It takes a lot of technology to run a business ultra-efficiently.

When you’re juggling alllll the things, being efficient is critical.

These are my favorite business tech tools that help me balance all the pieces I need to make it work.

I’ll share what they do and what’s great about each one. I know you’ll come away with new productivity ideas!

Disclosure: I only share products I believe will bring you real value. The links in this post are affiliate links, and I earn a commission if you make a purchase using them.

Best CRM for photographers: Honeybook

It was clear early on that I needed a way to track projects through the “pipeline”—the journey a session takes, start to finish—and Google Sheets wasn’t going to cut it.

I actually started with another CRM, Sprout Studio, but I canceled it after four weeks because it was unnecessarily complex and not intuitive (in my opinion).

I implemented Honeybook, and it just keeps getting better and better. (Use my link to sign up and get 25% off!)

What’s to love about Honeybook

• Smart files: A virtual brochure AND booking system all in one. I customize a Smart File for every client, where they can see details and pricing with one click. When they’re ready to book, they do everything (package, contract, deposit, even scheduling) right from the smart file!
• The pipeline: I can easily track sessions as they go from Inquiry to Planning to Editing to Completed.
• Tasks: I create tasks for every session—questionnaire, check in about outfits, schedule Zoom consult, send pre-session email—so nothing slips through the cracks. This lightens my mental load in a big way!
• Automations: In a few clicks, I can send a timed series of onboarding emails to a client. Emails just go, with no action required from me. (There’s an option to Require Approval for emails, if you prefer to have more control.)
• Honeybook Finance: This is currently available only to beta testers and still in development. Basically it’s a bank account for every dollar I earn through Honeybook. HB sets aside 30% of every dollar for tax savings (I tell it what percent to set aside). It just squirrels it away in a special holding bucket that I can access at any time, but it makes tax savings something I don’t even have to think about! You can get a debit card tied to the account, too, and track expenses, too. Can’t wait to see how this feature becomes even better over time!

I could make a loooong list, honestly.

Shortcomings: the scheduler is less than awesome. It works, but it’s a pain.

Want to try Honeybook?

Use my Honeybook referral link to get 25% off. Score!

Don’t feel like DIY’ing your own Honeybook setup?

In the off-season, I work with other photographers on their Honeybook setup, from smart file and email templates to refining your process so your client experience is FIVE STARS every time. See more details.

Best email platform for photographers: Kit

I used to recommend Flodesk for email, but after my open rates tanked, I switched to Kit—and saw my open rates triple. If your Flodesk open rates are crap, watch the reel below where I explain how to fix it!

I resisted buying an email platform for a looooong time, but my business coach put it to me like this: “If you book even one client from an email, the entire year will be paid for and then some.“

What’s to love about Kit?

Kit, formerly ConvertKit (affiliate link) is an easy-to-learn platform that sends emails and then some.

• It’s not a design-first email platform, it’s a get your emails read–first platform. Which is how it should be.
• The email builder is easy to learn and no coding is required (though if you want to code, you can get under the hood to your heart’s content!).
• Snippets (basically like Flodesk’s favorite blocks feature) are a major time saver.
• Email signup forms are embeddable in your website OR they can stand alone; they’re customizable to match your branding.
• Sequences are a series of emails that fire automatically. This is perfect for nurturing potential clients to move them along the path to book.
• The landing pages and forms functionality are great for delivering freebies!
• You can get paid to recommend other creators in the Kit ecosystem to your own mailing list.
• Use its Checkouts feature to sell products online, from a course to digital products to presets.

Kit is way better than Flodesk when it comes to segmenting your audience. Reporting is more robust, too, though I’ve heard some marketing tech folks say they want more.

Want to try KIT?

Use this link to sign up and get 50% off your first year. That’s a freakishly good deal.

Best gallery software for photographers: Shootproof

Let me say first that no one in this space is really killing it. The online gallery software world is ready for some new entrant to come in and really F shit up.

That said, the best of the less-than-perfect options is Shootproof.

The runner up was Pic Time, but it can’t match Shootproof’s handling of volume photography, for groups with lots of buyers.

What’s to like about Shootproof?

• Customization. Brand your galleries to match your company brand, from colors to fonts and more.
• Discounts. There are LOTS of options to create discounts for clients, from automatic to “promo code”.
• Automations. Every year at the holidays I run a print sale with a series of emails. I create the emails in SP, build an email campaign, and apply it easily to all my galleries. Then the emails that go out include a link to each client’s gallery! Ta da!
• No commissions. They don’t take a percentage of my sales. (Good because I was prepared to fight ’em for it.) SP charges a fee that’s close to the typical credit card processing fee, but that’s it!

Where Shootproof could improve

Lack of integrations, most notably Shootproof has no integration with Zapier. (I hired a very kind Pakistani programmer to code an integration for me, and it gets the job done. So that’s an option if you feel like taking that on.)

Limited automation options. I can’t send emails to a client using conditional logic; for example, “Send Email #1, then only send Email #2 if they did not take Action X.” I automate those emails instead from another system, which is a heavy lift.

Shootproof’s email builder is for the birds. The fonts change when you make a bulleted list, it’s temperamental and makes my messages look a little janky. BUT! They did just add the ability to include emojis in email, so yay!

Want to try Shootproof?

I know, I’m really selling it here, aren’t I? LOL. But this is as good as it gets. Use my link to sign up for Shootproof.

TL;dr — Wrapping up

• CRM: Honeybook (use my link to get 25% off)
• Email platform: Kit (use my link for 50% off your first year)
• Gallery software: Shootproof (there’s no carrot for you, but I earn a little bonus and I’ll love you forever)

There are two more tools in my tech stack, and they’re the frosting on top of the tech cake: Zapier and AirTable.

Favorite Child status means I could go on for a long time about them, so keep an eye out for another blog post where I gush about AirTable and Zapier.

Wondering if one of these tools will work for you?

Reach out! I’m happy to help you find the right one.

Don’t feel like DIY’ing your own tech setup?

In the off-season, I work with photographers to get your systems on lock and run your business better.

I’ll help you create a client experience that is FIVE STARS every time. See more details.