ins and the outs of pain points. But more importantly, I’ve learned how to remedy said pain points.
If you’re ready to scale your photography biz and learn to work smarter (not harder), stick around for my 5 Must-Have Tools You Need as a Photographer ✨
Honeybook
A must-have for you and your business. This is a customer relationship management (CRM) software to help you stay organized in your biz. You can send contracts and invoices, create templates, automate workflows, schedule meetings with clients, batch email communication, etc. This is one of the first investments I made in my business and it did NOT disappointment. Give it a shot and let me know what you think! Use this link to get 20% off of your first year.
Lightroom
The software I primarily use to edit all of my images! Another option is Photoshop, but I personally only use PS if I need to do heavy reconstructive editing (removing large objects, etc.). Otherwise, Adobe Lightroom Classic is an absolute must-have!
Pixieset
A photo delivery service that I can’t recommend it enough! Pixieset is designed for professional photographers that want to deliver digital galleries to their clients. It is a beautiful portal that is aesthetic and can be customized to you and your brand. You can deliver your digital images, open a shop to encourage clients to order prints, share images digitally, etc. There are a variety of client delivery services, but Pixieset has been a favorite and go-to for 4+ years. The best part? You can start for free! When you’re ready to upgrade, click this link to gain additional storage!
ShowIt
A drag–and-drop website platform PERFECT for photographers. Phew — let me tell ya. I struggleddddd for 3+ years to find a website platform I loved. Two years I was introduced to ShowIt and I never plan to go back to the pre-ShowIt days. Although there will be a bit of a learning curve to learn the system, you don’t need to know coding or programing to build your own custom website. There are also templates for you to use (ranging from free to $$$). Give it a shot and start your free trial now!
Narrative
If you plan on blogging, Narrative is for you! This application allows you to import images and design beautiful, high-quality blog posts within minutes. It is user friendly, allows your creativity to flow, and has built-in systems in place to help with your SEO game. HECK YES. Get started with a free trial here!
Select & Photo Mechanic
These tools were game-changers for me! Both of these applications are quite similar, but are unique in their own way.
When I first started my photography journey, I used Photo Mechanic. Photo Mechanic allows you to up-level your culling game immensely. It loads RAW images at lightening speed which cut my culling time in half.
But, Narrative recently launched an app of their own similar to Photo Mechanic called Narrative Select and WOAH, talk about life-changing. Select allows you to do everything Photo Mechanic can, but it’s even better. Select offers AI blink and blur detection, close-ups showing crops of all faces in an image, and quick zoom-to-face. Hear me out… *wedding photographers, this will SAVE you while culling family photos*. I can’t recommend this enough. Get started here!
Final Thoughts
Let me know below if you check any of my top 5 Must-Have Tools YOU Need as a Photographer. Additionally, let me know if you have any tools that have helped you as biz owner! My DMs are always open over on Instagram (@morganelizabethphotos).
If you’re looking for more tips on how to keep scaling the photography biz, click HERE for 5 Ways to Improve Your Business.
Keep kicking butt, friend! You’re crushing it. 🤩
Xx,
Morgan
