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. To get started, schedule a FREE exploratory call with me!

We’ll talk through your pain points and I’ll recommend a course of action. No hard sell, and no charge.

Best email platform for photographers: Flodesk

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 Flodesk?

Flodesk (affiliate link) is unbeatable for visually appealing emails that are simple to build.

• You don’t need a PhD in coding, or a design background.
• Drag-and-drop builder is intuitive and easy to master.
• So. many. templates.
• Email signup forms are embeddable in your website OR they can stand alone; they’re customizable to match your branding.
• Workflows are a series of emails that fire automatically. This is perfect for nurturing potential clients to move them along the path to book.
• It also works wonderfully for freebies!
• You can use its Checkouts feature to sell products online, from a course to digital products to presets.

Flodesk has limited ability to segment your audience, and reporting is basic at best. But if you don’t really need complex segmentation, Flodesk will do nicely.

Want to try Flodesk?

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 mediocre 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 love 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!

Shootproof’s main shortcomings

Lack of integrations, most notably 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. It’s terrible. The fonts change when you make a bulleted list, and you can’t include emojis in email (😕 sob). It’s temperamental and annoying and makes my messages look janky.

Want to try Shootproof?

I know, I’m really selling it here, aren’t I? LOL. But they’re all kinda jank, so 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: Flodesk (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?

Feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll respond in a jiffy.

Don’t feel like DIY’ing your own tech setup? In the off-season, I work with photographers like you to run your business better with technology. We’ll refine your process so your client experience is FIVE STARS every time. To get started, schedule a FREE exploratory call with me! We’ll talk through your pain points and I’ll recommend a course of action. No hard sell, and no charge.