I’ve spent the last 4 years growing my skillset as a photographer allocating a significant amount of my time on cloudy days with my camera, fiddling with ISO’s and shutter speeds. I spent a considerable amount of money on lenses, lighting kits, backdrops and speedlites (like many others trying to earn a living capturing special moments for friends, family and referred clients). One of the most difficult parts of this job comes when you’re working with new customers, of whom I couldn’t simply pull out my Square app and swipe a credit card. Before I even knew it, I was already hitting one of the major pain points of being a professional photographer.

Second shooting Tyler & Lindsay’s engagement shoot with Tony Spinelli, October 2013

As I began what I believe to be my new career, I thought I’d take some time learning from some of the best photographers I knew. I started second shooting with Tony Spinelli, a colleague at the time who had a distinct eye for capturing amazing shots. After joining on a few engagements shoots, I realized that being a great photographer is not only about taking great photos but also creating an amazing customer relationships, connecting with clients on a significantly personal level and capturing experiences that will essentially be immortalized in time.

I’ll be honest, second shooting was one of the best thing I did while learning the craft however, I was still trying to figure out how I’d be able to get paid. I started working directly with clients doing maternity shoots and portraits. My greatest challenge came when I wanted to send my first invoice. I browsed the web for a web-based app or a downloadable app for my Mac that would allow me to create invoices, manage my clients and schedule my shoots. For 3 months, I signed up for trial after trial hoping to find something that was easy to use, mobile friendly and cost-effective. As a new photographer with very little clients, it was hard to justify paying $50–100/month. After whining and complaining about it to some friends and co-workers, I decided to build one.

PicSpotr (credit to my friend @spadacenta for the name) was created to help the freelance + professional photographer with managing day to day tasks. Making it easier to manage clients, send invoices, schedule shoots and get paid (just to start). More importantly, we’re making it affordable and easy to use. We hope photographers everywhere will enjoy using it but also, we hope it makes you more productive.

PicSpotr Billing and Invoices Screenshot designed by Kyle Hamilton

PicSpotr will launch Sunday, August 30 and we are certainly excited.