Resources.

Recommended resources for your photography business.

I’ve personally vetted every tool on this list and grouped them by how they can help you in your business so you know exactly what to jump on right away. I will never recommend resources that I don’t use, wouldn’t use, or haven’t used myself. Many of these links are affiliate links, which means you support this show if you use my link. However, none of the fees of these resources have been increased to compensate me.

Studio Management System | Sprout Studio

 

The best tool to build your studio is Sprout Studio.

Nothing compares to Sprout Studio. Nothing. I’m not going to recommend anything else. I’m just not. If there was something better, I’d be using it. I do not get paid to say this. Sprout Studio is not a sponsor. You do support this show when you use our link to save 20% but, honestly, it is the best.

I use one Sprout Studio account to manage multiple brands, multiple photographers, and clients for multiple genres of photography, from commercial to editorial, weddings to family sessions. It is hands down the best Studio Management System in the world, which is why it is the first thing on the list.

I’ve tried other systems, from Dubsado to Studio Ninja and 17 Hats, and I spent a year trying to figure out Tave’s automations before going back to the simplicity and sheer power of Sprout Studio. I can’t see myself ever using anything else. It’s worth switching and it’s worth switching today.

 

Capture One

Commercial-Grade Raw Image Processing

 

I use Capture One to process all my photos, including weddings, portraits, headshots, and family sessions. Nothing matches the image quality that comes from Capture One’s raw processing technology. It is the number one raw image processor for commercial photographers around the world.

Try it free for 30 days.

 

Luminar NEO

AI-Assisted Image Processing

 

MIND. IS BLOWN. I was recently introduced to Luminar by a friend of mine and… WOW! Luminar does some pretty wild things, but the real power is in how it does everyday things very well and very fast! Copy and paste adjustments across an image set and most of the heavy lifting is done for you.

FROM THE COMPANY: Luminar contains exclusive tools for you to create unbelievable masterpieces in Travel, Landscape, Portrait, or other genres of photography. No Subscription! Pay once, own forever. Don't worry about monthly or yearly bills. Once you buy it, the software is fully yours, with 24/7 support and free maintenance updates.

 

Processing, Retouching, & Editing

 

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom has been an industry mainstay for many years. Capture photos that match the moment with powerful editing features in an easy-to-use interface on your mobile device, desktop, or the web. Your photos and edits are backed up to the cloud, and organization and search are a snap.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop now works across desktop and iPad, so you can do everyday edits or total image transformations wherever inspiration strikes. Crop, remove objects, retouch, and combine photos. Play with color and effects. And reimagine the art of photography. Photoshop on the iPad is included with your Photography plan.

Photo Mechanic

Photo Mechanic is the fastest way to cull and injest your photos. If you’re a wedding photographer shooting hundreds or thousands of images a wedding (I’m definitely the latter), then Photo Mechanic is a must-have piece of software on your computer. Get your culling done before you even think about editing.

Branding & Design

If you want to build a great photography business, you need to have great branding. Whether you have the skills to do it yourself, or decide to hire a professional designer, these are great resources for you to check out.

 

Adobe Creative Cloud

Creative Cloud is a collection of 20+ desktop and mobile apps and services for photography, design, video, web, UX and more. Now you can take your ideas to new places with Photoshop on the iPad, draw and paint with Fresco, and design for 3D and AR.

99designs

Grow your business with great design. Work with the most talented designers. Work with top freelancers. Expert support. 100% Money-back guarantee. 1M+ projects completed. Most trusted for design. The best designers online. Free design consultations.

Canva

Canva makes graphic design amazingly simple for everyone, by bringing together a drag-and-drop design tool with a library of more than 1 million stock photographs, graphic elements and fonts.

SmartAlbums

SmartAlbums is a simple and powerful album builder for photographers. Every layout is handcrafted by a graphic artist, putting thousands of professionally-designed templates at your fingertips. Let Auto Build create your entire album with just one click. The Smart Grouping function uses intelligent machine learning and your camera’s metadata to logically group images into a series of stunning spreads.

Productivity Tools for Your Photography Studio

 

Airtable | Information Management

I use Airtable for all kinds of purposes for my studio. I’ve created a massive collection of locations near me that I love and want to shoot at, a database of my gear, mood boards, inspiring photos and videos, project ideas, Facebook Ads lookalike audience lists, and so much more.

ClickUp | Project Management

Start completing more projects and tasks with ClickUp project management software. I use ClickUp to manage three brands and some of personal life, but it is also integrates seamlessly into multi-person studios and agencies with full production teams.

ConvertKit | Email Marketing

Building a relationship with your followers is the foundation of your business. Writing great-looking emails full of valuable content helps you build trust and shows your expertise. We use ConvertKit for our email list, otherwise we wouldn’t even recommend it.

 

MeetEdgar | Social Media Planning

MeetEdgar is a social media planner that saves hours a week by eliminating the repetitive, time-consuming busywork from your SM routine. Store your social media updates in an unlimited library and MeetEdgar will share your content automatically.

Otter.ai | Live Transcription

I use Otter to record all my client meetings. It transcribes the meeting live and when I get back to my desk a full transcript from the meeting is already sitting in my Otter account. No more taking notes during meetings. Just complete engagement with my clients.

Zapier | Integration Automations

Connect your apps and automate workflows. Easy automation for busy people. Zapier moves info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work. I use Zapier to link Sprout Studio to other apps like Airtable and Google Contacts.

Social Media Tools for Your Photography Business

 

Canva | Post & Story Design

Ramp up your next social media campaign by adding beautifully designed graphics. Choose from Canva’s library of professionally designed layouts for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and more. If you’re a new brand starting out or an existing one looking to improve your social media strategy, visual content will help establish your online identity.

Headliner | Social Video Generator

Headliner makes it easy to create social media videos from your existing audio, video, text, or you can even start from scratch. Whether you’re looking to promote your workshop, blog, website, or business, Headliner has you covered. Get two free weeks of Headliner Pro for free to try out when use my link.

MeetEdgar | Social Media Management

MeetEdgar is a social media management tool that saves hours a week by eliminating the time-consuming busywork from your scheduling routine. By storing all of your social media updates in an unlimited library, MeetEdgar is able to share your content automatically. Never run out of things to post and your updates get the chance to be seen by new people.

Tools for Building Photography Websites

  • Hover

    Domain Registration & Email

    Once you’ve decided on your business name, you need to register a domain name. Hover is the only tool we use for domain names. The simple search, setup, and integration with multiple platforms, along with simple email addresses makes it our only choice. It also integrates seamlessly and easily with Squarespace.

    Register Your Domain

  • Squarespace

    Hosted Websites

    This website is powered by Squarespace. I’ve built dozens of websites on Squarespace and I don’t recommend anything else. It has everything a photographer needs to build an amazing online presence, spectacular portfolio, and is easier than anything else out there. Stop wasting time with broken plugins and code, and start getting your freedom back.

    Make A Squarespace Website

  • Format

    Photography Portfolios

    Show your photography to clients with online portfolio website templates created by award-winning designers. Create your website in minutes with our intuitive design editor—without writing a single line of code. Create a truly unique photography website with complete customization and thousands of design variations.

    Make a Format Website

  • PhotoFolio

    Commercial-Grade Portfolios

    Over the last several years PDN (Photo District News) has awarded over 30 photographers using our sites Best Website Design. And the awards keep coming. Features your clients will love: Hardware accelerated software; Fast delivery of your site anywhere in the world; Hide and/or password protect portfolios and pages; Deeplinking to each image on the site; Create custom PDF portfolios; Email images directly from the site.

    Make a PhotoFolio Website

  • PhotoShelter

    Portfolio & Client Deliver

    Store your images, create your photo website, deliver your work, sell or license your photos. Choose from nine website templates and build your site in minutes. Send high res files, create private galleries, and post to social media from your site.

    Make a PhotoShelter Website

  • ProPhoto

    WordPress for Photographers

    The ProPhoto theme software puts you in control, providing infinite possibilities for the perfect WordPress website. Make a few small changes, or take complete control and build a totally custom website design without touching a single line of code. Photo galleries look great and load fast for all devices. Customize galleries with thumbnail layouts, slideshow playback, full-screen display, carousel strip, slider animation, and more.

    Make a ProPhoto Website

Royalty-Free Music & SFX for Motion Videos

I stick to these four amazing royalty-free music websites when looking for the right music for all my projects, such as commercial motion video, BTS videos, wedding slideshows, and wedding videos.

Artlist.io

Artlist is a community of artists who put heart and soul into their music, just as you put your heart into your video productions.

PremiumBeat

PremiumBeat’s library of royalty free music gives you the polished feel of a big production house, with an epic collection that spans multiple styles and genres.

Musicbed

Discover a curated roster of world-class bands, composers, and artists, easily accessible with innovative tools and features. Sign up for Musicbed withour link and get your first month free!

Soundstripe

With Soundstripe you get unlimited access to thousands of quality songs. You’ll always have the best right royalty free music for your project.

Recommended Podcasts

  • Dear Art Producer

    Dear Art Producer connects the photography and video community with art producers in the advertising community. This podcast introduces you to different art producers, share the stories of their diverse career paths, explore what it means to stay relevant and examine industry topics such as marketing, estimating, directing, websites and more.

    Listen

  • The Business of Photography

    Named best of iTunes, The Business of Photography is a weekly podcast where Bryan Caporicci interviews industry experts and business specialists who share high-value, no-fluff, concrete business ideas for professional photographers.

    Listen

  • Photo BizX

    Join Andrew Hellmich as he interviews successful photographers from around the world to uncover the facts about running wedding, portrait, pet and headshot photography businesses for profit. You'll hear photographers share more than you've ever heard them share before.

    Listen

  • photoPROS

    Rob Nowell’s conversations with world class photographers pulls back the curtain and gives you a glimpse into what it takes to create top tier images. PhotoPROS is your access to some of the most celebrated photographers today!

    Click Here

  • Profitable Portraits

    Tanya Smith, boudoir and beauty portrait photographer, reveals her tips and tricks on how to take your side hustle into full time income of six figures and beyond. Learn strategies to have you working less and making more while filling up your calendar with clients you LOVE to work with.

    Listen