For Photographers

As a photographer, I know others are always looking for little ways to make business just a bit easier as it gets so busy in so many aspects. If you're looking programs, products & companies to check out, I highly recommend these. Each have given me back precious moments of time to help me focus on just shooting. I was shown these programs from various people that I learnt from, so feel free to bug them off me ;) Here are my loved life hacks.

Post your Instagram photos from your computer

LATERGRAM.ME
Instagram. Everyone's all about the Instagram. The biggest question among photographers is posting their DSLR photos. Most say they email or Dropbox the photo to themselves and then upload to Instagram. I discovered Latergramme and am in love. You can schedule posts (although it will most post for you) and remind you to post it at that time. And even more recently, I discovered you can schedule it FROM YOUR COMPUTER! No more emailing yourself files!! 
Extra tip: click slider for "Resample to save in hi-res" so it looks even better than phone quality!

BUFFER
Like Latergrame? Buffer let's you schedule everything else. Just select the times that you want each social media feed to post daily and start creating a que of interesting content! Each feed will post only at the times that you want, This is especially great when you are on vacation but want your profiles to still be active while being off the grid. Programs like this are lifesavers to small business owners who are constantly learning to find time for themselves.

Minted gold foil cards

STATIONARY
The first time I found Minted I fell in love. I've been wanting to do personal and business holiday greeting cards but it's just one of those tedious things I always put off because you know how much work it is. Though Minted you can build your address book over time, order cards, and they address them for you!! Send thank you notes to clients, add to gifts, and finally get those Christmas cards out! They have the most gorgeous gold foil cards. You're welcome.

Design Aglow

TEMPLATES
Contract, legal & product templates, best site ever. Cute cards & album templates, yup, they've got that too. Dreading creating client welcome packages from scratch? Trust me, Design Aglow does everything. On top of that, they have a frame shop & a paper shop (for cute boxes and folders to hold those client welcome packages in!) I am so in love & wish I had an endless supply of money to order from them. Check them out & everything they do, you'll fall in love.

Pixifi

CLIENT MANAGEMENT
I quickly got overwhelmed when I got what I finally wanted - leads! Pixifi  is a client management system, helping to keep track of leads / clients / vendors / locations / dates / timelines / expenses / income / gas mileage / contracts / invoices / payment processing integration / communication...need I go on? For those who forget or hate reminder notices, this program does it all for you ;) After exhibiting at a bridal show & having 200+ leads, this program is a lifesaver! It's kind of crazy to set up (SO many features) but once you're there, MIND BLOWING. It's still new & growing too!! They take feature requests & sometimes Tim can add things right away! Help build your dream program. There's a free trial period so go see what it's about. Discount code PXF20 for 20% off your first year.

Align Album Design

EDITING & DESIGN
Simply because I'm not a graphic designer & I wanted my albums to be breathtaking - that meant finding someone amazing to do it for me. Align Album Design makes it easy to send them your images and get an album design back in 4 business days. It's super affordable, including 3 revision rounds. They can work with any album company specs and can even use images off PASS (see below)!! There are different styles of layouts to choose from; you just tell them the maximum number of spreads you want back & they're on their way. Choose your own images or let them choose the ones that best tell the story. They offer ½ off your first design order to try them out.

So most photographers are not writers and blogging is a pain in the butt. Then you have to worry about formatting images the right way. Worry less about the writing when this program can take your images and put them together in beautiful blog-ready format with BlogStomp. A frequently asked question is if there is an easy way to get two or more photos side by side instead of using Photoshop to put them in a layout. This is your answer. There's a free trial too so check it out and you'll see how easy it is.



WEBSITES
ShowIt is how I host my website. Unlike any other website platform, ShowIt allows you to edit for website yourself (in drag and drop form instead of crazy HTML) & publish live instantly. I know some HTML but this just saves so much time & gives you more time to spend being a photographer. Don't let the "flash is bad for SEO" myth fool you, I'm on the first page of Google for my ideal keyword unpaid. It's a bit pricey but soooo worth it. And if you are a student, you can use discount code EDU99.

PASS is the beautiful program that I use to share my digital images with my clients. Unlike email or drop box (which compresses files) PASS allows my clients to receive the exact same size and quality file that I have on my end, without having to wait for a CD or DVD in the mail. There is even a stunning mobile version so your clients can showcase their photos on the move. Click here to check out a sample gallery then try it out for yourself. Now you can even print to a professional print house directly from the gallery. Order some prints for yourself and be prepared to have your socks knocked off with how much better they are than Walmart, drugstore, Blacks..etc. quality!

STORAGE
DropBox - I am constantly looking for places to keep things online so that I can access it from other devices. I simply love it this media storage because it makes transferring images from my Mac to my iPhone so easy! Also check out Copy (see below).

Have DropBox but running out of space and don't want to pay? Copy is a media storage system that gives you more space for free, plus gives you more space when you refer others. Many photographers find it easier and cheaper than Dropbox :) 

MiniMoos are half the size of traditional business cards

WEDDING DAY FUN
I order MiniMoo cards to put out that link to my couples'  website so that they can see the engagement photos as we'll as the wedding photos when they're ready! Guests often don't get to the the professional photos after the wedding. They can each take a card and check out the same day edits and the full gallery when it's up!!

CanvasPop on the walls of my wedding show booth

HEIRLOOMS
There is probably higher quality out there, but I love ordering my canvases from CanvasPop because it's great quality for an affordable price. After putting out so much on photography, couples often can't afford to purchase additional to display it, what fun is that?! They have great deals all the time so keep checking back with them.

KELLY MOORE BAGS
My best friend. Seriously. I take it everywhere. Every photographer needs a gorgeous leather bag that LOOKS like a purse but has padding for your lenses!! I just want to buy every style, but I'm in love with my 2 Sues.