One of the biggest things I’ve learned over the past 7 years of running my photography business, is how important a solid workflow is. Getting systems in place to run your business as productively as possible is CRUCIAL to your success and also maintaining your sanity and having a life apart from work, lol.
I’ve tried alot of different platforms, searching for the those that work best for me and offer the best price + most convenient features.
Some of the main things I look for in why I choose and like a platform are: reasonable price, mobile app option, aesthetically pleasing interface, no hidden fees, takes care of an aspect of my business so I don’t have to hire an employee for that task, creates a better client experience, saves me LOTS of time, quick customer service replies, etc.
So, if you value those same things, save your time searching and use these platforms (with FREE discounts) for getting a good workflow in place and saving you tonssss of time and money! P
This is the main one for your Client workflow. It’s great for any small business, not just Photographers. Honeybook is basically your personal assistant that organizes all client emails, scheduling, contracts, invoices, reminders, timeline checkpoints, etc.
The reason I love Honeybook, above alot of others I’ve tried, is because it offers EVERYTHING you would need and want in a client management software. Honeybook is always improving and listening to its’ users in what additions they may want to see and in turn, implementing those as quickly as possible.
It’s also great for beginners, because it has templates setup within your account to give you an automatic starting point for your contracts so that you don’t have to Google search for hours trying to find a contract to customize.
Honeybook is incredibly user-friendly AND has an app so you can access all your files from clients while at the airport or on your way to a shoot to refresh your mind about the couple and their favorites type of images; )
I switched over to Pic-Time from Pixieset last year and it was theeee best decision. I don’t have anything again Pixieset, but I am unapologetically a huge sucker for aesthetic and software design. Pic-Time has theee most clean and beautiful userface and that’s just the kind of beauty pick-me-up I need in my life when I’m working my bum off delivering pics; )
One of my favorite things about Pic-Time is how incredible the Shop attached to each gallery is. I have increased my sales by 70% the last year, doing little to nothing other than using Pic-Time and offering the linked Store so that clients can order their desired products directly through their gallery!
Another thing I’m sold on is the very aesthetically beautiful and curated so that NONE of the offered products are tacky photo products ; )
BLOGSTOMP:
20 % off
Use: CHANTELMARIE at checkout
I truly do NOT know how I lived without this for so long. Blogging is already overwhelming enough and incredibly time-consuming when thinking about resizing images for web. When I finally discovered Blogstomp, no joke, my life changed! The time it took for me to create a blog post decreased immensely! I was no longer anxious about the idea of slowing down my computer by dragging a ton of images into Photoshop and doing monotonous tasks. Blogstomp is incredibly fast, it allows you to set the exact dimensions of your images for your blog + name them with SEO rich titles.
All you have to do it set your specifics and then just drag and drop into the platform. From there, you can choose to use pre-set layouts to create diptych (side-by-side) images or just ‘Stomp’ one single image. It is 100% ESSENTIAL for anyone that blogs.
FLOTHEMES:
20 % off
Use: CHANTEL20 at checkout
Not only do Flothemes have the most beautiful layouts, they consistently produce useful, free information. I love Flothemes not only for their pretty design, but also for their: amazing customer service, constantly improving and offering updated themes, and all the resourceful knowledge they provide on their IG and blog.
I also use their Flohub, which allows you to create incredibly designed Pricelists from pre-made, customizable templates and embed them into your web address. They allow you to have the documents private, password protected, or viewable to everyone. These are soooo useful for elevating your branding and/or launching product/education.
ATLAS SUPPLY CO:
20% off
Use: CHANTEL at checkout
Gorgeous, high quality leather backpack. Has incredible compartment separators for diff camera bodies, lenses, and even a section for your laptop! I love this cuz when I shoot with a million digital + film cameras, I need a one-stop-shop to carry all my gear; )
Thisssss case has legit changed my life and sense of security for my gear, lol. I went through a few years where I was traveling a ton for weddings and alot internationally. I was that classic American, who took a way oversized carry-on bag and somehow just slid right on through gate check. I would have anxiety every time I was boarding the plane, hoping that I could shove my carry-on (of my photog equipment) into the oversize bin, even though I knew it was much larger than the diagram measurements.
After going to Australia for Christmas and facing the fear of almost having my carry-on checked (of my photog equipment), and because it was way oversized, a fault of my own, I knew I had to get this issue under control so I could travel in peace!
This Pelican Case is theeee perfect size to fit a lot of equipment and is approved for all international carry-on guidelines. It’s crazy how much equipment it fits in it and how every single plane I’ve been on for the past couples years, both domestic and international, both large and tiny, it has fit perfectly in the oversize bin!
Honestly, I’m not generally a rule follower and feel like I can always finangle my way around something…but with carrying on camera equipment, I don’t mess around with the rules anymore and this Pelican Case and been one of my most essential purchases for my business.
KISS BOOKS ALBUMS:
$50 free towards any order
I’ve spent a lot of years going through different album companies and really trying to find the most affordable + reasonably priced albums. The reality is, a nice album, with printing on good paper + retaining image and quality is just going to be a little more expensive than Shutterfly. It is WORTH the investment. Kiss Books is incredibly competitive on their pricing and the amazing product that they offer. I don’t shoot incredibly high-end weddings, so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t offering a Couture priced wedding album to my clients. Another huge thing I pay attention to is the quality/color matching of the printing. I love my images to be printed in a matte finish, but also not lose the integrity of the color with too much fade and texture. Kiss Books is top of the line with their paper quality and printing and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they match images in their final product.
PHOTOFLASHDRIVE:
15 % off
Use: CHANTELMARIE15 at checkout
When I started out, I used to give my clients their images on a CD! An actual CD with all their final images lol! When it came to weddings, I would have alot more images for them so I would give them multiple CD’s because they didn’t all fit on one!…v 90’s of me, but also v inconvenient for them!
When I finally discovered Photoflashdrive and that you could deliver all images on one beautifully branded 32GB flash drive, I was ecstatic. My next hurdle to jump was finding a company that wasn’t overseas (cuz i didn’t want to wait), and that didn’t require a huge bulk over (cuz I knew my branding would change)…
When I discovered Photoflashdrive, I thought it was too good to be true. You can order just one single flash drive, fully customized in any size 4-62GB. The prices isn’t hugely increased because of a single order and they’re located in the US.
Photoflashdrive constantly has amazing sales going on and is just so convenient for me when I’ve run out of drives or want to stock up, they’re pricing allows both options.
They also offer a sample order to see how your logo or branding prints on their product! You’ll feel very profesh and legit and your clients will LOVE them!
As I’m taking a step in different directions this year with my business, I will no longer be offering my online mentor sessions. My only education source I’ll have will be my course on Unraveled Academy, live April 2019!
I’ll be sharing my full course with 6+ sections and videos of my process shooting Couples, titled: EVERYDAY LOVE: CAPTURING COUPLES AUTHENTICALLY.
I’m sooo excited to share all my secrets, tips and tricks on a subject I’m so passionate about and something that has brought my most favorite and viral images.
Also, when you sign up for an Unraveled Membership, only $15/month, you have access to tons of Courses from different artists, within different categories and new content released monthly!
I’ve been loving getting educated on aspects of photography I don’t get to focus on and overall improving my skills constantly!
I have been wanting to use Skillshare for a couple years now! I finally signed up for a free trial and have been obsessssssed with all the variety of info they offer!
I’ve really been wanting to learn more about video and motion graphics, so I’ve been using those courses on their site to add these skills to my resume!
There’s access to 25 thouuuusand classes!…in all the subjects I’m interested in most: photography, design, illustration, business, etc.
If you haven’t tried this, 100% at least try the free trial and enjoy some education!
BONUS:
GIGI PIP HATS:
Use: CHANTELMARIE
for Free Shipping!
Cuz I wanna look cute while working at home or out on shoots; )
My fav Gigi Pip hats are:
Scottie: Classic black wide brim (I wear this like every time I go out)
Monroe: Theeee best brown rancher hat. Again, flat brim of course.
Bre: The stiff straw hat I have in 2 colors.
Emma: My next purchase- a felt, brown wide brim!
All of these items I included are truly sooo essential to my business running smoothly.
Hope you enjoy!