Today I wanted to highlight several products that have literally changed both my photography and my business. When I first started this journey I struggled with time management, editing and balancing it all with my family life. I would stay up until 1, 2 and even 3 AM trying to get “stuff” done. These products have saved me so much time and were worth every penny (in no particular order). NOTE: None of the companies/products below are nudging me to write these quick reviews, it is all from me.
#1 – Moirai Compositor – Storyboards/Collages are a big seller for me. When creating a storyboard for a client, I used to sit at my desk, starring at Photoshop, and count each little notch on the ruler in order to center each image perfectly. I had so many little blue lines across my screen that it started to look like a laser-security blueprint. Then, I purchased Moirai Compositor (thank YOU!). Not only can I put a storyboard together in about 1 minute, but I can also design an entire album pretty quickly, too.
Below is a screen shot of me creating a 10 x 20 storyboard using 6 images. It is giving me 15 different ways to arrange those images on a 10 x 20 sheet. LOVE!
#2 – Adobe Lightroom – I think this one is a no-brainer for lots of photographers out there. I don’t even know the extent of how powerful this program is, but from a wedding-editing stand-point, this has let me hang out with my family in the evenings. To have the ability to sort, organize, flag and batch-process has saved me lots and lots of time in PS.
#3 – 85mm 1.4 Zeiss Lens – Hello beautiful!! My oh my, this is my go-to lens. Probably stays on my camera 80% of the time. This gives me that awesome shallow depth-of-field that makes my subjects completely stand out. The other 20% of my time, I am shooting with my macro, wide-angle and 70-200mm. Next on my list is the 35mm.
#4 – ShootQ – On-line based, studio management software. Just for the sheer fact of organizing invoices and sending them out in a timely manner is AWESOME. I used to sit down with my old-school calendar (yes, the paper kind that you actually flip through) and write down when I had to send out invoice emails. ShootQ allows me to enter all the appropriate invoice dates and it is linked up to my Google Merchants account (another great investment), giving the client an easy way to online bill-pay. All contracts are now signed electronically and any correspondence are now filed away online. Rad!
#5 – Shared Google Calendars – As mentioned in #4 above, I used to have a non-digital calendar. I am such a techie person, but for some reason I just couldn’t get rid of my paper calendar. Well, after having to “chat” with my husband every night about what was happening in our business lives, I had to commit to Google. Having a shared online Google Calendar has been extremely helpful when scheduling life.
#6 – Custom Into The Darkroom Blogsite – I can’t say enough positive things about this company. Completely professional, awesome customer service and amazing design team. About a year and a half ago (maybe longer) I had a vision that I felt represented my work, my personality and my uniqueness. I wanted my brand, my blog and my logo to be one-of-a-kind. I wanted to stand out. Your brand is such an important piece of your business…it’s what makes your company YOU! Into the Darkroom help me achieve my goals and I am forever thankful. :-)
Let me hear from you!! I want to find more hidden gems out there!! What have been some products that have totally changed your way of doing photography or managing your business. Comment below and show me the good stuff!
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Thank you for sharing! I am proud to say that I took a photography workshop with the “inventor” of the compositor! Very cool tool!
I am so getting that Moirai Compositor – that looks like a huge time saver. Thanks for sharing Keri
I finally got the compositor and love it! I prefer Pixifi to ShootQ though.
I think that communities are a HUGE part of what has helped me in photography. Whether they’re Facebook communities, The B School, OSP, MHP, or any of the gazillion others, I love being able to talk with positive people. Having somewhere to go with questions is super valuable to me!