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        10 USEFUL PHOTOGRAPHY APPLICATIONS

        March 3, 2019

        PHOTOGRAPHERS

        I use quite a bit of different apps on both my laptop and my phone to keep my workflow organized and smooth. Here are my top 10 useful photography applications that I use as a wedding photographer. From decreasing the size of images on my hard drives and site, to sending contracts and invoices in a professional and user-friendly manner, it’s all here and most of them are fairly cheap, or free! Every app has transformed the way I do business in one way or another.

        I am a sucker for helpful things that are free too, most of these I have used for years and they’ve kept my life organized and now help me keep my business in check and flowing beautifully on multiple levels. As a wedding photographer, my workflow can get hectic and sometimes overwhelming, these applications have made things so much easier and faster. Alright, hope you trust me and my top 10 photography applications that I use!

        Prices with (*) means that was the student discount I received (yay college)!

        To see more helpful tips for photographers, click here.


        PREV. JOURNAL NEXT JOURNAL
        San Diego Couple Session, image by Fatima Elreda Photo

        For the Actual Photos

        • 1. PhotoMechanic $60* ; $150 w/out discount

        PhotoMechanic is used to cull images quickly! There’s a 30-day free trial, do it!! Culling means going through all photos to pick which ones you will edit. Images don’t need loading time like they do in LR, and you can’t edit while you cull! After I’ve picked all the photos I want to work on, I import directly into LR and start working. This makes LR faster too because now I don’t have a million images in there that are just using space and slowing it down.

         

        • 2. Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom $9.99/monthly

        This one’s obvious, though it might not be for starting photographers! I use Lightroom more than Photoshop to edit my images. Though I sometimes pull into Photoshop for some extra creative stuff. I create a new Catalog for each couple in LR and work from there. This is a very important app for my photography workflow to edit my images.

         

        • 3. JPEG Mini $66.75* ; $89 w/out discount

        JPEGmini reduces your image size without compromising resolution and quality. Because of this, I have saved so much space on my website! It has also sped up my downloading images to galleries as well as exporting images from Lightroom. They have a free trial of 200 photos, try it! There are two types, 1) you gotta import images into it manually. Or, 2) a plug-in to LR and it exports after going through JPEG Mini automatically.

        My Top 10 Photography Applications as a Wedding Photographer

        Client Life Made Easier

        • 4. Inly.io $72/year

        Inly is my favorite thing that I have found and used to make contract sending, invoices and payment-tracking so freaking easy! It has a 30-day free trial that I would highly recommend you use for a heavy month to get a good feel for it! This has enhanced my photography workflow and client relations. It’s a way to send contracts and invoices to clients where they can also keep track of everything in such an easy and accessible way. They can sign contracts there too. AND its affordable! It lacks a way to communicate with clients, I still use email and text for that, but that works fine for me.

         

        • 5. Pic-time free for 20GB storage, $17/mo for 100GB storage, $34/mo for unlimited storage

        Pic-time has a free trial, and I’m still using because I’m waiting for their Black Friday sale of $29.99/mo for their unlimited storage. It’s the best application for gallery delivery! Pic-time organizes your gallery in such a visually appealing way that you and your clients fall in love with your images all over again. The best part is that it also has an online store attached to the gallery where clients can buy professional quality prints albums, and everything else their hearts desire. It’s the best gallery app I have used thus far.

        My Top 10 Photography Applications as a Wedding Photographer

        Free Marketing

        • 6. Instagram free

        This is a huge business tool. It helps me connect with clients that may not have come across me or my work otherwise. Instagram is the only app that can be used on a very personal level too, which is a perk if used correctly!

        A lot of times, people think Instagram is a curse. I haven’t felt that way because I use it like this: I think of it as a preview gallery for my clients to see my work, and to see my personality. I story constantly and post consistently for those two things to happen. I also engage with my followers as often as possible. The number is meaningless, it’s the people behind them that matter, remember that and you’ll use the app properly!

         

        • 7. Pinterest App free

        Although I can get distracted and start searching for recipes, I’ve transformed my Pinterest to a business account and it helps me keep track of activity, pins, clicks to my site, etc. Aside from that, it’s a nice tool to put my work in front of a new audience and the potential of new inquiries!

        Productivity

         

        • 8. Notes App free

        This is one of my favorite apps that comes with the iPhone. It helps me organize my timeline on a wedding day and check things off as I go, as well as write some notes on a certain thing I want to play with or try during a wedding day. Aside from timelines, I write out the formal family list, notes things I still need to get done, and the vendors I will work with including their social handles. And, I write notes on things I want to go over during a phone consultation with a bride (and in that same page, I type notes while we talk). My favorite part about any Apple App is that it syncs from my laptop to my phone.

        I use the Notes App religiously.

         

        • 9. UNFOLD free (w/templates for .99c)

        This is my go-to instagram stories organizer for when I share sneak peaks of galleries. It’s a neat way to show my followers a set of images per story post in a pretty and appealing way!

         

        • 10. My Business Google App free

        This app keeps track of my google reviews and activity so I can check it effortlessly, it’s a nice app that gets straight to the point. And it allows clients to find me, write and see my reviews RIGHT ON GOOGLE! It’s a pretty neat thing.

         

        • 11. Calendar on Mac free

        I am an organized freak, and I’m a creature of habit. I have used the Calendar app on my laptop and phone for years and it has helped me organize my life, and now my business workflow. Like Notes, it syncs to my laptop and iPhone and makes my life so easy. If it’s on my calendar it means my session is officially booked and the retainer has been paid. I write notes in the note area to remind me about details of the couple and session. I put a reminder for the day before, and a week before incase I forget for any reason (life happens ya know). The day before reminder also helps me remember to follow-up with my couple. I make an event for photoshoots, consultations, coffee-dates with clients, wedding dates, if it has a date, it’s on my calendar.

        Where to Get the Applications

        Asterik (*) means there is a student discount option!! Each one of these apps have made my photography workflow effortless and go so much faster than before. I've saved hours and have organized my mind and work thanks to them. Hope they help you too!!

        Contact Me for Questions

        To Cull

        Photo Mechanic

        To Edit

        Lightroom & Photoshop

        For Image Space

        JPEGmini

        Client Contracts & Invoices

        Inly

        Client Gallery Delivery

        Pic-Time

        Free Marketing

        Instagram

        Free Marketing

        Pinterest

        Organize IG Stories

        Unfold
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