Photography & business resources

Ever wonder how I stay organized as a business owner? I sometimes wonder the same thing. Luckily, the internet does a lot of the behind the scenes for us now. I’m honestly not sure how people ran businesses by themselves pre-internet. Here are the resources that keep my business streamlined plus discount codes to get started yourself.

50 side hustle ideas for photographers

Ready to diversify your photography income streams and get you closer to those 6 and 7 figure goals?

50 Photo worthy Moments to Capture on A Wedding Day

Wedding photographers, find inspiration from this list to aid in your storytelling. I should also note that I do not always capture everything on this list at each wedding as they are all so unique.

free Instagram story highlight cover template

This is the same Canva template I created and use for my own IG story highlight covers. Includes instructions.

Free Black and white lightroom desktop preset

This is a Black & White preset a few years ago for Lightroom.

style & select

This is the online styling service I send to every client before their photography session. They have access to this personalized styling tool to coordinate outfits for their entire family from the comfort of their couch.

Photographers can use code RACHELLE10 for 10% off their membership.

Pic-time

This is what I currently use to deliver my clients’ online galleries. A couple years ago, I switched from Pixieset to Pic-Time and I like it so much better. With Pic-Time, clients have more print options (photo albums, USBs, photo boxes, calendars, framed photos, etc), you can upload GIFs to client galleries, add a song that plays when clients view their gallery as a slideshow, plus better sales stats. You can also create automated sales campaigns and Pic-Time does all the work for you by emailing your clients, it’s incredible. I make 10x the amount of print sales each year with Pic-Time than I did with Pixieset. Plus, a repeat client told me they liked it better when they viewed their gallery in Pic-Time vs Pixieset, and I take customer satisfaction very seriously.

You'll get one month free by signing up through the link below:

camera gear & fave amazon business purchases

Check out my camera gear in the link below. Aside from the camera bodies and lenses, I also link every random accessory and piece of equipment I use to run this photography business. You’ll find everything from baby shushers for newborn sessions, the tool I use to calibrate my lenses, favorite camera gear backpack, the fanny pack I use at every outdoor session, and some of my favorite business books. Full disclosure, if you purchase any of the items from this link, I’ll get a small commission. By doing this, you’re helping to support a small business owner, rather than Amazon getting all of the profits. I so appreciate your support.

quickbooks

Quickbooks Self-Employed is what I use to get all of my business taxes and expenses in order. You can link your credit cards so tracking expenses is unbelievably easy, I don’t have to deal with the hassle of receipts. Also if you download the app, it will track your mileage if you allow the app to run in the background. The amount of time it saves for logging miles is worth the cost alone. Quickbooks also links to Honeybook making invoices and finance stats seamless and connected. I still have a CPA for checks and balances, and Quickbooks allows you to send your information to your CPA so they can review it for tax purposes.

Get 50% off Quickbooks Self-Employed by signing up through the link below:

gusto

Gusto is what I use to handle all of my payroll. I have it set on auto so it just runs payroll for me each month. If you are an LLC taxed as an S-Corp, you need Gusto! Not sure if you should be taxed as an S-Corp? Talk to your accountant or tax professional. Usually the rule of thumb is once you’re making $75K it makes the most sense financially to be taxed as an S-Corp. You’ll end up saving thousands each year.

Sign up through the link below and we’ll both earn Visa gift cards:

honeybook

Honeybook is a CRM I’ve been using to help book clients more efficiently and stay organized. I’d be lost without it. It houses all of my brochures, proposals, emails and contracts as templates, making booking so simple. You can automate workflows for next level streamlining. I truly believe you need a CRM like Honeybook in order to scale your photography business.

Use code “RACHELLE” or the link below for 50% off your first year:

etsy

Looking to sell your photography presets or digital templates online? Etsy is a convenient place to start. I sell invitation templates, presets, Cricut designs, and other printables and digital downloads.

You'll get 40 free listings by signing up for an Etsy shop through this link below:

canva

The easiest way to create digital elements online. Sometimes I still use Photoshop for certain designs, but when I want quick, easy, and on-brand, Canva is where I go.

You'll earn a free credit that can be used towards a premium element by signing up through this link below:

flodesk

I haven’t tried all of the email marketing platforms out there, but I have tried MailChimp, Flodesk and ConvertKit. Out of those three, Flodesk offers the best designs that fit the level of branding I’m looking for. The email designs are the kind people actually get excited to open.

You’ll get 50% off your Flodesk subscription by signing up through the link below:

vistaprint

I use Vistaprint to print all of my business cards. For reference, I typically order 100 cards at a time.

creative market

Creative Market offers fonts, graphics, themes, photos, and templates. It’s an online marketplace for community-generated design assets. I’ve curated a collection of templates that photographers and other small businesses may find useful. These range from fonts to pricing guides to Squarespace templates. Check it out in the link below:

SHOP MY Amazon FAVES

Check out all of my Amazon idea lists in the link below. You’ll find everything from wedding photographer outfits, picture frames, camera gear, photo session outfit ideas for each family member, and some of my favorite books. Full disclosure, if you purchase any of the items from this link, I’ll get a small commission. By doing this, you’re helping to support a small business owner, rather than Amazon getting all of the profits. I so appreciate your support.

how to make a GIF

An animated GIF is a file which contains a number of images or frames. The images or frames are in a specific order, which conveys the animation. I love incorporating GIFs into my shooting because of the storytelling element they deliver. Check out this free resource I created for you to learn how to create your first GIF in Photoshop:

email signature generator

A bomb email signature tells everyone you mean business. I’ve tried 3 other email signature generators and always found something was lacking. Check out this free email signature generator from Honeybook that’s been my favorite so far:

Imagen AI editing software

Okay so I feel like we’re in the matrix sharing this but I’ve tried it and it actually works. It’s a software you download to your computer and then once you upload 5000 images from your Lightroom catalog, it creates an editing profile for you, specific to your editing style. Fair warning, it does take a few days to get your profile results back. After that, the next time you have a shoot, you upload those images and it will spit them back to you edited just the way you would normally edit them. Except it gets them back in, like, 8 minutes. It’s bizarre and I can’t comprehend it but it is pure magic. It still takes me an hour or two to fine tune them, but it gives you an excellent place to start and saves you hours of editing. Get an extra 500 free edits during your free trial with this link: