When you start a brand photography business you’re probably not doing it because you love tech and software. You’re a photographer because you’re creative and love capturing other’s stories. Building a business from scratch taught me that building workflows that enable my business and myself to thrive required tools and support. Finding the right tools and software to run my brand photography business required trial and error, but I have finally assembled a toolbox that prepares me for anything entrepreneurship throws my way.
The reason I started my business was because I knew I wanted something more than what my 9-5 had to offer. Once I hit the ground running, I discovered just how much empowering other business owners and entrepreneurs mattered to me. Getting a front row seat to help other business owners thrive is the heartbeat of my brand. That’s why now that I’ve found the best of the best, I’m sharing all of the tools that I personally use to keep my brand photography business thriving! Keep reading to see all my faves….
Disclaimer – This blog contains affiliate links.
13 Tools and Software I Use To Run My Brand Photography Business
For Photography Websites That Are Anything But Ordinary
I’m a firm believer your brand photography website should be:
- Easy on the eyes
- Easy for your customers to use
- Easy for you to design, update, and maintain
You don’t need to get hung up on purchasing a custom site that takes months to build. With ShowIt, you can publish a beautiful site in a matter of hours. Start with one of their designer templates, then drag, drop, and repeat until you have a site you LOVE to share. I’ve used Wix, Squarespace and ShowIt for my websites, and ShowIt has always been my favorite to showcase my portfolio and attract new brand photography clients. Out of all the tools I use in my brand photography business, this is my most important investment.
[Try a SHOWIT site free for 1 month!]
Elizabeth McCravy is my favorite Showit designer-turned-friend who has helped me and many of my friends create stunning websites. There is truly something for everyone in her library of simple, customizable, and timeless templates! AND she offers payment plans, making these templates accessible for everyone, whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned business mogul. Templates are much more affordable than custom web design, which is why they’re perfect for newer photographers or those new to brand photography.
PROMO CODE “MANDYLIZ” saves you more than 10% on your new dream website template! You can browse her customizable ShowIt templates here.
For Photography Business Operations and Intuitive Workflows
Dubsado is the best of the best tool for business organization and client management! A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) that keeps track of all of your client calls, invoices, contracts, and more? This tool has saved my life more than once! I use Dubsado every single day and my favorite features are the scheduler (for sales calls and for scheduling mini sessions), the ease of sending and receiving contracts, collecting invoice payments, and managing my sales pipeline.
Get organized with 20% off your first month or year of Dubsado here.
Speaking of contracts… let’s just say they’re not my strong suit! Luckily, The Legal Paige is here to save the day! Contracts are VITAL to protecting yourself and your business. You can even find the exact contract I had my attorney customize and send to my commercial clients in their shop!
Click here to buy the brand & commercial contract.
Moo has you covered for all your print and marketing needs. I almost cried tears of joy upon receiving my gold foil business cards from Moo! Seriously these are the most gorgeous business cards a girl could ask for. Moo also has print services for flyers, postcards, stationery, business cards, signs and more. The quality is always top notch, which is perfect for branding aficionados.
While Dubsado was great for keeping track of client-facing calls and files, I found myself needing a project management software for my internal workflows – enter ClickUp! This powerhouse tool helps me stay on top of any contractor projects as well as recurring tasks such as email newsletters, social media strategy, and client blogs!
You can save 10% on your subscription with this link.
Imagen is one of the newer tools in my toolbox but let me tell you, it’s quickly becoming one of my MVPs! This editing software powered by AI has saved me time, money, and stress when it comes to editing brand photos. I went from outsourcing all my galleries to a private editor, to saving hundreds of dollars with this tool.
For Email Newsletters that Make the Sale
When it comes to email marketing software, I feel like I’ve tried everything. Flodesk has been my personal favorite because it’s super easy to design beautiful emails that are intentional about making sales! Flodesk makes it easy to separate your email list by segments, review your analytics and email performance, and draft marketing emails by using saved and pre-designed templates. Not sure how to use Flodesk as a tool in your brand photography business? Read about how to create an email marketing strategy here.
DEAL ALERT: Get 50% off you first year
For Social Media Management Without the Headaches
Schedule posts, preview your grid, and keep everything in one place! Planoly is the best resource I’ve found to keep my Instagram looking amazing! My favorite thing about this marketing tool is that you don’t have to pay for an account unless you want access to certain features. I used to pay for Planoly, but currently I just use their free plan. It meets all my social media management needs and doesn’t add extra overhead costs to my business.
If you’re on Pinterest (Which, as a brand photographer, you definitely SHOULD BE!) then tailwind is a non-negotiable! Tailwind makes it super easy to create and schedule pins to drive traffic back to your site. This is another tool that I’m currently not paying for, but have definitely utilized their paid account in the past.
For Client Galleries and Gifts
As a brand photographer, my client galleries need to be simple, organized, and no-nonsense. I’ve been using Cloudspot for years to make the process of delivering and selling images seamless. My favorite features that Cloudspot offers are the ability for clients to download both social-media sized and high-res images, as well as the ability to add video to the gallery and request reviews with a call-to-action button at the bottom of the gallery. These are all simple things, but they add up to create a really professional and seamless client deliverable.
Get 20% off monthly or annual plans for your first year
One tool I’ll never go without! Papier allows me to create one-of-a-kind client gifts that never disappoint! Client gifting is a big part of my brand photography client workflow (you can read more about delivering an amazing client experience as a brand photographer here). One of my favorite easy gifts is a custom notebook from Papier with the client’s brand colors and photos printed on the cover. Useful and classy!
I am constantly discovering new tools and resources to get more efficient and improve my business, but the ones listed here definitely have served me well over the years and I truly hope they can serve you!
From helping me stand out from competitors to keeping me organized to protecting myself legally, I can’t imagine running my business without these! Did any of your favorite tools make the list? Or have any to share? Let me know in the comments
If you found that helpful for your brand photography business, here are 3 more educational posts you should check out!
- Have you been looking for additional income streams you can have as a brand photographer? Here are 10 ways to make more revenue in your brand photography business!
- From inquiry to offboarding, read this post to learn how to create and deliver an amazing brand photography client experience.
- Are you looking for marketing strategies to grow your brand photography business? In this post I share 8 marketing strategies you can use to generate brand photography leads and book more clients.
Be the first to comment