Running a photography business requires a number of tools and software programs and I want to share with you, 5 of my favourites:
Canva: This is the best alternative to Adobe programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, if you aren’t very skilled in graphic design programs. (It’s a skill I need to work on!). A free account is limiting but for $13/month ($156/year) it is an affordable option. The web based program is insanely robust! You can create IG posts, produce Tiktok videos, record yourself into a presentation, or just create a poster. Most of my social media content is created on Canva.
Pixieset: I have just started to use this program as a way to share photos with my clients. It’s a much more efficient and secure system compared to what I started out using which was Google photos. I still need to integrate Pixieset into my website more but it functions well enough for now. What I love about this site is that I am alerted with the client downloads the photos and I can also keep the photos secure with pin codes. The user interface is simple to use and the gallery layouts are very clean. It is a pricier option so if you are just starting out, I recommend using Google Photos or Google Drives.
Adobe Lightroom: All of my photos are editing in Lightroom (and sometimes Photoshop) which is honestly the best option for professional photo editing. I know there are other options but it’s a program I am comfortable with. There are so many free tutorials to help you learn and I’m always learning something new!
Snapseed: If you are sharing content on the go and need to quickly edit a photo, download Snapseed. It integrates well with Android phones with the ability to quickly edit in the app. It has so many functions that it’s almost a mini version of Lightroom. It’s a free app too for both Apple and Android!
Square: To keep all of payments accounted for, I use Square. It offers me the flexibility to input any kind of payment and provide an option for credit card payments. It has handy report features which help for tax time and the only time I pay for the service is when I process a credit card. (Note: I only offer credit card payments for small sales/individual payments otherwise the % rate Square keeps cuts too much into the invoice and would require a cost increase to the client.
Do you use any of these programs or have any favourites of your own that you would like to share?
I love all these suggestions!
I’m going to download Snapseed, that’s the only thing I haven’t used that could be fun to check out. Pixirset is amazing for clients and to create a gallery of your best work. If you create a gallery of photos you want to sell, you can link up with some great professional photo printing companies or set up your own pricing and print canvases etc. with Signed.